King's Peace: Law and Order in the British Empire

The British Empire imposed Crown rule across its colonies during the Age of Revolution, corroding the rights of British subjects and laying the foundations of the modern police state. Colonial legal regimes were transformed, blurring the lines between the rule of law and the rule of the sword, and constitutional principles of empire were subordinated to a single, overarching rule. The Kings Peace provides important lessons on the relationship between peacekeeping, sovereignty, and political subjectivity.

Format: Hardback
Length: 336 pages
Publication date: 10 September 2021
Publisher: Harvard University Press

The British Empire's imposition of Crown rule across its vast territories during the Age of Revolution had profound consequences for the rights of its subjects and set the stage for the modern police state. The eighteenth and nineteenth centuries witnessed a series of crises in the colonies, ranging from North America to Jamaica, Bengal to New South Wales. In response, the Crown resorted to coercive peacekeeping methods to maintain control, often at the expense of the rights of British subjects.

The transformation of what it meant to be a British subject during this period was significant. Colonial legal regimes were altered, with kings' representatives ruling new colonies with an increasingly heavy hand. The lines between the rule of law and the rule of the sword blurred, leading to the erosion of safeguards of liberty and justice.

Exacting obedience and imposing order became the primary focus of colonial governance, subordinating many constitutional principles of the empire to a single, overarching rule: where necessary, colonial law could diverge from metropolitan law. This shift in power dynamics had far-reaching consequences, as the rights claimed by American rebels during the American Revolution became unthinkable in the British Empire.

While some colonial subjects fought back against these oppressive measures, the king ultimately emerged as the real winner of the American Revolution. The Kings Peace, by Lisa Ford, provides a valuable insight into the dramatic growth of colonial executive power and the increasing deployment of arbitrary policing and military violence to maintain order. The book offers important lessons on the relationship between peacekeeping, sovereignty, and political subjectivity, which continue to be relevant in contemporary debates over governance and human rights.

Weight: 538g
Dimension: 147 x 216 x 34 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780674249073