Barbados Slave Code Of Dominos Essay

The conditions for slaves in the 1730’s were abhorrent. Slaves were not seen as people and had little to no basic human rights. The Africans brought in for slavery were treated like cattle, and were herded towards farms and plantations where they would spend the rest of their days working for their owners. Slaves could not travel, meet in groups, grow their own food, or hunt game. If they wanted to participate in any of these activities they had to do them in secret. The slaves became tired of being mistreated by the white southern slave owners, which eventually led them to start uprisings and rebellions like the Stono Rebellion.

However, this idea also help the Puritan community to expand, which led the Great Awakening, a religious revival movement among Protestant Christians who were reacting to a number of religious conditions in the colonies (Doc. 4). Furthermore, the colonists made a separate identity by establishing a law that against the slaves and Indians as people who could not achieve liberty. The New Jersey government were one of the first few to enact with this law as they believe the status between slaves and their slave masters were remarkably difference. Therefore, they created slaves codes which were state laws passed to determine the status of slaves and the rights of their owners. These codes placed harsh restrictions on slaves which limited their freedom, and gave slaveowners absolute power over their slaves. On the other hand, some slaves were given an education in some states such as Maryland where it was not illegal to teach a slave how to read or write (Doc.

Defining Slavery was an essential part of governing the slave economy. The black codes were important in determining what constituted felonies amongst slaves and slave owners (2). If a slave were to defend itself against a white in any way, shape or form. These laws were important in governing the highly controversial society.

But life in North America for Africans would see a dramatic shift as the laws and rules progressed. Slave codes were laws that basically took away all rights of Africans living in North America. This would serve as a permanent handicap for Africans for almost two centuries. Then the colonist took a dramatic horrible step used in the states as well as the colonies. Dehumanizing. This would be the greatest contributor of racism in the United States. This Law passed in Virginia in 1705, would allow English Colonist to treat Africans as property, disregard their feelings or wellbeing, and deny them of basic human rights. And these practices would carry over well into the 20th century.

The origins and development of slavery within Britain’s North American colonies in the period 1607 to 1776 was majorly in part by the English need for economic power. England had just arose as the strongest naval of the North Atlantic had they had to keep their high standing in the world. Bacon’s Rebellion, the profit received by cash crops, and the ability to easily purchase slaves through trade highly boosted Britain’s economy. The colonists within the British colony kept through economic standing and power by making themselves higher than any other through slavery.

Former slaves were not allowed any weapons or access to the town, among other things. The codes stretched the law enough so that African-Americans were even forced to be “in the service of some white person or former owner”, and could not do many things without their express permission. (Document B) These laws were put into place by white men, dependent on the African-American’s continued labor for their farms and plantations to thrive. As the slave trade had greatly enhanced the economy of the South, white landowners were not eager to give up the majority of their workforce. Although legally, former slaves were considered free, the black codes forced them to stay in place and obey unfair laws. Without the word slavery ever mentioned, the black codes represented much of the South’s attitude towards African-Americans, destroying their personal rights as

Middle Colonies had codes that advanced slave industry which denied African slaves from basic rights. There were laws particularly for African Americans for instance, in New York, slaves couldn't show up in the city after dark without a lit light. Larger

The South Carolina pre-revolutionary Stono Rebellion led to many different forms of reactions from the people in colonial South Carolina. It can be characterized as that of a further dark future for the slaves, while creating more fear and discontent for the white citizens of the area. The revolts output created attitudes that led to the American revolution for whites, while creating the harsh and negative attitudes displayed toward blacks which we still see today. The repercussions created a greater sense of fear for Africans among the white population in Southeastern North America, one which necessitated a means for controlling what they believed to be a dangerous people. The revolt also showed the whites sense for blaming others for the uprising among the slaves, as multiple Spanish men are claimed to have incited the slaves to rise up and kill to gain their freedom in Florida.

