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Slavery in British North America to 1775

Slavery in British North America to 1775. 17 th Century. Virginia timeline 1619: first Africans/first colonial legislature 1640: runaway case employs racial differential 1663: slavery inheritable 1676: Bacon’s Rebellion

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Slavery in British North America to 1775

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  1. Slavery in British North America to 1775

  2. 17th Century • Virginia timeline • 1619: first Africans/first colonial legislature • 1640: runaway case employs racial differential • 1663: slavery inheritable • 1676: Bacon’s Rebellion • 1680: Royal African Company (founded 1672) makes deliveries of 5000 per year • 1682: all Black servants are slaves for life • 1691: Manumission restricted; miscegenation outlawed • 1705: slaves legally equivalent to real estate

  3. Other 17th century developments • Massachusetts recognizes the legality of slavery in 1641 • 1691: South Carolina passes slave code drawn on Barbados model. Rice cultivation creates instant demand for African laborers • 1698: Royal African Company monopoly expires, allowing New England merchants to enter the slave trade. • By 1700, all colonies (even Pennsylvania) have slaves. • New York has 10% slave pop • Rhode Island has about 10%

  4. 18th century • Two models: • A Slave Society: the economy and social structures dependent on slavery. • By 1708, Blacks outnumber whites in South Carolina • Tidewater counties in Virginia have 40% Black pop. • A Society with Slaves: slaves are present, sometimes in significant numbers, but slave labor does not dominate economic productivity and slave ownership does not determine social status.

  5. 18th century law • Legal restrictions on African/African Americans abound, e.g., 1702New York passes An Act for Regulating Slaves. Among the prohibitions of this act are meetings of more than three slaves, trading by slaves, and testimony by slaves in court. 1703Massachusetts requires every master who liberates a slave to pay a bond of 50 pounds or more in case the freedman becomes a public charge. 1703Connecticut assigns the punishment of whipping to any slaves who disturb the peace or assault whites. 1703Rhode Island makes it illegal for blacks and Indians to walk at night without passes. 1705New York declares that punishment by execution will be applied to certain runaway slaves. 1705Massachusetts makes marriage and sexual relations between blacks and whites illegal. 1706New York declares blacks, Indians, and slaves who kill white people to be subject to the death penalty.

  6. more 1706Connecticut requires that Indians, mulattos, and black servants gain permission from their masters to engage in trade. 1708The Southern colonies require militia captains to enlist and train one slave for every white soldier. 1712New York forbids freed blacks, Indians, and mulatto slaves from owning real estate and holding property. 1712In Charleston, South Carolina, slaves are forbidden from hiring themselves out. 1715Rhode Island legalizes slavery.1715Maryland declares all slaves entering the province and their descendants to be slaves for life. 1717New York enacts a fugitive slave law.1723Virginia outlaws manumission.

  7. Keys • American slavery linked to liberty (freedom to own property) of white men • American slavery defined by race • American slavery was a dynamic system, evolving its legal structure in response to changing conditions • Slave imports averaged several thousand per year • Natural increase: by 1770 half of the slave population in America was native born.

  8. Resistance • Work slowdown and/or sabotage • Runaways • Rebellion • 1739 Stono (efforts to limit African importation) • 1741 New York (A real conspiracy?)

  9. Demographics • Imports of Africans, to • America: 7% • Brazil: 36% • Caribbean: 40% • Spanish Americas: 17% • America in 1775: 20% of total population of 2.5 million were slaves

  10. Age of Revolution • Language of Liberty • 1770: Crispus Attucks • 1775: Washington bans Africans • 1775: Lord Dunmore

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