This book revisits six notorious incidents that occasioned vigorous debate in London's courtrooms, streets and presses. Each case adjudicated the presence of outsiders in London - from Jews and Gypsies to Africans and Catholics.

Dana Rabin, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Introduction: Empire and law, 'Firmly united by the circle of the British diadem'
1 Internal others: Jews, Gypsies, and Jacobites
2 'In a country of liberty?':Sslavery, villeinage and the making of whiteness in the Somerset case (1772)
3 Imperial disruptions: City, nation, and empire in the Gordon Riots
4 'This fleet is not yet republican': Conceptions of law in the mutinies of 1797
5 Wedding and Bedding: making the Union with Ireland, 1800
Conclusion
Select bibliography
Index