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Laws of Enslavement and Freedom in the Anglo-Atlantic World

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  1. Laws

Year Range

Location

  • Caribbean (52)
  • Jamaica (11)
  • Barbados (6)
  • Montserrat (6)
  • Bermuda (5)
  • Dominica (5)
  • Bahamas (4)
  • St. Christopher (4)
  • Grenada (3)
  • Nevis (2)
  • St. Vincent (2)
  • Tobago (2)
  • Antigua (1)
  • St. Lucia (1)
  • North America (4)
  • North Carolina (2)
  • Maryland (1)
  • South Carolina (1)

Tags

  • (-) Theft (56)
  • Fines (42)
  • Corporal punishment (39)
  • Whipping (39)
  • Jail/confinement (37)
  • Provost Marshall (31)
  • Capital Offense (30)
  • Felony (30)
  • Running away (26)
  • Tickets (25)
  • Arson (24)
  • Murder (24)
  • Killing of an Enslaved Person (23)
  • Buying and selling goods (21)
  • Rebellion/Conspiracy (20)
  • Weapons (19)
  • Holidays (17)
  • Without benefit of clergy (17)
  • Livestock (16)
  • Religion (16)
  • Age of Enslaved People (15)
  • Dismemberment/Loss of Limb (15)
  • Harming or threatening whites (15)
  • Jury (15)
  • Manumission (15)
  • Free People of Colour (14)
  • Health of Enslaved People (14)
  • Intoxication (14)
  • Mutilation (14)
  • Reward (14)
  • Take Up/Custody of Enslaved (14)
  • Testimony of enslaved people (14)
  • Baptism (13)
  • Selling/Trading with Enslaved (13)
  • Provision Grounds (12)
  • Transportation (12)
  • Aged/Elderly Bondspeople (11)
  • Indigenous persons (11)
  • Advertisements (10)
  • Perjury (10)
  • Poison (10)
  • Children, Enslaved (9)
  • Shackles/iron (9)
  • Sickness (9)
  • Taxes and Duties (9)
  • Cage (8)
  • Marriage (8)
  • Branding (7)
  • Absenteeism (6)
  • Clandestine meetings (6)
  • Obeah (6)
  • White Servants (5)
  • Workhouse (5)
  • Nose Slit (4)
  • Owning property (4)
  • Poverty (4)
  • Pregnant Bondswomen (3)
  • Armed conflict (2)
  • Curfew (2)
  • Drivers (2)
  • Education (2)
  • Jewish People (2)
  • Real Estate (2)
  • Foreigners (1)
  • Hospital (1)
  • Maroons (1)
  • Pro-natal policy (1)
  • Quakers (1)
  • Slave Trade (1)
  • Testimony of free people of colour (1)

Title Search

Search by title, location, year, tags, abstract, or combination, i.e. Jamaica 1744. View all tags.
You can also run a fulltext search.
Displaying 51 - 56 of 56
Title Year Location
An Act to Ameliorate the condition of Slaves and Free Persons of Colour. 1827 Bermuda
An Act for further improving the condition of the Slave Population in the Island of St. Christopher. 1828 St. Christopher
An Act for the Abolition of the present Court of King’s Bench and Grand Sessions; to substitute a Court of King’s Bench in lieu thereof; and to extend to Slaves the benefit of Trial therein, in cases of a higher nature than Misdemeanors. 1829 Tobago
An Act to amend, consolidate and bring into one Act, the several Laws relating to Slaves, and for giving them further protection and security, and for suspending several Acts and Clauses of Acts therein mentioned, and for other purposes. 1829 Bahamas
Second Supplementary Ordinance to His Majesty’s Order in Council, establishing a Consolidated Slave Law. 1830 St. Lucia
An Act to consolidate and amend the Laws relating to Slaves. 1831 Dominica
Displaying 51 - 56 of 56

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We acknowledge the affective toll this website and the historical records it describes may have on readers. The laws governing slavery and freedom in the Atlantic World reflect the historical period in which they were written and contain content and language that is racist, sexist, ableist, and otherwise discriminatory and may be upsetting to readers. The laws contained in this website were written by white lawmakers, many of whom were themselves slaveholders; the voices of the enslaved are not reflected in this archive. However, many of the laws were written in direct response to enslaved people's resistance and their refusal to accept the terms of their bondage. In this way, enslaved people's volition, resistances, survival, and resiliency are apparent in these laws and the laws can be analyzed in a manner that centre enslaved people. This digital archive has been constructed to preserve the historical record for future use and to encourage scholarship on slavery legislation.

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