This book provides an in-depth contextual analysis of the role of international law in the growth of British presence in West Africa during the early- and mid-nineteenth century. It highlights this period as an important experimentation phase which saw the genesis of the treaties that have now become associated with the Scramble for Africa.

Inge Van Hulle is Assistant Professor of Legal History at Tilburg University, The Netherlands. Prior to joining Tilburg University she worked as a PhD research assistant at the department of Roman law and legal history at KU Leuven where she obtained here PhD in 2016. At Tilburg University she teaches courses such as 'History and Theory of International Law', 'History of International Law', 'History of Government and Public Institutions' and 'Early Modern History'.

• Introduction: Britain and International Law in West Africa


• 1: The Changing Legal Patterns of Anglo-African Relations (1807-1840)


• 2: British Legal Strategies and the Abolition of the Slave Trade


• 3: Extraterritorial Jurisdiction and the Dawn of the Protectorate


• 4: Benevolent Aggression and Exemplary Violence in West Africa


• 5: International Law and the Settlement of Disputes concerning West Africa on the Eve of the Scramble


• Conclusion