The Fight For Bourgeois Law In Halifax, Nova Scotia, 1749-1753

In the new colony of Halifax, merchants and other members of the colonial bourgeois desired a legal order that would support their commercial needs, not impede their activities, and that included members of their class. In a series of legal disputes between 1749 and 1753 the bourgeois fought for their interests in front of and against the colony's government. In each case, the merchants and their allies lost the specific legal dispute but secured changes in the legal regime that better met their expectations.