1606
First Charter of Virginia
XV above reads: Also we do, for us, our heirs, and successors, declare, by these presents, that all and every the persons, being our subjects, which shall dwell and inhabit within every or any of the said several colonies and plantations, and every of their children, which shall happen to be born within any of the limits and precincts of the said several colonies and plantations, shall have and enjoy all liberties, franchises, and immunities, within any of our other dominions, to all intents and purposes, as if they had been abiding and born, within this our realm of England, or any other of our said dominions.
King James I’s charter granting the establishment of the Virginia Colony in 1606 ensured that the colony would be governed by English rule of law and uphold the principles enshrined in the Magna Carta. This charter not only laid the legal framework for governance in the New World but also conferred upon the colony’s inhabitants the status of British subjects, thus extending to them all legal rights and privileges associated with being an Englishman. As a result, those born in Virginia were granted the same legal protections and civic rights as their counterparts in England, reinforcing the colony’s integration into the British legal and political system.
1609
Second Charter of Virginia
Second Charter of Virginia granted.
1610
Half Moon Arrives
Henry Hudson’s ship, the Half Moon arrives in the “New World” mostly likely carrying African slaves.
1611
The Tempest Performed
William Shakespeare’s play The Tempest first performed. The play includes the figures of Caliban and Ariel, both enslaved.
Virginia's Third Charter
Third Charter of Virginia granted.
1612
Jamestown's First Tobacco Crop
The first commercial tobacco crop is raised in Jamestown, Virginia.
1613
De Servis et Eorum apud Veteres Ministeriis
Lorenzo Pignoria publishes De Servis et Eorum apud Veteres Ministeriis, a history of slavery in classical Rome.
1614
Bermuda Colony
Bermuda colony becomes an English Crown possession.
Netherlands Grants General Charter
Netherlands granted a general charter to those who discover any new passages, havens, countries, or places.
1616
The 1620 Census
In 1616, Africans in the West Indies, specifically in Bermuda, were instrumental in the cultivation of tobacco, bringing their expertise to enhance agricultural practices on the island. Their knowledge and skills were critical in developing the tobacco industry, which became a key economic driver for Bermuda. This contribution highlights the significant but often under-recognized role that Africans played in shaping early colonial economies. Contrary to the singular focus on 1619 as the pivotal moment of African arrival and influence in America, Africans had already been making impactful contributions to agriculture and other sectors in the New World well before and after this date. Their involvement in Bermuda exemplifies their integral role in the development of early American colonies and challenges the simplified narratives of their history.
1617
Slaves in Bermuda
First records of slaves in Bermuda.
1619
Indentured Servants Brought to Old Point Comfort, Virginia
In 1619, the first nineteen Africans arrived at Point Comfort, Virginia, in British America. Initially, these Africans were classified as indentured servants under the colonial legal framework. According to the prevailing laws, their servitude was bound by a set period, after which they were to be granted their freedom and the status of British subjects. This legal status extended to their children, who were born with the rights and privileges of Englishmen. This early system of indentured servitude, which was initially designed to integrate Africans into the legal and social structure of the colony, would later evolve into more restrictive and permanent forms of servitude and slavery, marking a significant shift in the treatment and status of Africans in the American colonies.
Portuguese Slave Ship Attacked
A Portuguese slave ship sailing from Angola to Veracruz, Mexico was attacked by a Dutch man-of-war and an English ship out of Jamestown. The two attacking ships captured about 50 enslaved persons—men, women, and children—and brought them to outposts of Jamestown, where more than 20 of the African captives were purchased.
Yeardley and Piersey Buy Slaves
Governor George Yeardley, with his head of trade Abraham Piersey, bought 20 odd Negroes at Point Comfort, Virginia.
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1620
The 1620 Census
A census was made in March of 1620. The overall population was around 2,302. Current and former indentured servants made up as much as 80% of the population in Virginia.
The census recorded 32 Africans living in Virginia, all of whom could have arrived on the White Lion and the Treasurer.
There is no record of any other Africans arriving in the colony between September 1619 and March 1620.