After the slaves surrendered, the remaining members of the slaves that rebelled were hung for their crimes. These slaves were made an example to all other slaves, making them not even want to attempt to rebel in the future. This rebellion led to much harsher slave codes that were enforced in the colony. It also restricted the slaves so much that it meant that they could not go anywhere without their owners permission at any time. “The Negro Act of 1740 was passed which prohibited enslaved people from growing their own food, assembling in groups, earning money they, rather than their owners, could retain or learning to read.” (The Black Past.org)

In contrast to the other three colonies discussed, the institution of slavery in South Carolina was initiated, legalized, and maintained for distinct reasons; the founders of the colony felt that slavery was absolutely necessary for economic prosperity and their unwavering urge to protect the institution at all costs contributed towards the severity of the slave-enforcement acts and codes. By looking at the legislation passed in South Carolina, one can grasp the extent to which slaves were legally stripped of every right imaginable, suffered barbarous treatment, and were attempted to be rendered psychologically and physically powerless--all because of the deep-seated fear of the enslaved population that was instilled within white slave owners and law-makers. In South Carolina, slavery was a horrendous business that was never questioned ethically or legally. The white settlers coming from Barbados--who had already been involved in the slave trade for years--migrated to South Carolina equipped with slaves already accustomed to difficult climate conditions (similar to South Carolina), which made them more pleasurable to slave owners expecting a strong work force. Another unique aspect to South Carolina was the overwhelming black majority in the colony for it is true that, “by 1708, less than twenty years after the decision to move from white indentured labor to black slave labor, the number of blacks in the colony exceeded whites,” (Higginbotham, 1978, pg. 152). Due to the

In the early 18th century, South Carolina experienced a boom in their rice industry. This caused a shift from a frontier to a plantation economy, affecting the quality of life of slaves. Their tasks switched from farming, hunting, fishing, and raising cattle, to being trapped in the rice fields. The slaves felt much resent for this extremely difficult, straining work. In the 1730s, there was an outbreak of many slave conspiracies in the West Indies, especially in the Bahamas and Antigua. Furthermore, many runaway slaves from South Carolina had made their way down to Florida, where Spain offered them freedom. This inspired slaves to fight for their freedom. As a result of the Stono Rebellion, slaveowners came to fear their slaves and the threat of future uprisings. Because of this fear, The Slave Code of South Carolina of 1740 was created. This code greatly limited rights of the slaves living in the region.

Gradually, over the seventeenth century, laws were passed to institutionalize the practice, usually by articulating divisions between blacks and whites. By keeping the two racial groups socially apart, lawmakers were able to firmly put slavery into place. In 1640, Virginia gave everyone the right to bear arms except “negroes”, as it was too risky to arm slaves (Williams, 26). The same year, the court in Virginia outlined the ways in which black people were to be treated. In one example, where three indentured servants escaped together from their master, two of which who were white (Victor and Gregory) and the other black (Punch), Punch received a much harsher punishment of being locked into servitude while Victor and Gregory were only given four extra years of service. The court made it clear that this harsher sentence was given to Punch simply because he was black (Williams, 27). Later in 1662, Virginia passed a law making slavery hereditary and declaring that the status passed through the mother (Williams, 28). So a child of a white man and a black woman could be claimed a slave by the owner of the mother, however a child of a black man and a white woman would immediately be free. It’s important to note that interracial sex in and of itself was looked down upon and made illegal. It was considered a “dishonor of God” and the colony disapproved of interracial

Despite the black codes had provided rights such as the marriage legalization and the ownership of property, they violated the free labor principle and denied the African-Americans the right to vote, and sue any white man. Foner (2014) found “In response to planter’s demands that freed people be required to work on the plantations, the Black Codes declared that those who failed to sign yearly labor contracts could be arrested and hired out to white landowners” (p. 570) . In fact, it was a totally failure of what freedom was supposed to be.

The beginning of slavery in the Caribbean can be traced back to the emergence of piracy in the 16th and 17th centuries. This eventually led to the promotion of slave trading and sugar plantations. While enslaved on the sugar plantations, slaves were treated very poorly. Plantation owners treated their slaves so poorly that most were undernourished and diseased. Slaves were even forced to work on their "spare" time to provide for their own needs. Needless to say, slaves encountered cruel punishment that we can’t even comprehend. The slaves however, continually resisted white supremacy causing much tension between the two social classes. Despite this, a new social class was emerging, the free coloureds. This

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.