Limit this search to....

Anne Orthwood's Bastard: Sex and Law in Early Virginia
Contributor(s): Pagan, John Ruston (Author)
ISBN: 0195144791     ISBN-13: 9780195144796
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
OUR PRICE:   $39.89  
Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats
Published: November 2002
Qty:
Temporarily out of stock - Will ship within 2 to 5 weeks
Annotation: In 1663, an indentured servant, Anne Orthwood, was impregnated with twins in a tavern in Northampton County, Virginia. Orthwood died soon after giving birth; one of the twins, Jasper, survived. Orthwood's illegitimate pregnancy sparked four related cases that came before the Northampton
magistrates -- who coincidentally held court in the same tavern -- between 1664 and 1686. These interrelated cases and the decisions rendered in them are notable for the ways in which the Virginia colonists modified English common law traditions and began to create their own, as well as what they
reveal about cultural and economic values in an Eastern shore community. Through these cases, the very reasons legal systems are created are revealed, namely, the maintenance of social order, the protection of property interests, the protection of personal reputation, and personal liberty. Through
Jasper Orthwood's life, the treatment of the poor in small communities is set in sharp relief.
Additional Information
BISAC Categories:
- Law | Legal History
- Law | Gender & The Law
- History | United States - Colonial Period (1600-1775)
Dewey: 364.153
LCCN: 2002025273
Lexile Measure: 1680
Physical Information: 0.69" H x 5.5" W x 8.38" (0.65 lbs) 232 pages
Themes:
- Chronological Period - 17th Century
- Chronological Period - 18th Century
- Cultural Region - South Atlantic
- Cultural Region - Southeast U.S.
- Geographic Orientation - Virginia
- Sex & Gender - Feminine
 
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
Publisher Description:
In 1663, an indentured servant, Anne Orthwood, was impregnated with twins in a tavern in Northampton County, Virginia. Orthwood died soon after giving birth; one of the twins, Jasper, survived. Orthwood's illegitimate pregnancy sparked four related cases that came before the Northampton
magistrates -- who coincidentally held court in the same tavern -- between 1664 and 1686. These interrelated cases and the decisions rendered in them are notable for the ways in which the Virginia colonists modified English common law traditions and began to create their own, as well as what they
reveal about cultural and economic values in an Eastern shore community. Through these cases, the very reasons legal systems are created are revealed, namely, the maintenance of social order, the protection of property interests, the protection of personal reputation, and personal liberty. Through
Jasper Orthwood's life, the treatment of the poor in small communities is set in sharp relief.

Anne Orthwood's Bastard was the winner of the 2003 Prize in Atlantic History, American Historical Association.