Law and Commerce in Pre-Industrial Societies

Copyright

Dedication

Contents

Acknowledgements

1: Commerce, Law and Evidence

1 Evidence of Commerce and Law

2: Commerce, Merchants and Homo Economicus

1 Ubiquity of Commerce and Trade

1.1 Hunters, Gatherers and Pre-Literate Farmers

1.2 Mesopotamia (3000–1600 BC)

1.3 Ancient Egypt (3000–1069 BC)

1.4 Classical Athens (480–330 BC)

1.5 Roman Republic and Empire (100 BC–200 AD)

1.6 Early Islamic World (750–1100 AD)

1.7 European Commercial Revolution (1000–1500 AD)

1.8 Medieval Southern India (850–1500 AD)

1.9 Early Qing China (1644–1800 AD)

2 Primacy of Commerce and Trade

3 Homo Economicus and Economic Analysis

3: Security of Persons and Property

1 Security in Local Markets

1.1 General Security Institutions

1.2 Local Security for Resident or Itinerant Foreign Merchants

2 Security in Long-distance Trade (in transit Security)

2.1 Fictional Blood Brother/Kin Relationships and Neutral Intermediaries

2.2 Silent Trade

2.3 Amân (Safe Passage)

2.4 Merchant Networks and Private Armies (Private Ordering)

2.5 Treaties and Commercial Agreements

2.6 Public Order

3 Security from State Invasions of Property

4 Concluding Remarks and Questions

4: Dispute Resolution

1 Introduction and General Legal Systems

1.1 Hunter/Gatherers and pre-literate farmers– Rules, Enforcement and Sanctions Whether “Law” or “Social Norms”

1.2 Mesopotamia – Innovative Law and Expansive Commerce and Trade

1.3 Egypt – Law in a Politically Centralized and Economically Dominant State

1.4 Athens – Law in a Radical Democracy

1.5 Rome – Law Supporting Commerce in an Empire

1.6 Early Islamic World – Law Based on Religious Community

1.7 Medieval Europe – Commercial and Legal Revolutions

1.8 Medieval Southern India – Law Based on Caste or Occupation

1.9 Qing China – Imperial Administrative Law and Private Contract Rules

2 Dispute Avoidance Institutions

3 Mediation and Arbitration

3.1 Public Mediation and Arbitration

3.2 Private Mediation and Arbitration

4 Dispute Resolution by Local Notables and Consuls

5 Dispute Resolution by Popular Assemblies and Executive Bodies

6 Courts

6.1 Independence and Appellate Review

6.2 Political Structure and Courts

6.3 Community-Based Legal Systems (Islamic and Hindu Law)

6.4 Demands for Speedy, Impartial and Experienced Dispute Resolution

7 Informal Dispute Resolution

8 Remedies and Community Responsibility

9 Substantive Rules, Legal Recognition of Business Innovations and Law(s) Merchant

9.1 Substantive Legal Rules

9.2 Legal Recognition of Business, Commercial and Financial Innovations

9.3 Uniform Substantive Rules and “Law(s) Merchant” – The Loch Ness of Legal History

5: Business Organizations: Families, Partnerships and Companies

1 Business Composition

1.1 Personal Relationships and Family Business

1.2 Family Networks

1.3 Multigenerational Business

1.4 Family versus the Individual

2 Business Organizations

2.1 Modern Forms of Business Organization and Corporate Law Default Rules

2.2 Partnerships for Single Projects

2.3 Business Organizations to Pool Capital and Share Risk beyond Single Projects

2.4 Forms of Organization to Partition Assets

3 Accounting, Credit and Financial Institutions

4 Conclusions

6: Consumer Protection, Competition, Fair Prices and Agency/Information Institutions

1 Fair Dealing and Consumer Protection

1.1 Ubiquity of Local Markets

1.2 Fair Dealing and Consumer Protection

2 Grain Trade: Regulation and Competition Laws

2.1 Critical Importance of Grain

2.2 Competition Laws

3 “Unfair Prices”

4 Institutions to Meet Agency Concerns

5 Institutions to Provide Market Information

Bibliography

Index