Slavery In Colonial America

The Virginia Slave Codes date all the way to early 1600s. During the 17th century, indentured servants, who decided to work for an affirmed amount of time in replace for their means of access to the "New World", were a handy resource of manual labor for the American colonies. Both blacks and whites served under the system (Goldenburg 1). White servants, after working out their time of agreement, often progressed to appreciated places in the society. On the other hand, their black correspondents, who totaled to about 2,000 in Virginia in 1670, were rarely given the same treatment. By the middle of the century, they were usually regarded as servants for life. In the late 1650s, laws referring to slaves started to

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.

Possibly the Virginia colony was uncomfortable with owning slaves but economic factors changed this idea. At first, Virginia colony wasn’t successful until they were introduced to tobacco. Virginia turned to slave labor for economic growth. As tobacco increased, they needed for cheap labor to increase as well. Indentured servants did do the intensive labor in the beginning but as time passed by they decided to go the cheaper route and use African slaves.

At first Africans were not slaves but servants. Anthony Johnson is an example of African servant who acquired lands and servants (even white servants) after he managed to become free. Due to development of famers in America tobacco in particular settlers needed more labors, and since lands were limited and most of former indentured servants were not able to receive a land, so they were did not want to go back to work, settlers saw African as a good opportunity for cheap labors. Since Africans were not England citizen, they had no rights to claims, as a result, settlers were able to work them for their whole life. Slavery became profitable especially in Virginia, soon rules were made to make slavery legal, and took away any rights that slaves had. Based on the documentary, for a Virginia plantation it was more profitable to work a slave to death and buy a new slave than let slaves to work in a humane condition. Another reason for development of racial slavery was Englishmen projected slaves as aliens and inferior, as Blight stated “as an outsider”, in different factors such as: color, religion, and

In many ways, the lives of the indentured servants in Virginia and those of the African slaves working in the West Indies were very similar; they both were working for a master and had to live through harsh conditions. However, minor differences in working and living conditions provided slightly different lives for the better or for the worst.

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 demand of tobacco cultivation in the Chesapeake resulted in an increase of the slave trade. Unlike indentured servants, Africans was not protected by English law, and was accustomed to intensive labor as well as resistant to many diseases. And because the Native Americans were more familiar with the land which in turn made running away easier, it was hard to keep Indians as slaves. Authorities wanted to improve the status of white servants thus taking away the perception that Virginia was a death trap. In the 1660s, Virginia and Maryland laws referred explicitly to slavery. As Tobacco cultivation continued to increase so did the condition of black and white servants divided. The laws became more stricter and freedom for blacks became nonexistent,

Although many African Americans landed in Virginia in 1619 as slaves, in 1608 most emigrants (who were mainly male) wanted to come to the New World by crossing the Atlantic Ocean so badly that they agreed to become indentured servants. Those who were called Slaves were there to serve for life while those who were called Indentured Servants only served for a certain term. According to American Stories the amount of years that needed to be served depended on the person’s age; those who are younger get a longer term, while those who are older, like nineteen, only get about five years. Many African Americans were called slaves because of their servitude; and many were born into slavery because of the “status follows the womb”. Many indentured servants

The first twenty Africans to arrive in Jamestown, Virginia in 1619 were eventually traded by the Dutch for food and supplies. A point worth noting, the first twenty Africans were not identified as legal property(slave). The former Spanish owners had baptized and given each a Christian name. In fact, Africans worked as indentured servants for a specified time because English law disallowed the enslaving of Christians. Africans became landowners and were of equal standing with the poor English Pilgrims. However, by 1640, Virginia court documents started displaying verdicts for a life of servitude. These were verdicts given to runaway indentured servants. African indentured servants to be exact. Between 1661 and 1662, a child’s status in the colonial United States depended on whether the mother was free or a slave.

The fear of rebellion is what gave the colonies the idea to pass a chain of laws that restricted many of the slave’s rights. Each colony had a diverge set of ideas about the rights of the slaves. There were some similar aspects in the slave codes across the land where slavery was the most frequent. Slaves were legally considered property, which did not give them the option to own land. If there was no presence of a white person, slaves were not allowed to congregate. Any slave that lived off the plantation had to follow the special curfew or there would be severe consequences. In the chance that a slave was in court being accused of any criminal act towards a white person, the slave would have no chance to testify. Slaves were always absent in the jury. Slave codes had many destructive effects on the lives of African Americans. It was illegal to teach a slave how to read and write. Many white Christians tried to educate slaves on how to read the Bible; however, those same people did not approve of marriage between the slaves. This way it made it easier to sell a member of the family to another owner without causing strife between the owner and slaves. These laws set the foundation for a law called the Barbados Slave code of 1661.

treatment was different for servants and slaves. Being black meant being treated differently then others. a 1639 virginia law allowed for everyone except negroes to have arms and ammunition. This meant that an indentured servant who was sold and forced to do labor had this right whereas slaves did not. Indentured servants suffered because of all the diseases the ship contained and because the horrible quality of food and water. Servants had a tiny toom that was 6 feet in length and two feet wide. besides food rationing servants had

The North Carolina Slave Code of 1715, was a law that defined the status of a slave and the rights and responsibilities of slave owners. Slaves were required to carry a ticket from their owner whenever they left the plantation. The ticket stated where they were traveling and for what reason. The law

Slave Codes were laws that were set upon the black slaves in the seventeenth century.

Virginia has differences and similarities when it comes to slave narratives. To explain further Virginia was the first in English history to become the royal colony. However, this is why the details and experiences that these ex-slaves gave in describing the institution of slavery and the practice of slavery were tremendously important the English kings that were always occupied. Virginia House in the late 1630 's was highly recognized. Sir William Berkeley became governor in 1941, the colony was well established and extended on this. European settlers had come on legal contracts as servants, but many of them became working as freemen and farmers. There were 250 Africans that came on board to work and were also slaves. They all were in with the merchant class the had families in Virginia but was solely controlled by the government. However, white males mostly had legal rights to owning properties in colonial periods and they were qualified to vote. The white settlers had their own religious beliefs, they were Anglicans, while the early settlers that were based in New York were either Puritans, Quakers, Protestants, or Lutheran and also Morgans. The England civil war was introduced by Anglicans and support that looked up to Charles I, also many of them came to Virginia to settle. The crowning in 1652, was sent by Oliver Cromwell to the Puritan Common well-being so that foreigners would engaged in free trades. In 1660, Virginia practically became independent

They could not rebel without repercussions and could not betray or leave their owner. They had free labor that could not go anywhere; slavery was a huge benefit and was like a dream for a plantation owner. They were essential to production and cultivation of crops and plantations. By 1700, slavery was existent in all of the colonies. The House of Burgesses realized that slaves were an extremely important part of the labor force and therefore, to the economy. A new slave code was enacted in 1705 stating that slaves were property of their owners and to the white community. Slaves were the legal responsibility of the master and if they started to rebel it was the master’s obligation to keep them in line.