[ 64 ]Common Law System. Countries following a common
law system are typically those that were former British
colonies or protectorates, including the United States.
Features of a common law system include: There is not
always a written constitution or codified laws; Judicial
decisions are binding – decisions of the highest court can
generally only be overturned by that same court or through
legislation; Extensive freedom of contract - few provisions
are implied into the contract by law (although provisions
seeking to protect private consumers may be implied);
Generally, everything is permitted that is not expressly
prohibited by law. A common law system is less prescriptive
than a civil law system. A government may therefore wish to
enshrine protections of its citizens in specific legislation
related to the infrastructure program being contemplated. For
example, it may wish to prohibit the service provider from
cutting off the water or electricity supply of bad payers or
may require that documents related to the transaction be
disclosed under a freedom of information act. There may also
be legal requirements to imply into a contract in equal
bargaining provisions where one party is in a much stronger
bargaining position than the other. Please see Legislation and
Regulation for more on this. There are few provisions
implied into a contract under the common law system – it is
therefore important to set out ALL the terms governing the
relationship between the parties to a contract in the contract
itself. This will often result in a contract being longer than
one in a civil law country.
https://ppp.worldbank.org/public-private-
partnership/legislation-regulation/framework-
assessment/legal-systems/common-vs-civil-law
[ 65 ]Simply translated, the Greek term “thalassocracy”
(thalassokratia) means sea-power or rule over the sea. More
specifically, it is understood to mean an empire that not
merely crosses the sea but uses the sea to tie together
scattered dominions, exercising some degree of control over
the sea. This chapter examines a range of maritime empires
in the Mediterranean from that of Bronze-Age Crete to that
of the British in Nelson's time to investigate the ways in
which such control of the sea has been achieved and
maintained.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/ 10. 1002 / 9781118519356.
ch 9
[ 66 ]Though preceded by years of unrest and periodic
violence, the Revolutionary War began in earnest on April 19 ,
1775 , with the battles of Lexington and Concord. The
conflict lasted a total of seven years, with the major
American victory at Yorktown, Virginia in 1781 marking the
end of hostilities, although some fighting took place through
the fall of 1783. What were the causes of the Revolution?
Through aiding the American colonists during the French
and Indian War, the British government amassed an
enormous debt thanks to the cost of raising, supplying, and
funding an army on foreign soil. Expecting the Americans to
shoulder some of the financial burden, Parliament levied
several acts of taxation as a means to soften the blow.
The Sugar Act ( 1764 ), the Stamp Act ( 1765 ), and the
Townshend Acts ( 1767 ) were merely some of the unpopular
pieces of legislation placed upon the American colonies for
the purpose of raising funds to pay the French and Indian
War debt. Years of unrest and discord followed. The
Americans maintained that Parliament could make laws, but
insisted only their elected representatives could tax them.
The English felt that Parliament had supreme authority over
the colonies. The Americans formed Committees of
Correspondence, and later, a Continental Congress, to find
solutions, but could not find common ground with the
English. When fighting broke out in 1775 , American
revolutionaries determined that separation was the only
means of obtaining liberty and justice. The Declaration of
Independence was signed on July 4 th, 1776 , formally
dissolving the colonies' relationship with their mother
country, and plunging the continent into war.
http://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/american-revolution-faqs[ 67 ]The Great Fire of 1666 brought great tragedy to
London, but also new opportunities. Fellows of the Royal
Society and other natural philosophers (people engaged with
what we know today as science) began to influence the look
and feel of the city through the rebuilding process. While
London had experienced fires before, the 1666 fire
devastated a huge geographical area and left a blank canvas
for reimagining the city. Royal Society Fellows were not
isolated academics who were only interested in experiments
and theoretical discussions that took place behind closed
doors. They were practically minded, always with an eye on
the city and ready to apply their spirit of experiment and
ingenuity to new challenges as they unfolded. On 2
September 1666 , following an unusually dry, hot summer, a
strong and terrible fire swept through the City of London and
beyond. Originating from a baker’s shop on Pudding Lane,
the Great Fire raged for nearly five days before it was finally
brought under control. Naval official and diarist Samuel
Pepys personally witnessed the conflagration. He recorded in
his diary: “a most horrid malicious bloody flame [...] we saw
the fire as only one entire arch of fire [...] of above a mile
long: it made me weep to see it. The churches, houses, and
all on fire and flaming at once; and a horrid noise the flames
made, and the cracking of houses at their ruins”
https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/objects-and-
stories/great-fire-london-how-science-rebuilt-city