1624
First Freeborn Afro-Englishman is Born
William Tucker, son of African Anthony Johnson is the first recorded Afro-Englishman born in Virginia. He is a freeborn Englishman by law.
Virginia Colonial Charter Revoked
Virginia’s colonial charter is revoked. Virginia becomes a royal colony. Virginia’s legislative assembly is bicameral. All colonial statutes requires the assent of the King. Colonial government is answerable to the monarch’s privy council whose then answerable to His Majesty’s Court of the King’s Bench.
1627
Alonso de Sandoval publishes Naturaleza, Policia
Alonso de Sandoval, a Spanish-Peruvian Jesuit, publishes Naturaleza, Policia, … Costumbres i Ritos, Disciplina, i Catechismo Evangelico de todos Etíopes (The Nature, Policy, … Customs and Rituals, Disciplines, and Gospel Catechism of all Ethiopians), which argues that slavery combines all the world’s evils.
Colony on Barbados at Jamestown Founded
80 British settlers and 10 African slaves found a colony on Barbados at Jamestown (modern Holetown).
1632
Maryland Granted Charter
The colony of Maryland is granted a charter. The colony has no plenary authority or power. Maryland’s legislative assembly is bicameral and colonial statutes require the assent of the King. Colonial government is answerable to the monarch’s privy council whose then answerable to His Majesty’s Court of the King’s Bench.
Montserrat Falls Under English Control
Montserrat, originally claimed by Christopher Columbus for Spain in 1493, falls under English control.
1636
First American Slave Carrier Launches
Colonial North America’s slave trade begins when the first American slave carrier, Desire, is built and launched in Massachusetts.
1638
New England Slave Trade Begins
The New England slave trade begins in Boston. They did not have the same level of demand for slave labor as the southern colonies. But slavery was robust, as ships in Boston harbor sailed kidnapped Africans to sugar plantations throughout the Caribbean.
1639
Black Colonists Excluded from the Requirement to Bear Arms
Virginia’s colonial assembly… House of Burgesses enacts a colonial statute excluding black colonists from the requirement of possessing arms.
1640
Africans Exempted from Gun Ownership
In 1640, the Virginia legislative assembly enacted a law that excluded Africans, who were enslaved, from the requirement to possess arms. This law reflected the growing legal and social distinctions between European settlers and Africans, reinforcing the legal framework of racial segregation and control. By exempting Africans from the requirement to possess weapons, the law further entrenched the social and racial hierarchies that were emerging in colonial Virginia. This legal exclusion highlighted the increasing restrictions placed on Africans and their evolving status within the colonial society.
John Punch Sentenced to Slavery
Virginia’s General Court enters a life-time sentence for John Punch, an African… a run-away indentured servant. The court proceedings reveal an example of interracial cooperation among servants at a time when the colony leaders were starting to create legal difference between Europeans and Africans. Punch becomes first African sentenced to slavery for life by law in Virginia.
1641
Massachusetts Recognizes Slavery as Legal
Massachusetts became the first North American colony to recognize slavery as a legal institution.
1642
The English Civil Wars Begin
The English Civil Wars (1642-1651) begins. The First English Civil War was fought in England and Wales, from August 1642 to June 1646. The war began when King Charles I of England sent soldiers to arrest five members of Parliament accused of treason, leading to Parliament raising its own armies against the King. It forms one of the conflicts known collectively as Wars of the Three Kingdoms, which also took place in Scotland and Ireland.
Virginia Makes it Illegal to Assist Slaves
Virginia law makes it illegal to assist escaping slaves.
1643
Confederation of Plymouth Adopts Fugitive Slave Law
The New England Confederation of Plymouth, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Haven adopts a fugitive slave law.
1644
11 Enslaved People Petition the Government
A group of 11 enslaved people in New Amsterdam (modern-day New York) successfully petition the government there in what is the first group manumission in a North American colony.
