Henry Curson (ca. 1680– ca. 1720).

A compendium of the laws and government ecclesiastical, civil and military, of England, Scotland & Ireland, and dominions, plantations and territories thereunto belonging, with the maritime power thereof, and jurisdiction of courts therein. Methodically digested under their proper heads.

[Including:]

Compendious description of the English plantations in Asia, Africa and America.

London, Assigns of Rich. & Edw. Atkins for J. Walthoe, 1699.

8°. [16], 642, [14] pp.

Contemporary calf.

First edition (of two issues) of a rare and significant legal digest offering a broad survey of Restoration-era governance across Great Britain including the overseas dominions. Of particular interest is the substantial appendix titled A Compendious Description of the English Plantations in Asia, Africa and America (pp. 489–532), which outlines the legal and administrative structures of English colonies at the close of the 17th century. This section presents an early attempt to systematize imperial authority, listing colonial governments, trading jurisdictions, maritime law, and court powers—offering vital insights into the legal imagination of empire and early modern territorial governance.

Curson’s descriptions reflect a major shift in how English power was understood in the late 1600s. As Ryan Bibler explains in Legal Settlements, the English didn’t just claim land—they extended legal authority into new territories by setting up courts, laws, and administrative systems. Even though each colony had its own charter and local rules, they were increasingly brought into a broader imperial legal structure. Bibler calls this a “composite monarchy,” where many different legal systems operated under one crown. Curson’s Compendium captures this moment of change, showing how the English empire was being organized not as one uniform system, but as a patchwork of connected legal zones all under royal control.

This work is scarce in commerce and institutional holdings, particularly in North America. Only one auction record traced in the past 45 years.

Condition: spine slightly worn and joints cracked. Bookplate of Fox Pointe Collection on blank recto of advertisement leaf. Lacks final blank and endpapers. Otherwise in very good condition.

Reference: Sabin 15046; Wing C7686.

Bibler, Ryan Matthew, Legal Settlements: Jurisdiction in the English Atlantic, 1603–1643 (PhD diss., UVA, 2015).