Law, Custom and Social Order: The Colonial Experience in Malawi and Zambia (African Studies, Series Number 45)

This Book Explores The Historical Formation During The Colonial Period Of That Part Of African Law Known As Customary Law. In Treating The Emergence Of The Customary Law As Part Of The History Of The Social And Economic Transformation Of African Societies Under Colonial Rule, It Also Provides An Interpretation Of The Ways In Which People Tried To Control The Disrupting Effects Of The Changes Which They Experienced. Martin Chanock Shows How African Ideas, Aspirations And Activities Regarding Law Were Shaped By Interaction With The Legal Ideas Of The British Colonisers, Their Understandings Of African Societies, And The Judicial Institutions Of The Colonial State. These Thematic Considerations Are Illustrated By Studies Of How The Customary Law Developed Alongside Criminal Law In Colonial Society In Malawi And Zambia As Part Of The Moral Weaponry Of A Changing Social Order, And More Specifically By Describing The Role Of The Customary Law Of The Family In Conflicts Between Men And Women In The New Colonial Political Economy.--publisher. Law, Anthropology And History. Social And Legal History In Central Africa -- African Law And Anthropologists -- African Law And Lawyers -- Right And Wrong. The Lawgivers In Central Africa: Social Control -- Witches And Ordeals -- The Courts And The People: Law In Action I -- Africans And The Law -- Men And Women. The Lawgivers In Central Africa: Marriage And Morality -- Slaves And Masters -- The Courts And The People: Law In Action Ii -- Africans, Law And Marriage -- Discussion. Writing African Legal History. Martin Chanock. Includes Index. Bibliography: P. 272-281.