Tuesday, April 12, 2022

From Wikipedia: An act concerning Servants and Slaves

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The Virginia Slave Codes of 1705 (formally entitled An act concerning Servants and Slaves), was a series of laws enacted by the Colony of Virginia's House of Burgesses in 1705 regulating the interactions between slaves and citizens of the crown colony of Virginia. The enactment of the Slave Codes is considered to be the consolidation of slavery in Virginia, and served as the foundation of Virginia's slave legislation.

- These codes effectively embedded the idea of slavery into law by the following devices:
- Established new property rights for slave owners
- Allowed for the legal, free trade of slaves with protections granted by the courts
- Established separate courts of trial
- Prohibited slaves from going armed, without written permission
- Whites could not be employed by any blacks
- Allowed for the apprehension of suspected runaways