In the seventeenth century, British colonies in North America altered traditional English common law by establishing that a child's legal status followed that of the mother. What was the direct result of this statutory change?
- AIt aligned colonial law with traditional English property laws regarding inheritance through the paternal line.
- It established a hereditary system of chattel slavery that legally bound the children of enslaved women to enslavement.Answer
- CIt immediately abolished the system of white indentured servitude across all British colonies.
- DIt guaranteed that mixed-race children of free white fathers were automatically granted freedom at birth.
Answer
It established a hereditary system of chattel slavery that legally bound the children of enslaved women to enslavement.
Establishing that a child's legal status followed the mother (known as partus sequitur ventrem) ensured that children born to enslaved women automatically inherited their mother's enslaved status. This created a legal mechanism for a permanent, self-reproducing labor force in the colonies.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
The statutory shift from paternal to maternal lineage (partus sequitur ventrem) legally institutionalized hereditary chattel slavery in British North America.
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