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Laws of Enslavement and Freedom in the Anglo-Atlantic World

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Locations

Caribbean

Anguilla
Antigua
Bahamas
Barbados
Berbice
Bermuda
British Honduras (Belize)
Demerara
Dominica
Grenada
Jamaica
Leeward Islands
Montserrat
Nevis
St. Christopher
St. Lucia
St. Vincent
Tobago
Trinidad

Greater Atlantic World

Cape of Good Hope
Mauritius

North America

Connecticut
Delaware
Georgia
Maryland
Massachusetts
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
North Carolina
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Prince Edward Island
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Virginia

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.

© 2021-2024 by Stefanie Hunt-Kennedy is licensed under CC BY 4.0