Conclusion

The conclusion recapitulates the key arguments of the book. It also reflects on the operations of colonial law and the state. We notice in the laws of debt and insolvency an attempt to systematize and render definite what had been flexible. Earlier, debt obligations were tacitly looked upon as a matter of honour, involved the credibility of a person’s dealings, and were enforced by the influence of those whose personal authority was acknowledged both by the debtor and the creditor. By contrast, the use of the instruments of the state, the law courts, and prisons moved debt obligations out from the private to the public domain.

Bankruptcy · Business · Credibility · Creditor · Debt · Debt restructuring · Debtor · Economics · Honour · Insolvency · Law and economics · Notice · Political science · Sovereign debt · Sovereignty · State (computer science) · African history and culture studies · Colonialism, slavery, and trade · Finance · Global Maritime and Colonial Histories · Law