Luchen Pan

University of Warwick

The Dynamics of Law and Commerce: Merchants and the Commercial Transformation of the Straits Settlements, 1786–1870 

Over the bursary year the project was reshaped through two key revisions. The first shifted the focus from cross cultural trade to institutional–organisational dynamics (1750–1850) and resulted in a drafted literature review chapter. The second refined the scope to the Straits Settlements (1786–1870) and, by focusing on Supreme Court cases, produced a substantive empirical chapter. These changes clarified scope, methodology, and historical sources and led to a successful MPhil to PhD upgrade submission.