1649
England's Monarchy is Overthrown
England’s parliament passed an act abolishing monarchy and the House of Lords led by Oliver Cromwell. The England’s monarch is overthrown and suspended, while King Charles I is beheaded for treason. England becomes a republic or a Commonwealth with a central supreme government which holds the authority over and makes the decisions for subordinate local governments. However, the execution of the King caused the Scottish parliament to snub the newly formed Commonwealth south of the border. They declared the exiled Charles King of Great Britain and he improved his bargaining position by successfully encouraging the Royalist champion, the Earl of Montrose to come out of exile and raise a force once more.
1650
Connecticut Legalizes Slavery
Connecticut legalizes slavery.
1651
England's Monarchy is Suspended
Oliver Cromwell shattered the remaining Royalist forces and ended the War of the Three Kingdoms. England’s monarchy is suspended.
Navigation Act Requires Colonies to Pay Duties
The Navigation Act required the colonies to pay duties on all exports and that goods must be transported on English ships and have English crews before continuing to a foreign harbor.
First Recorded Blacks to Own Land
Anthony and Mary Johnson, first recorded blacks to own land in America, receives 250 acres of land in Northampton County on Virginia’s Eastern Shore.
Rhode Island Restricts Slavery
Rhode Island passes laws restricting slavery and forbidding enslavement for more than 10 years.
Slaves Imported to Montserrat
First written mention of slaves being imported into Montserrat.
1652
Massachusetts Requires Servant Military Training
Massachusetts requires all black and Indian servants to receive military training.
1653
England's Monarchy is Suspended
Oliver Cromwell had expected the Parliament to take advantage of the suspension of the monarchy… but it had distrust towards the growing power of the Army and was primarily concerned with legislation ensuring its own survival. And on April 20, 1653 Cromwell led an armed force into the Commons Chamber and forcibly dissolved the Parliament stating: “You have sat too long for any good you have been doing lately… in the name of God, go”.
1654
Blacks Granted Rights to Hold Slaves
A Virginia court grants blacks the right to hold slaves.
Cromwell Becomes Lord Protector
Cromwell became Lord Protector and ruled with a council, which drew up a new constitution called the Instrument of Government.
Cromwell Dissolves Council
Cromwell dissolves his council and sets up a new English parliament, Protectorate Parliament, which refused to accept the Instrument of Government, so it was dissolved.
Anthony Johnson Sues Robert Parker
Anthony Johnson, a black Englishman, sued Robert Parker, a white Englishman, over a black slave, John Casor in a colonial court and won. The court ruled Casor to be returned to Anthony Johnson to serve as a slave for life, and for Parker to pay all court costs.
Elizabeth Key Sues for Freedom
Elizabeth Key, who’s father was a white Englishwoman, sued for her freedom and that of her son, John, in colonial court and won their freedom.
1655
Elizabeth Key - Freedom Lawsuit
The freedom lawsuit of a mixed-race woman named Elizabeth Key in 1655 brought before a colonial court drove Virginia’s House of Burgesses, its legislative assembly to purport to enact a law that authorized slavery in the 1660s.
1656
Elizabeth Key is Granted Freedom
Virginia’s House of Burgesses overturns a lower court’s civil verdict and rules in favor of granting freedom to a mixed-race woman Elizabeth Key, along with her mixed-race infant son. The court proceeding is a formative moment in colonial Virginia, as the very concept of whiteness was emerging as a means of reinforcing existing power structures.
1657
Virginia Passes Fugitive Slave Law
Virginia passes a fugitive slave law.
Richard Ligon Publishes A True and Exact Historie of the Island of Barbadoes in London
Richard Ligon publishes A True and Exact Historie of the Island of Barbadoes in London. The book contained one of the first detailed descriptions of a British slave plantation, and gave rise to the story of Inkle and Yarico.
George Fox Writes Letter
George Fox, the Quaker leader, writes a letter ‘To Friends beyond sea, that have Blacks and Indian Slaves’. This is the first letter written by a Quaker expressing some doubts about slavery in the New World.
1660
England’s Monarchy is Reinstated
England’s monarchy is reinstated, as well as Parliament and which is conferred supreme legislative power to enact positive law both provincial and over local governments. The eldest son of King Charles I… Charles II becomes King.
