Edinburgh Research Explorer After Somerset Citation for published version: Cairns, JW 2012, 'After Somerset: The Scottish Experience', Journal of Legal History, vol. 33, no. 3, pp. 291-312. https://doi.org/10.1080/01440365.2012.730248 Digital Object Identifier (DOI): 10.1080/01440365.2012.730248 Link: Link to publication record in Edinburgh Research Explorer Document Version: Peer reviewed version Published In: Journal of Legal History Publisher Rights Statement: © Cairns, J. (2012). After Somerset: The Scottish Experience. Journal of Legal History, 33(3), 291-312. 10.1080/01440365.2012.730248 General rights Copyright for the publications made accessible via the Edinburgh Research Explorer is retained by the author(s) and / or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing these publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. Take down policy The University of Edinburgh has made every reasonable effort to ensure that Edinburgh Research Explorer content complies with UK legislation. If you believe that the public display of this file breaches copyright please contact
[email protected] providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 28. Sep. 2021 After Somerset: The Scottish Experience JOHN W. CAIRNS The Scottish evidence examined here demonstrates the power of the popular understanding that, in Somerset’s Case (1772), Lord Mansfield had freed the slaves, and shows how the rapid spread of this view through newspapers, magazines, and more personal communications, encouraged those held as slaves in Scotland to believe that Lord Mansfield had freed them - at least if they reached England.