The Cambridge History of Rights, Volume 3: The Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries

In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, contemporary authors explored the myriad ways in which the concept of rights could be understood, but almost always arrived at the same conclusion: it was vital that rights should never be conflated with power. Through twenty-six expertly written essays, volume three of The Cambridge History of Rights focuses on the language of rights, exploring its use in contexts as diverse as the English family, trading relations and Asian powers. This was a period in which rights came to the forefront of political discourse, making it crucial to the longer history of rights reflected in this series.

By foregrounding the idea of rights in action, the volume considers the relationship between the ways in which rights were articulated – by individuals, institutions and states – and how they were enacted in practice. In doing so, it uncovers the complexities inherent in the development of the language of rights during this formative period.