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Children at the Birth of Empire: British Law, Liberty, and the Global Migration of Destitute Children, c. 1607–1760 book cover

1st Edition

Children at the Birth of Empire British Law, Liberty, and the Global Migration of Destitute Children, c. 1607–1760

By Kristen McCabe Lashua Copyright 2023
262 Pages 8 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

262 Pages 8 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

262 Pages 8 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge
Also available as eBook on:
This is the first study to focus specifically on destitute children who became part of the early British Empire, uniting separate historiographies on poverty, childhood, global expansion, forced migration, bound labor, and law. Britons used their nascent empire to employ thousands of destitute children, launching an experiment in using plantations and ships as a solution for strains on London’s... Read more

Introduction: Children at the Birth of Empire

Part 1: Understanding Early Modern Childhood

1. "To Stock the Next Generation with Noble Plants": Cultural Concepts of Childhood

2. "The Law is their Guardian": English Legal Concepts of Childhood

Part 2: Destitute Children Abroad

3. Destitute Children and "Nursing Fathers": Caring for London’s Youngest Vagrants

4. A Global Answer to the Poore Orphan’s Cry: Children and the Growth of Empire

Part 3: The Legalities of Child Migration

5. Spirited, Convicted, or Compelled: The Forced Migration of Children, 1607–1700

6. Charity, Consent, and "Kidnapping": Stolen Children and the Rise of Children’s Self-Determination, 1680–1760

Conclusion: Britain’s Children, Britain’s Liberty

Biography

Kristen McCabe Lashua is Associate Professor of History and Chair of the History and Political Science Department at Vanguard University of Southern California. Her research interests include the history of childhood, the British Empire, and legal history.

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