Virginia Slave Codes

Slavery dates back to the seventeenth century, when they were brought by ship from Africa to America. Plantation owners has indentured servants from Europe, who was serving time for their actions, and slaves from Africa. There was a prevalent development of degrading treatment towards African slaves and the institution of slavery as a whole in the time period of 1607- 1750 in Virginia which can be seen by slaves getting taken advantage of, children being taken away or runaway ads and also not receiving the same basic human rights as other individuals .

When the first nineteen slaves arrived in Virginia in 1619, an institution that would last more than two hundred years was created. These first slaves were treated more like how the indentured servants that came to the New World from England were. However, as time passed and the colonies grew larger, so did the institution of slavery. Even after the importing slaves internationally was banned in 1807 by Congress, the internal slave trade expanded exponentially. The growth and durability of slavery persisted until the end of the Civil War, a time period greater than the entire existence of the United States. The institution of slavery was not only able to endure through two hundred fifty of turbulent change in America, but it was able to advance. This is due to the mindsets of slavery as a “necessary evil” and a “positive good” coupled with the dependence on them for such a large portion of the economy. These factors can be observed in the narratives written by Olaudah Equiano, Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs.

“Virginia Laws Governing Servant and Slave” reveals the rebellions of servants and slaves who united to fight against their masters. Bacon’s Rebellion, in 1676, occurred in the Virginia Colony in opposition to Virginia's Indian policy (Roark, The American Promise, p. 79). Bacon’s Rebellion demonstrated that poor whites and poor blacks could be united in a cause, and it shows that they are capable of challenging the ruling class together. Virginia lawmakers enacted the laws to prevent the servants and slaves from uniting to fight against masters. According to "Document 2: Law Making Slave Status Inherited from Mother, 1662" the Virginia legislators punished interracial sexual relations, "And that if any Christian shall commit fornication with a negro man or woman, hee or shee soe offending shall pay double the ffines imposed by the former act"

In 1619, Virginia was an isolated British settlement on the Chesapeake Bay. It was sparsely populated by men trying to make the colony profitable for England. But the colonists were devastated by hunger, disease, and raids by Native Americans. So when the White Lion, a badly damaged Dutch slave ship arrived, carrying 20 kidnapped black Africans, the colonists bartered food and services for the human cargo. The Africans started working for the colonists. They would work 7 years of hard labor in exchange for land and freedom. But when colonies started to prosper, the colonists were reluctant to lose their labor. Since the Africans did not have citizenship, they were not subject to English common law. They were workers with no rights.

Luckily, for those in power, there was a precedent for unpaid labor in the form of indentured servitude. The workforce made up of those working off their travel, food, and room and board had already proved useful and cost-effective in this new market. As fully owned slaves began to arrive there grew a need to fully define the differences under the law. Virginia enacted the earliest of such laws which began to define the status of those of African descent within the colonies. According to one of the laws: ”…any negroe, molatto,

The earliest form of slavery in North America can be traced back to Jamestown, Virginia in 1619. There, they were called the “Twenty and Odd” and considered servants rather than slaves. Though little is known about this infamous event, this ‘trade’ continued of capturing Africans from Africa and bringing them to the colonies of Britain. The usage of slaves increased and were often used as field laborers on plantations, house workers, blacksmiths

The Revolutionary War was fought on principles of liberty, freedom, and justice for all - but when the dust had settled, and the Constitution finally agreed upon, the American people still owned slaves. The right to own other people was a cornerstone of American culture, and a major driver of its economy - it was unlikely to simple go away. Ironically, patriots would use a great deal of anti-slavery rhetoric to illustrate their struggle against the British, but in the aftermath of revolution, it became clear that “all men” did not include black men. Slavery, as it is properly understood, is a terrible institution that relies on oppression. Oftentimes, it used brutality and torture to keep productivity high. Such an oppressive system invites

The Virginia’s Statutes illustrate the declining Status of African American slaves was written because the state of Virginia wanted to state several rules and laws for their slaves. This document was written by the State of Virginia legislatures, being they were the ones who wrote it and established it. The main rule applied was that black people could not be with white people. Any white person married to a black or mulatto would be banished and will be known as a systematic plan formed to capture outlying slaves. Black men and women were known as slaves.

