Common and statutory law

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Part 1 of your question - The history of common law and the spread from England to other countries and America:
Common law was first developed between the time period of the Norman Conquest of England and the settlement of the American colonies. It was then that many of the basic principles and ideas of common law that helped start the American justice system. Between the 8th and 11th centuries, the cultural system of setting disputes in England started to become formalized (meaning there was a process behind it) with a hierarchical system (almost like a flow chart of the process starting with the lower courts to the higher courts). This process began to replace their current and soon to be former governmental system of egalitarianism and collection. Power struggles began between the different groups of people which led to political consolidation and the most powerful (lords - top of the hierarchy) owning all the land. With this change in power, the lords required that there be a system of settlement (local court). By the time the Norman Conquest happened in 1066, England was divided into 8 kingdoms and the political organization was separated into what was called kingdoms and "hundreds." These hundreds were smaller divisions of the countries and were privately owned and governed (not by the country itself). The large number of hundreds that were owned was a sign of the political and economic power of the Catholic Church. As a result, the hundreds court was established which was a meeting that took place between the hundreds of residents who had "community problems" and it was a place where they could all discuss these things (equivalent to a town hall meeting that would happen today.) The lords were allowed to collect profits from administrators was the driving force of the development of the common law.
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