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Difficulty: MediumDevelopment of Chattel Slavery

"Whereas some doubts have risen whether children that are slaves by birth, and by the charity and piety of their owners made partakers of the sacrament of baptism, should by virtue of their baptism be made free; It is enacted and declared... that the conferring of baptism doth not alter the condition of the person as to his bondage or freedom; that diverse masters, freed from this doubt, may more carefully endeavour the propagation of christianity by permitting children... to be admitted to that sacrament."

— Act of the Virginia General Assembly, 1667

The passage of the law excerpted above best serves as evidence of which of the following developments in the Chesapeake region during the mid-to-late seventeenth century?

  1. The effort by colonial authorities to legally secure and define the status of enslaved people as chattel despite religious conversion.Answer
  2. B
    The transition from enslavement to contract-based indentured servitude for agricultural workers.
  3. C
    The implementation of royal mercantilist policies designed to regulate the transatlantic shipping of labor.
  4. D
    The rise of a family-centered, diversified agricultural economy resembling that of the New England colonies.

Answer

The effort by colonial authorities to legally secure and define the status of enslaved people as chattel despite religious conversion.
The correct answer is correct because the 1667 Virginia law was passed to remove legal doubts regarding whether Christian baptism conferred freedom, establishing that religious conversion did not alter an enslaved person's status. This law represents a key step in the codification of lifelong, hereditary chattel slavery.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the primary source document.
The document is an act from the Virginia General Assembly in 1667 stating that baptism does not free individuals who were born into slavery.
This establishes the literal meaning of the document: religious conversion (baptism) does not alter a person's legal status of bondage.
2
Relate the document to the historical context of late seventeenth-century Chesapeake labor systems.
During this period, the Chesapeake was shifting from indentured servitude to chattel slavery, requiring the creation of new legal frameworks to define and protect the property rights of slaveowners.
This connects the local statute to the broader development of chattel slavery in British North America.
3
Evaluate the choices based on the analysis and context.
The option asserting that colonial authorities sought to legally secure the status of enslaved people as chattel despite religious conversion matches the act's intent.
This explains why this option is the correct historical interpretation.

Key Concept

Development of Chattel Slavery
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Development of Chattel Slavery

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