The newly restored King Charles II of England charters the ‘Royal Adventurers into Africa’, the first English state-sponsored slave trading company and orders the Council of Foreign Plantations to devise strategies for converting slaves and servants to Christianity.
Virginia's House of Burgesses Legalizes Slavery
Virginia’s House of Burgesses enacts a colonial statute legalizing slavery in Virginia. Virginia’s legislative assembly lacks plenary authority to legalize slavery or to create a class of colonists called slave by English law. Virginia’s colonial statute is void ab initio since neither England’s King or the Parliament gives assent or ratifies colonial statute.
1661
Sedition Act of 1661
In 1661, the Parliament of Great Britain enacted the Sedition Act, which criminalized the passing of laws by subordinate legislatures within the kingdom without first obtaining the assent of the English King. This legislation was designed to centralize legislative authority and ensure that no laws could be enacted at the local or colonial level without royal approval. The act aimed to reinforce the control of the monarchy over legislative processes across the British Empire, consolidating the power of the central government and minimizing the autonomy of regional and colonial legislatures.
England’s Monarchy is Reinstated
England’s monarchy is reinstated, as well as Parliament and which is conferred supreme legislative power to enact positive law both provincial and over local governments. The eldest son of King Charles I… Charles II becomes King.
The newly restored King Charles II of England charters the ‘Royal Adventurers into Africa’, the first English state-sponsored slave trading company and orders the Council of Foreign Plantations to devise strategies for converting slaves and servants to Christianity.
Virginia's House of Burgesses Legalizes Slavery
Virginia’s House of Burgesses enacts a colonial statute legalizing slavery in Virginia. Virginia’s legislative assembly lacks plenary authority to legalize slavery or to create a class of colonists called slave by English law. Virginia’s colonial statute is void ab initio since neither England’s King or the Parliament gives assent or ratifies colonial statute.
Virginia Prohibits Marriage Between Races
Virginia is the first colony to take legal action against marriages between white women and black men. The first anti-miscegenation statute – prohibiting marriage between races – was written into law.
Cavalier Parliament Meets
The Cavalier Parliament first met and sat until January 1679: The bishops sat again in the Lords and the Act of Uniformity enforced conformity to the English Church.
1662
House of Burgesses Legalizes Hereditary Slavery
Virginia’s House of Burgesses enacts a colonial statute legalizing hereditary slavery: partum sequitur ventrem. Virginia’s legislative assembly lacks plenary authority to legalize hereditary slavery or to strip a person born in the colony of Virginia of British subjecthood or liberty at birth. Virginia’s colonial statute is void ab initio since neither England’s King or the Parliament gives assent or ratifies colonial statute.
New York, Connecticut, and New Hampshire Restrict Rights to Bear Arms
Massachusetts reverses a ruling dating back to 1652 that allowed blacks to train in arms. New York, Connecticut, and New Hampshire pass similar laws restricting the bearing of arms.
Maryland Incorporates Royal African Company
Maryland incorporates the Royal African Company to assure a ready supply of African slaves.
1663
Virginia Slave Rebellion
In 1663, Gloucester County, Virginia, witnessed the first documented slave rebellion in the American colonies. This uprising marked a significant early instance of resistance against the institution of slavery in the colonies. Enslaved Africans, frustrated by their conditions and seeking freedom, organized and attempted to revolt against their masters. The rebellion was ultimately suppressed, but it highlighted the growing tensions and resistance among enslaved individuals in the American colonies, setting a precedent for future acts of rebellion and resistance in the history of American slavery.
Maryland Legalizes Slavery
The colony of Maryland enacted legislation that formally legalized slavery without obtaining the King’s assent in 1663. This move was a significant step in the colony’s development of a legal framework for slavery, reflecting the growing entrenchment of the institution in colonial American society. The legislation established a basis for the racialized system of chattel slavery that would become pervasive in the American colonies. The lack of royal approval highlighted the tensions between colonial autonomy and the central authority of the English monarchy, setting a precedent for the legal codification of slavery in the colonies.
