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.