Chesapeake Slavery System

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Callum Rock Hist 1301 1PM Zachary Montz 9/29/2017 Mid term paper In the beginnings of the New England and Chesapeake colonies, both societies needed to establish systems of law and social control. There were laws set pertaining to both freemen, and slaves in the south. These were intended to keep the interests of the british settlements as a whole, in mind. In the southern colonies, The Virginia Statutes establish laws pertaining to slaveholders control over their slaves or servants. One of the first instances of this is in Act XXII of 1660. This act was establishing the punishment for english servants running away with negroes. It stated “Bee it enacted that the English so running away in company with them shall serve for the time of the …show more content…

Aspects of the law were applying to slaves, those who owned slaves, all white people who either do or do not own slaves, and servants. It shows how all different groups of people in the society have to do their part in order to maintain the economic system. In the Slave Code of South Carolina, it begins stating rules of slaves paying off debts to their owners by saving and paying off with money or goods, or being sold and their profit being given to the original owner. It continues to talk about runaway slaves and the process in which someone must go through if they find one. The document states “ no person whatsoever, except the sheriff or gaoler, shall keep any runaway slave or slaves above four days… employ any of them, or suffer him, or her in custody”, this shows the idea of ownership of slaves in the fact that they must be returned quickly, having done no work for the capturer, and there is a small reward upon return. All of these laws are established to help maintain the social and economic society that is centered around slavery in the southern …show more content…

He is stating that if everyone serves god in the way that they are intended to, then we shall be rewarded. Those who work for god and become the chosen ones who serve him more directly, will then help others and so on, which is god helping his people