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Difficulty: EasyDevelopment of Chattel Slavery

Read the following excerpt from a 1664 Maryland assembly law:

"Be it enacted... that all Negroes or other slaves already within the province, and all Negroes and other slaves to be hereafter imported into the province, shall serve Durante Vita [for life]. And all children born of any Negro or other slave shall be slaves as their fathers were for the term of their lives."

Which of the following developments in the British North American colonies is best reflected in the excerpt?

  1. The legal codification of chattel slavery as a lifelong, hereditary statusAnswer
  2. B
    The standardization of contracts for European indentured servants
  3. C
    The transition to a unified agricultural labor system in the New England colonies
  4. D
    The enforcement of mercantilist laws to limit the transatlantic trade of enslaved people

Answer

The legal codification of chattel slavery as a lifelong, hereditary status
The correct answer is correct because the Maryland statute specifically establishes two defining characteristics of chattel slavery: it is lifelong ('for life') and hereditary ('as their fathers were for the term of their lives'). This represents the formal legal codification of chattel slavery in the British North American colonies.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the text of the Maryland law to identify the duration of service.
The law specifies that enslaved people 'shall serve Durante Vita [for life]'.
This establishes that labor was permanent rather than temporary.
2
Analyze the text of the Maryland law regarding offspring.
The law specifies that 'all children born of any Negro or other slave shall be slaves as their fathers were'.
This establishes that slavery was hereditary, passing from parent to child.
3
Connect these terms to the historical development of colonial labor systems.
Permanent, hereditary bondage defines the system of chattel slavery that emerged in the southern and Chesapeake colonies.
This links the specific provisions of the Maryland law to the broader historical trend of codifying chattel slavery.

Key Concept

The transition of labor systems in the colonies and the legal definition of chattel slavery as permanent and hereditary.
Estimated Time:45s
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Topics

Development of Chattel Slavery

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