Dr. Hunter Harris

Biography

Hunter Harris is a Departmental Lecturer specializing in Global Imperial History at the University of Oxford. His research focuses on the intersection of imperial history, legal history, and economic history, exploring how these fields interact. Currently, he is examining the role of merchants and law in the elaboration of empire during the eighteenth century British world through his monograph titled "Trade’s Empire: Merchants and the Law in the Eighteenth-Century British World," which is contracted with the Omohundro Institute at the University of North Carolina Press. This work demonstrates that the law of trade was crucial in commercializing the world and that the expansion of trade relied heavily on the extension of law. Moreover, he investigates how commerce and law contributed to the establishment of enduring economic, cultural, legal, and political ties that enabled the British Empire to function as a coherent entity in the eighteenth century. Another project of his studies the relationships between the City of London and Atlantic slavery, focusing on how mercantile financial capitalism developed in London and its contribution to the expansion of plantation economies in North America and the Caribbean. His research has been featured in various academic outlets including the American Journal of Legal History and Conversation.

Research Interests

Experience