The Rule of the Admirals: Law, Custom, and Naval Government in Newfoundland, 1699-1832 (Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History)

is a young historian in the early stages of his career. Already, however, as this book attests, he has emerged as a major scholar actively reinterpreting the history of Newfoundland and its place in the early British Empire. Previous historical studies created enduring stereotypes which unduly emphasized the island's lack of social and governmental structures, particularly the alleged weaknesses of 'naval government.' With few exceptions, historians still see eighteenth-century Newfoundland through the lens of cultural exceptionalism as an isolated backwater cut off from the mainstream of Atlantic commerce and politics. In this original and perceptive work, Professor Bannister requires us to rethink much of what we know about early Newfoundland history. By addressing the issue of how the island was governed in the 130 years prior to the establishment of an elected assembly, and by placing his analysis firmly within the material conditions of Newfoundland society, he provides a striking new analysis of a critical period in the island's colonial development. The purpose of The Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History is to encourage research and writing in the history of Canadian law. The Society, which was incorporated in 1979 and is registered as a charity, was founded at the initiative of the Honourable R. Roy McMurtry, a former attorney general for Ontario, now chief justice of Ontario, and xii Foreword officials of the Law Society of Upper Canada. Its efforts to stimulate the study of legal history in Canada include a research-support program, a graduate student research-assistance program, and work in the fields of oral history and legal archives. The Society publishes volumes of interest to the Society's members that contribute to legal-historical scholarship in Canada, including studies of the courts, the judiciary, and the legal profession, biographies, collections of documents, studies in criminology and penology, accounts of significant trials, and work in the social and economic history of the law.

Jerry Bannister's The Rule of the Admirals examines governance in Newfoundland from the rule of the fishing admirals in 1699 to the establishment of representative government in 1832. It offers the first in-depth account of the rise and fall of the system of naval government that dominated the island for more than a century.

In this provocative look at legal culture in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Newfoundland, Bannister explores three topics in detail: naval government in St. John's, surrogate courts in the outports, and patterns in the administration of law. He challenges the conventional view that early Newfoundland was a lawless frontier isolated from the rest of the Atlantic world, and argues that an effective system of naval government emerged to meet the needs of those in power.

An original and perceptive work, Bannister's argument demands that we reconsider much of our knowledge of early Newfoundland history. As he re-examines governance prior to an elected assembly and places his analysis firmly within the material conditions of Newfoundland society, Bannister provides a groundbreaking reinterpretation of a critical period in the island's colonial development. Ultimately, The Rule of the Admirals sheds light on one of the most misunderstood chapters in Canadian and British colonial history.

Jerry Bannister's "The Rule of the Admirals" examines governance in Newfoundland from the rule of the fishing admirals in 1699 to the establishment of representative government in 1832. It offers the first in-depth account of the rise and fall of the system of naval government that dominated the island for more than a century. In this provocative look at legal culture in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Newfoundland, Bannister explores three topics in detail: naval government in St. John's, surrogate courts in the outports, and patterns in the administration of law. He challenges the conventional view that early Newfoundland was a lawless frontier isolated from the rest of the Atlantic world, and argues that an effective system of naval government emerged to meet the needs of those in power. An original and perceptive work, Bannister's argument demands that we reconsider much of our knowledge of early Newfoundland history. As he re-examines governance prior to an elected assembly and places his analysis firmly within the material conditions of Newfoundland society, Bannister provides a groundbreaking reinterpretation of a critical period in the island's colonial development. Ultimately, "The Rule of the Admirals" sheds light on one of the most misunderstood chapters in Canadian and British colonial history. Contents 7 Tables, Illustrations, and Appendices 9 Foreword 11 Preface 13 Acknowledgments 17 1 Introduction 25 2 The Fishing Admirals System 50 3 An Unruly Set of People: The Struggle for Judicial Authority 88 4 The Establishment of Naval Government 128 5 A Fief of the Admiralty: Newfoundland under Naval Rule 165 6 Using Mercy and Terror: The Patterns of Criminal Justice 211 7 Enforcing the Social Order: Punishment in a Fishing Society 246 8 The Fall of Naval Government 280 9 Conclusion 304 Notes on Primary Sources 313 Notes 323 Bibliography of Primary Sources 413 Index 423 "The Rule of the Admirals sheds light on one of the most misunderstood chapters in Canadian and British colonial history. Drawing on extensive archival research as well as a broad range of secondary sources, Bannister provides a groundbreaking reinterpretation of a critical period in Newfoundland's colonial development."--Jacket