The Virginia Slave Codes of 1705 (formally entitled An act concerning Servants and Slaves), were a series of laws enacted by the
Colony of Virginia
The Colony of Virginia, chartered in 1606 and settled in 1607, was the first enduring English colony in North America, following failed attempts at settlement on Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey GilbertGilbert (Saunders Family), Sir Humphrey" (histor ...
's
House of Burgesses
The House of Burgesses was the elected representative element of the Virginia General Assembly, the legislative body of the Colony of Virginia. With the creation of the House of Burgesses in 1642, the General Assembly, which had been establishe ...
in 1705 regulating the interactions between slaves and citizens of the crown colony of
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...
. 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:
[Eric Foner, ''Give Me Liberty!: An American History'', W.W. Norton & Company, 2009, p. 100]
* 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
The law was devised to establish a greater level of control over the rising African slave population of Virginia. It also served to socially segregate white colonists from black enslaved persons, making them disparate groups hindering their ability to unite. A unity of the commoners was a perceived fear of the Virginia aristocracy which had to be addressed, and who wished to prevent a repeat of events such as
Bacon's Rebellion, occurring 29 years prior.
[ Ibram X. Kendi, '' Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America'', Nation Books, 2016, p. 53-54, 67-68]
See also
The text of the act*
Slave codes
The slave codes were laws relating to slavery and enslaved people, specifically regarding the Atlantic slave trade and chattel slavery in the Americas.
Most slave codes were concerned with the rights and duties of free people in regards to ensla ...
*
Slavery in the United States
The legal institution of human chattel slavery, comprising the enslavement primarily of Africans and African Americans, was prevalent in the United States of America from its founding in 1776 until 1865, predominantly in the South. Sla ...
*
Thomas Jefferson and slavery
Notes
{{Slavery in Virginia
Virginia law
Legal history of Virginia
United States slavery law
History of slavery in Virginia
1705 in Virginia
1705 in law