In 1662, the state of “Virginia enacted a law of hereditary slavery meaning that a child born to an enslaved mother inherits her slave status. Massachusetts reversed a ruling dating back to 1652 that allowed blacks to train in arms. New York, Connecticut, and New Hampshire passed similar laws restricting the bearing of arms. In 1663 Maryland legalized slavery. In 1664, New York and New Jersey legalize slavery. In 1664, Maryland is the first colony to take legal action against marriages between white women and black men. In 1664, The State of Maryland mandated lifelong servitude for all black slaves. New York, New Jersey, the Carolinas, and Virginia all pass similar laws. In 1666, Maryland passed a fugitive slave law. In 1667, Virginia declared that Christian baptism will not alter a person 's status as a slave. In 1668, New Jersey passed a fugitive slave law. In 1670, The State of Virginia prohibited free blacks and Indians from keeping Christian (i.e. white) servants. In 1674, New York declared that blacks who convert to Christianity after their enslavement will not be freed.”

The limitation of this book is that this book could only dedicate about 10 pages in the slavery in Virginia. Since it covered so much time period, some details were overlooked.

During this time period the slaves were allowed to leave the plantations or homes but only to run errands for the masters. While in public the slaves were expected to behave, move out of the way of whites, and never strike a white person. This was present in the book The Inventions of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd because charlotte was a slave who was allowed to go the city for goods, she one day would not move out of the way and then struck a white women, this then lead to her being taken to the work house and being punished. (Kidd. The Invention of Wings, 2014) So not only were they not allowed to react in self-defense but they were also not allowed to be taught how to read or write. If a slave were to break any of these rules then depending on the offense and where it occurred was what determined the punishment. The punishments during this time could have been getting sent to the work house which is where they whip, and force slaves to work until they have served their time or they are at the mercy of their masters. (Kidd. The Invention of Wings, 2014)The masters can do whatever type of punishment they see fit for their slaves, and there was no laws protecting them. The only thing that protected these slaves was their value to the master’s wealth. Although in reality a lot of the slave owners were actually not hostile or

The article I chose to do was Virginia Tightens Slave Codes(1691) because I wanted to see how the two documents differed from each other, and there was definitely a big difference between the two. One talked about using kindness to make their slaves hard workers and trustworthy, this document talked about killing slaves if they ran away or refused to return. This document was about how Virginia chose to deal with their vastly growing population of slaves. It talked about how if a slave went missing then they have to let the "sherrife" know by issuing out a warrant. It all said that if a slave resisted or refused to come back then it was lawful for someone to kill them in anyway they seemed fit. If a slave was killed then the owner would get

The main method used to control the behaviour of slaves was the threat of having them whipped. The number of lashes depended on the seriousness of the offence. Austin Steward wrote that on his plantation 39 was the number for most offences. Francis Fredric ran away and was free for nine weeks. After he was captured he was given 107 lashes. Moses Roper, received 200 lashes and this was only brought to an end when the master's wife pleaded for his life to

The history of African-Americans has been a paradox of incredible triumph in the face of tremendous human tragedy. African-American persons were shown much discrimination and were treated as second class citizens in the colonies during the development of the nation. The first set men, women, and children to work in the colonies were indentured servants, meaning they were only required to work for a set amount of years before they received their freedom. Then, in 1619 the first black Africans came to Virginia. With no slave laws in place, they were initially treated as indentured servants, a source of free labor, and given the same opportunities for freedom dues as whites. However, slave laws were soon passed – in Massachusetts in

Slavery as we know today, is still considered one of the most talked about subjects in history. The historical backdrop of bondage in early America incorporates the absolute most disturbing stories from our past. Slavery began when African Slaves initially arrived in the North American settlement of Jamestown in 1619. These slaves helped with the creation of profoundly lucrative products such as tobacco. In this manner, it was absolutely a rural undertaking that would later provoke the presence of one of the chronicled treacheries done particularly to the African migrants. The issue took course during the sixteenth and eighteenth century American