Sally Engle Merry's book analyzes the legal and cultural transformation in Hawai'i from 1820 to 1852. The work examines the appropriation of Anglo-American law by New England missionaries and lawyers, and details local legal practices in Hilo, including plantation policing and cases on marriage and sexuality. The source is a closed-license publication from Wellesley College.
Use Cases
- Analyzing legal transformation processes based on the described transition from religious to secular law
- Studying social history and protest based on the description of a plantation town and its caseloads
- Examining the management of social norms based on the described cases concerning sexuality and marriage
Strengths
- Analysis covers a defined historical period from 1820 to 1852
- Includes detailed case studies from the Hilo District Court as referenced in the appendixes
Limitations
- Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
- Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified
Provenance
- Source
- Sally Engle Merry, Wellesley College
- Collection Method
- Historical and legal analysis of archival records.
- Time Range
- 1820-1852
- Freshness
- Last updated is unknown.
- Geography
- Hawai'i, specifically Hilo