Description
Institutional Change and Property Rights before the Industrial Revolution provides a comprehensive analysis of wardship practices in Britain from 1485 to 1660. Sean Bottomley investigates how changes in property rights institutions influenced economic behavior and outcomes during the pre-industrial era.
The book examines wardship—the legal guardianship of minors and their estates—as a crucial institutional mechanism that affected wealth distribution, family structures, and economic incentives. Bottomley demonstrates how the evolution of wardship laws reflected broader shifts in property rights frameworks and contributed to institutional development that preceded industrialization.
This work combines economic history with legal history to show how formal institutions shaped individual decisions regarding property management, inheritance strategies, and resource allocation. The detailed analysis of English and British wardship practices offers insights into the relationship between legal institutions and economic change, contributing to scholarly understanding of how societies develop the institutional foundations necessary for economic growth and transformation.
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