Staple Act Requires Duties
The Staple Act required all goods destined for American colonies from foreign ports be shipped, unloaded, inspected, and repacked at England ports with duties assessed before transport to the colonies.
Carolinas Given to Proprietors
Charles II, King of England, gives the Carolinas to proprietors.
1664
Several American Colonies Legalize Slavery
In 1664, several American colonies, including Virginia, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, and the Carolinas, enacted laws that mandated lifelong servitude for Black slaves without obtaining the King’s assent. These laws formalized the system of racialized chattel slavery, establishing that enslaved Black individuals would be subjected to perpetual servitude. The legal changes in these colonies marked a significant shift in the treatment of enslaved people and reinforced the racial and legal distinctions that would define the institution of slavery in the American colonies. The lack of royal assent emphasized the growing colonial independence in shaping their own legal frameworks concerning slavery.
1665
Charter Granted for Carolina Settlement
King Charles II granted a charter to settle in Carolina.
1666
Maryland Passes Fugitive Slave Law
Maryland passes a fugitive slave law.
1667
Virginia Declares Christians Can Be Slaves
In 1667, the Virginia legislative assembly enacted a law stipulating that baptism did not grant freedom to enslaved Black individuals. This law was a significant step in codifying racial distinctions and maintaining the institution of slavery. By asserting that religious conversion, specifically baptism, would not affect the status of enslaved people, the law reinforced the notion that slavery was a permanent condition regardless of an individual’s spiritual or religious status. This legislative action highlighted the growing efforts to solidify and institutionalize racial and legal boundaries within the colony.
1668
Virginia Enacts Tax Law on Free Black Women
In 1668, the Virginia legislative assembly enacted a law concerning the taxation of free Black individuals. This law specifically imposed a tax on free Black women over the age of 16, in contrast to white women, who were not taxed. This legislative action reflected the growing legal and social distinctions between races in colonial Virginia. It was part of a broader pattern of laws designed to entrench racial hierarchies and reinforce economic disparities, further institutionalizing the systemic racial inequalities of the period.
New Jersey Passes Slave Law
New Jersey passes a fugitive slave law.
1669
Virginia Passes Casual Killing of a Slave Law
In 1669, the Virginia legislative assembly enacted a law regarding the “casual killing of a slave,” which stated that if a slave died while resisting their master, the act would not be presumed to have been committed with “premeditated malice.” This law effectively provided legal protection for slave owners and those who used violence against enslaved individuals, thereby reinforcing the legal and social framework that justified and perpetuated slavery. By removing the presumption of malice, the law allowed for more lenient treatment of violence against slaves and reinforced the brutal and dehumanizing conditions of slavery in colonial Virginia.
1670
Virginia Prohibits White Servants Kept by Blacks
The State of Virginia prohibits free blacks and Indians from keeping Christian (i.e. white) servants.
Charles II Agrees to Secret Treaty
Charles II agreed in the secret treaty of Dover to convert to Catholicism in exchange for French subsidies.
1671
Fox Influences Quakers Against Slavery
George Fox, generally called the founder of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), influences agitation among Quakers against slaveholding by Society members when he speaks against slavery on his visit to North America.
Quakers Visit Barbados
A group of Quakers, including George Fox and William Edmundson, visit Barbados and appear to have come into conflict with the Barbadian plantocracy for suggesting that slave-owners should treat their slaves with humanity and attempt to convert them to Christianity.
1672
Virginia Legalizes Wounding or Killing an Enslaved Person
In 1672, the Virginia legislative assembly enacted a law that legalized the wounding or killing of an enslaved person who resisted arrest. This law permitted slave owners to use lethal force against enslaved individuals who attempted to resist capture or punishment. Additionally, it provided financial compensation to the owners for the loss of an enslaved laborer if the person was killed during the arrest. This legislation was part of a broader legal framework designed to control and discipline enslaved people, reinforcing the power of slave owners and the systemic brutality of the institution of slavery in colonial Virginia.
