Blackstone and the Externalisation of Landscape

Abstract

AbstractThe idea of absolutist ownership in land, introduced in William Blackstone’s influential work, Commentaries on the Laws of England, is the subject of this chapter. Blackstone’s reframing of intrinsic aspects of the landscape as external encumbrances burdening the individual landowner is discussed as the watershed moment that terminated property’s social function. Blackstone applied the generic feudal pyramid of tenures to England, without considering the lived-in experiences of local communities and their ancient way of life that varied and complicated feudal practices. The chapter examines the role of the new landowning class in Parliament, which passed the Enclosure Acts to enclose common land as private property, thereby using the law to dismantle common rights and functioning local communities, and legitimise exclusion as a feature of property.