Law helped build large systems of confinement and segregation.
Nineteenth century law and policy supported the growth of asylums, workhouses and other institutions.
Institutions were often presented as care, but they also removed people from community, family, work and ordinary life.
A legal placement is not automatically a humane life.
A common mistake is assuming official placement means safety.
Who had power here, who was left outside, and what would have changed if the human being was seen first?
These deep dives open out from this part of the timeline.