King of England Charters Royal African Company
The King of England charters the Royal African Company, which becomes England’s major slave-trading organization into the 1730s.
Richard Blome Publishes A Description of the Island of Jamaica
The cartographer Richard Blome publishes A Description of the Island of Jamaica in London, which describes slavery in Jamaica for a popular audience.
1673
Act of 1673
The Act of 1673 stated that all goods not sailing from England ports to America be assessed duties and taxes paid at the colonial port to the governor before receipt.
Richard Baxter
The Puritan Richard Baxter publishes antislavery material in A Christian directory, or, a summ of practical theologie, and cases of conscience (London, 1673).
West India Company Replaced
The financially troubled French West India Company is replaced by the Compagnie du Sénégal (Senegal Company). Under various name changes, this remains the main French slave trading company into the 1720s.
Test Act
Parliament passed a Test Act to prevent Catholics from holding office, by which the successor to the throne, James, Duke of York, had to resign.
1674
Blacks Converting to Christianity Not Free in New York
New York declares that blacks who convert to Christianity after their enslavement will not be freed.
1676
Bacon's Rebellion
The concept of the “white race” as a distinct social category emerged in response to Bacon’s Rebellion in Virginia in 1676. During this rebellion, a diverse coalition of colonists, including both poor whites and enslaved Africans, united against the colonial elite and British rule. The rebellion highlighted the potential for cross-racial solidarity and posed a threat to the existing social order.
In reaction to the rebellion, British authorities and colonial leaders implemented a series of legal and social changes designed to solidify racial divisions and prevent future alliances between poor whites and enslaved Africans. Laws were enacted that increasingly defined and reinforced the concept of “whiteness” as a way to distinguish and elevate poor Europeans over Africans and other people of color. This racial classification system served to entrench a hierarchy that maintained the dominance of the European-descended elite and perpetuated the institution of slavery by creating a more rigid racial divide.
Slavery Prohibited in West New Jersey
Slavery is prohibited in West New Jersey, a Quaker settlement in current day South New Jersey.
Fox Publishes Gospel Family-Order
The Quaker George Fox publishes Gospel Family-Order, being a short discourse concerning the Ordering of Families, both of Whites, Blacks and Indians, which urged Quakers in America to treat their slaves humanely.
Curwen Visits Barbados
The Quaker Alice Curwen visits Barbados and, in a letter to the slave-holding Barbadian Friend Martha Tavernor, becomes the first Quaker to unambiguously denounce slavery.
1677
Butts Vs Penny
Butts versus Penny, the English Court of King’s Bench ordered ten blacks suing for their freedom to remain the rightful property of their master “until they become Christians; and thereby they are Infranchised.”
Four Peers Imprisoned
Four peers were imprisoned by the House of Lords for claiming that Parliament was automatically dissolved because it had not met for over a year.
1678
Test Act Passed
Parliament passed a Test Act to prevent Catholics from sitting in Parliament.
1679
Duke of York Excluded From Succession
The first Exclusion Parliament met: the Commons drafted a Bill to exclude the Duke of York from the succession.
1680
Virginia Passes Restrictive Laws
The legislative assembly of Virginia enacted a law that it now legal for a white person to kill an escaped slave who resisted capture. Slaves are forbidden to:
- arm themselves for either offensive or defensive purposes. Punishment: 20 lashes on one’s bare back:
- to leave the plantation without the written permission of one’s master, mistress, or overseer:
- “[to]… lift up his hand against any Christian.” Punishment: 20 lashes on one’s bare back.
Morgan Godwin
The Anglican Morgan Godwin publishes The Negro’s and Indians advocate, suing for their admission into the Church (London, 1680).
Exclusion Bill Defeated in Lords
The second Exclusion Parliament met: the Exclusion Bill was defeated in the Lords.
1681
Third Exclusion Parliament Meets
The third Exclusion Parliament met at Oxford for only a week, the last time Parliament met outside Westminster.
Tory Reaction (1681-84)
The Tory Reaction saw purges, prosecutions, and executions of prominent Exclusionists, or Whigs, as they were now called.
