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    Running Head: SLAVERY 1

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    Roman -
    Slavery existed in Africa before European slave traders arrived, though it took different forms than what developed in the Americas. In Africa, slavery was usually due to debt, crime, or war, and slaves had some rights and potential for freedom. However, the introduction of chattel slavery, which treated humans as property that could be bought and sold, changed the system. Initially in Virginia, African slaves arrived as indentured servants with potential for freedom, but laws increasingly restricted rights for slaves and expanded owner control over the course of the 17th century. By 1705, Virginia had firmly established the slave system that defined slaves as property without rights or legal protections.

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    Running Head: SLAVERY 1

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    50 views5 pages
    Slavery existed in Africa before European slave traders arrived, though it took different forms than what developed in the Americas. In Africa, slavery was usually due to debt, crime, or war, and slaves had some rights and potential for freedom. However, the introduction of chattel slavery, which treated humans as property that could be bought and sold, changed the system. Initially in Virginia, African slaves arrived as indentured servants with potential for freedom, but laws increasingly restricted rights for slaves and expanded owner control over the course of the 17th century. By 1705, Virginia had firmly established the slave system that defined slaves as property without rights or legal protections.

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    Slavery Experience

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    Slavery Experience

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    Slavery existed in Africa before European slave traders arrived, though it took different forms than what developed in the Americas. In Africa, slavery was usually due to debt, crime, or war, and slaves had some rights and potential for freedom. However, the introduction of chattel slavery, which treated humans as property that could be bought and sold, changed the system. Initially in Virginia, African slaves arrived as indentured servants with potential for freedom, but laws increasingly restricted rights for slaves and expanded owner control over the course of the 17th century. By 1705, Virginia had firmly established the slave system that defined slaves as property without rights or legal protections.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    50 views5 pages

    Running Head: SLAVERY 1

    Uploaded by

    Roman -
    Slavery existed in Africa before European slave traders arrived, though it took different forms than what developed in the Americas. In Africa, slavery was usually due to debt, crime, or war, and slaves had some rights and potential for freedom. However, the introduction of chattel slavery, which treated humans as property that could be bought and sold, changed the system. Initially in Virginia, African slaves arrived as indentured servants with potential for freedom, but laws increasingly restricted rights for slaves and expanded owner control over the course of the 17th century. By 1705, Virginia had firmly established the slave system that defined slaves as property without rights or legal protections.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 5

    Running head: SLAVERY 1

    Slavery

    Student’s Name

    Institutional Affiliation
    SLAVERY 2

    Slavery

    Slavery existed in Africa long before the arrival of European slave traders although

    its form was different. Slavery in Africa was usually the result of debt, criminal activity, or

    war crimes. Slaves from other clans and regions were adopted into the tribe with a variety of

    rights with the only limitation being their freedom of movement. They would often form

    complex relationships with their captors and had the chance of gaining their freedom after a

    specified duration. Olaudah Equiano, a former slave who reminisced of African slaves ‘well

    fed and treated well’ and who might own their slaves over time (Allison, 2016). In some

    communities, slaves also worked in government administration and might even gain wide

    ranging powers. Africans often kidnapped people outside their own particular ethnic, or

    cultural, group but on a small scale to supply the local needs. However, this changed with the

    introduction of Chattel slavery which involves assigning property rights to people where they

    can be purchased and sold at will for life durations.

    Initially, African slaves were exported to the American plantations under indentured

    contracts which gave them a chance to regain their freedom. Indentured servants agreed to

    work for a specified number of years in exchange for transportation to America and food and

    shelter once they arrived. African and European indentured servants were treated mostly the

    same under the law and in the plantations although the particular living conditions and duties

    depended on the master’s wealth. However, the state and federal regulations were adapted

    over time to facilitate increasing rights to the slave owners and decreased civil and social

    rights for the slaves. The period of service usually ranged from four to seven years although

    some plantation owners would exploit children for much longer (Prager, 2016). However,

    chattel slavery involved lifetime ownership of a slave which also bequeathed the masters

    power over life and death.


    SLAVERY 3

    The rules governing slave ownership varied from state to state although Virginia was

    the first to legally acknowledge slavery with a 1661 ordainment. The next year, two

    additional laws were passed specifically targeting indentured women and their children who

    would now be born into slavery with no chance of redemption. Furthermore, such women

    could be punished with continued indentured servitude of up to two years if they had

    illegitimate children with their masters. While both whites and blacks had traditionally traced

    their lineage through their fathers, Act XII mandated that “all negro children would serve

    according to the condition of the mother” which would give plantation owners additional life

    time value from slave purchase while absolving them responsibility from illegitimate children

    (Brown, 2012). However, this provision was later repealed to close the evident loophole

    where children born of a free mother and slave father were technically free. The amendment

    stated that a free white woman who had a bastard child by a Negro or mulatto man had to pay

    fifteen pounds sterling within one month of the birth (Brown, 2012). If she could not pay, she

    would become an indentured servant for five years. Whether or not the fine was paid,

    however, the child would be bound in service for thirty years.

    The final veneer of civility came in 1705 when the Viriginia General Assembly

    confirmed their support of the changing slavery and servitude paradigm. Under the new rules,

    all servants imported and brought into the Country...who were not Christians in their native

    Country...shall be accounted and be slaves.” These included Asians, Indians, and Mexicans

    coming into the country. Slaves who attempted to flee or correct their masters were punished

    severely to discourage others. Since these slaves did not have property rights and could not

    pay fines, they were assigned harsh physical punishments for small errors. They would

    require permission from their masters to leave the plantations, those charged with rape or

    murder would be hanged, robbing and other charges were assigned sixty lashes and
    SLAVERY 4

    placement in stocks, where his or her ears would be cut off, and that for minor offences, such

    as associating with whites, slaves would be whipped, branded, or maimed (Brown, 2012).

    These excesses have been documented extensively in the diaries and journals of slave owners

    who justified their proclivities through a paternalistic worldview that perceived non-white

    races as inferior.

    In early Virginia, disputes with a master could be adjudicated by a public court to

    provide an objective judgment. However, with the slave codes of 1705, these provisions

    changed as a slave owner who sought to break the most rebellious of slaves could now inflict

    any punishment including death with no fear of repercussions from the law. Furthermore, the

    changing rules over time ensured that plantation owners who purchased more slaves initially

    had better chances of building and retaining their wealth. Moreover, owners became free to

    punish their slaves as they saw fit with no judiciary or legal intervention. This was in stark

    contrast to the African form of slavery which had assigned slaves civil and political rights

    with the only deficiency being a freedom of movement.


    SLAVERY 5

    References

    Allison, R. J. (2016). Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano: Written by

    Himself. Macmillan Higher Education.

    Brown, K. M. (2012). Good wives, nasty wenches, and anxious patriarchs: Gender, race, and

    power in colonial Virginia. The University of North Carolina Press.

    Prager, S. (2016). Book Review: Alan Taylor. American Revolutions: A Continental History,

    1750-1804. NY: WW Norton and Company, 2016. Saber and Scroll, 5(4), 8.

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