In the English colonies, slavery began more as indentured servant hood in 1619. Many of the earliest slaves eventually earned their freedom. Some of them were able to own land and a few actually became slave owners themselves. After a few decades, slave owners realized the lost profits that were occurring and changed the system into one of permanent service. The codes of the slave population were written by the British government and local authorities and enforced by the local officials and primarily the landowners. There was no protection for the slave property, so owners were able to do as they seemed fit with their property, as slaves were not considered to be people nor did they receive any protections under the law. There was little available labor in the colonies and the main resource, agriculture, required a great amount of labor. Therefore, the slave industry became a valuable commodity .
The first colony to establish a comprehensive slave code was Virginia in 1705. This was the first time that slaves were deemed real estate in writing. If any slave or any person of color assaulted a white person, the sentence was to be “thirty lashes” or whips with a leather leash. Slaves were also not allowed to have arms or to move without permission under this statute. Slave owners were also declared to be acquitted of punishment if a slave were to be killed when being disciplined .
The French Noir, or the Black Code, was pronounced in 1685 by King Louis XIV. The original document expels all people that practice the Jewish faith from the colonies. The Jewish people are also forbidden to own property or own slaves. Only those of Roman Catholic descent are allowed slave ownership in the colonies and were expected to convert and baptize their slaves to follow the Catholic faith as well. A master had all and absolute power over his slaves. This was granted by royal authority and enforced by local authority in the colonies and on the islands controlled by the French. Slave masters were declared to have absolute rule over their slaves and were allowed to demonstrate that control in any manner that was pleasing to them.
The details of the routine lives of the slaves were also more clearly defined in the French Code of Noir. Sundays and Catholic holidays were to be used as days of rest and work was forbidden for the master, his family, any subjects, and the slaves and their families. There was also to be no market or exchange of products on these holy days. Confiscation of goods by the government would be used as punishment if caught.
The French government also insisted that the only valid marriage contracts were between Catholics. Children of a marriage that was not between two Catholics were deemed as bastards. Free men were also fined if they fathered children with their slaves, unless they were married, were to be punished two thousand pounds of sugar per child. The slave and the child would also be removed from the master’s land and sent to work in a hospital without the possibility of freedom. Priests were also not allowed to marry two slaves if the master did not approve. Masters were not allowed to force slaves to marry. It was considered beneficial for slaves to marry, however, as the children that would be produced would add to the master’s future labor pool. If the slaves had different masters, the children would belong to the female master. If a male slave entered into a marriage contract with a free woman the children are also considered to be free.
The same restrictions as the British also existed forbidding slaves from carrying weapons and allowing whipping as punishment. Slaves from different masters were also forbidden to gather for fear of rebellion .
In both instances, slaves were property as defined by the mother country. The French were much more specific about the allowances for their slaves whereas the British focused on punishments. In both instances the emphasis was on control and fear that if there were mass gatherings, there would be a revolt. Slavery was deemed necessary in the demanding physically intensive labor market of the agriculture industry in the Atlantic World as the mother counties demanded high profits and were not willing to pay wages in order to achieve goods.
References
n.a. (2010.). Slavery in the colonial world. Retrieved from Slavery in the Colonies: http://www.academicamerican.com/colonial/topics/slavery.htm
n.a. (2013). Virginia Slave Code. Retrieved from The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History: http://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/origins-slavery/timeline-terms/virginia-slave-code
n.a. (n.d.). The code noir (The black code). Retrieved from Liberty, Equality, Fraternity: Exploring the French Revolution: http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/335/
