How did Anglo-American law distinguish between general agents and special agents?

In Anglo-American law, the distinction between general and special agents was a doctrinal refinement used by courts to determine the scope of an agent's authority and the extent to which a principal could be held liable for the agent's actions.1

• General Agents: These were agents employed to transact generally all the legal business entrusted to them by a principal. Because of the breadth of their authority, courts often viewed them as individuals with whom an outsider could deal with a greater degree of safety.21
• Special Agents: These were agents whose powers were viewed very narrowly by the courts. Unlike general agents, their authority was typically restricted to specific tasks or transactions, and third parties were expected to exercise more caution regarding the limits of their power.1

While this distinction was a significant element of historical legal theory, modern Anglo-American law has largely moved away from such artificial conceptualism. Instead, it emphasizes the actual commercial and social context of the relationship, increasingly recognizing an agent's power of representation based on their external position or the specific business necessities of the transaction.1