Pennsylvania Colony Founded
Pennsylvania Colony, later to become a centre of antislavery thought, was founded by a grant to William Penn by King Charles II.
1682
Virginia Declares Slaves for Life
In 1682, the Virginia legislative assembly enacted a law that codified the status of imported Africans as lifelong slaves, a significant development in the legal framework governing slavery in the colony. This law solidified the racial and perpetual nature of slavery for Africans, further entrenching the institution of chattel slavery in Virginia. The enactment of this law without the King’s assent underscored the increasing autonomy of colonial legislatures in shaping their own legal systems and their role in institutionalizing and expanding the practice of slavery.
1684
New York Makes Selling Goods Illegal for Slaves
New York makes it illegal for slaves to sell goods.
Thomas Tryon
In London, Thomas Tryon publishes two tracts critical of slavery: ‘The Negro’s Complaint of Their Hard Servitude, and the Cruelties Practised upon Them’ and ‘A Discourse in Way of Dialogue, between an Ethiopean or Negro-Slave and a Christian, That Was His Master in America’. These appeared as parts II and III of Friendly Advice to the Gentlemen-Planters of the East and West Indies (London, 1684).
1685
Charles II Dies
Charles II died in February and James II’s Parliament first met in May, but after November was continuously prorogued until it was dissolved in July 1687.
1686
Godden v Hales
Godden v Hales allowed James II to dispense individuals from Test Acts. The bishop of London was suspended from his office for not taking action against an anti-Catholic preacher.
1687
Hans Sloane Begins Voyage to Jamaica
Hans Sloane boards a Royal Navy frigate at Portsmouth to begin a voyage to Barbados and Jamaica in which he observed both the wildlife of the islands and the treatment of enslaved people. His journey was written up years later in his celebrated two-volume A Voyage to Jamaica (London, 1707, 1725).
James II Issues Declaration of Indulgence
James II issued his Declaration of Indulgence for Nonconformists and sent agents to find potential Parliament members who would vote for repeal of the Test Acts.
1688
Seven Bishops Prosecuted
William of Orange
Germantown Protest
Aphra Behn Publishes Oroonoko
Pennsylvania Quakers Pass Anti-slavery Resolution
1689
The English Bill of Rights
The English Bill of Rights, enacted in 1689, was a significant piece of legislation that codified certain liberties and rights for English subjects. Among its provisions, it affirmed that no Englishman could be subjected to slavery, reinforcing the principle of individual liberty and legal protections. This bill was part of a broader movement to establish constitutional limits on the powers of the monarchy and to secure the rights of citizens, further embedding the legal concept that slavery was incompatible with English law and liberties.
John Locke publishes Two Treatises of Government
John Locke publishes Two Treatises of Government (London, 1689) which arguably offers a justification for slavery – although few scholars now believe that Locke’s arguments were intended to be applied to the Atlantic slave trade.
The Convention Parliament Votes
The Convention Parliament voted that James II had ‘abdicated’ and that William and Mary should be offered the Crown.
The Commons Read the Declaration of Rights
The Commons read the Declaration of Rights to William and Mary, which they later enacted as statute, the Bill of Rights.
Parliament Declares War
Parliament declared war on France leading to the Nine Years’ War.
1691
Virginia Prohibits Interracial Marriage
The legislative assembly of Virginia enacted a law that any white person married to a black or mulatto is banished and could not stay in colony for more than three months after they are married.
- A mulatto child born to a white indentured servant would serve a 30-year term of indenture.
- A fine of 15 pounds sterling was levied against white women who gave birth to mulatto children. And if a woman could not pay the fine, she was condemned to serve five years as an indentured servant.
1696
First Institutional Attempt to Limit Slavery
Philadelphia Quakers rule that Friends ‘be Careful not to Encourage the bringing in of any more Negroes, & that such that have Negroes be Careful of them, bring them to Meetings, or have Meetings with them in their Families, & Restrain them from Loose, & Lewd Living.’ This is probably the first institutional attempt to limit slave trading in America.