In the middle of the seventeenth century; judges in the short-lived New Haven Colony presided over a remarkable series of trials ranging from murder and bestiality; to drunken sailors; frisky couples; faulty shoes; and shipwrecks. The cases were reported in an unusually vivid manner; allowing readers to witness the twists and turns of fortune as the participants battled with life and liberty at stake. When the records were eventually published in the 1850s; they were both difficult to read and heavily edited to delete sexual matters. Rendered here in modernized English and with insightful commentary by eminent Judge Jon C. Blue; the New Haven trials allow readers to immerse themselves in the exciting legal battles of America’s earliest days.The Case of the Piglet’s Paternity assembles thirty-three of the most significant and intriguing trials of the period. As a book that examines a distinctive judicial system from a modern legal perspective; it is sure to be of interest to readers in law and legal history. For less litigious readers; Blue offers a worm’s eye view of the full spectrum of early colonial society—political leaders and religious dissidents; farmhands and apprentices; women and children.
#2747614 in Books University Alabama Press 2006-08-20Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.25 x .50 x 6.13l; .62 #File Name: 0817353364168 pages
Review
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful. Great look at the early days of colonial americaBy Lehigh History StudentSeth Mallois delivers an interesting anthropological/historical book on trade patterns in the early Chesapeake area. He follows three different colonies and their attempts to start up and looks at the demise and troubles through the lens of trade. Using anthropological techniques he establishes a model based on trading patterns of societies which show how cultures expect to give and receive when they are establishing relations.The first colony Ajacan is a Spanish colony where Spaniards take food and give back holy sacraments leaving the Indians feeling cheated. One of the Indians who had traveled to Spain named Don Louis eventually tells the Spanish they will help build the church if they can borrow axes and promptly hack the Spanish to death keeping the axes as payment.The second colony tracked was the failed British colony at Roanoke which is covered in exquisite detail. It is very hard to find a concise summary of this doomed colony and it really falls to anthropologists and archeologists to do so as we don't have many documents giving us the details. We can see that the British lack of understating in relation to the culture of the Indians spurred many of the arguments that took place. The early trade was done well but lack of supplies and taking advantage of the Indians wore thin leading to attacks on the colony. Many Indians also saw the giving of European diseases which they believed Europeans controlled as tantamount to war and required sharp reprisals against the colonists.The third colony of Jamestown provides the best studies as there are written documents that outline what happened very closely. Although in the case of the John Smith diaries there are some exaggerations it does provide a very complete picture with regard to trading in the area. Overall John Smith understood the Indians and was able to keep the peace by moderating the rates of exchange and controlling the goods that flowed into the market. This control ensured stable prices and kept exchange congenial. When Smith is sent home after being injured the colonies notice a sharp upswing in attacks as the markets are flooded and the trusted trading partner is gone. Overall this is an excellent summary of the colonial era and well worth reading if you want to understand the days of the early colonial period.1 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Early European Mistakes....By Michael ValdivielsoWant to understand the mistakes and flaws of early European and American contacts? This is the book for you. An honest; hard; look at the events and misunderstandings between the first Europeans and their failure to understand the local system of gift-exchange. At less than 150 pages there is really no reason not to pick it up and expand on your knowledge. A must for any one interested in American history; World history; or Human history.
