European colonialists embarked on projects to administer the territories they had seized and imposed their own rules with little regard for ancient laws and customs, fairness, or justice. Indeed, they often stipulated that indigenous people remain outside the protective cover of the law. But eventually local elites were able to turn the new laws and legal principles against their colonizers in powerful arguments for independence. If laws spell out a ruler’s vision for the world and legitimate his power, they can also be used to curb or overturn it.
