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Difficulty: MediumDevelopment of Chattel Slavery

Read the following excerpt from a Virginia General Assembly act passed in 1691:

"[F]or prevention of that abominable mixture... whatsoever English or other white man or woman being free shall intermarry with a negro, mulatto, or Indian man or woman bond or free shall within three months after such marriage be banished and departed out of this dominion for ever... And [it is further enacted] that no negro or mulatto, be... set free by any person or persons whatsoever, unless such person or persons... pay for the transportation of such negro or negroes out of the country..."

Which of the following historical developments in the seventeenth-century Chesapeake region is best illustrated by the passage?

  1. A
    The enforcement of British mercantilist laws designed to directly regulate the domestic social structures of the colonies to enrich the crown.
  2. B
    The integration of Southern plantation labor systems with the small-scale, family-oriented agricultural practices of the New England colonies.
  3. The creation of legal codes designed to establish a rigid racial hierarchy and limit the growth of a free Black population.Answer
  4. D
    The efforts of colonial assemblies to standardize the contracts and working conditions of European indentured servants and African laborers.

Answer

The correct answer is the creation of legal codes designed to establish a rigid racial hierarchy and limit the growth of a free Black population.
The correct answer is correct because the 1691 Virginia law sought to prevent racial intermarriage and restricted manumission by requiring that any freed person be transported out of the colony. These provisions were part of a broader effort by colonial elites and legislatures to establish a rigid racial hierarchy that legally separated white colonists from people of color and controlled the growth of the free Black population to secure the plantation labor system.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the primary source excerpt from the 1691 Virginia General Assembly act.
The act bans intermarriage between white colonists and Black, mulatto, or Native American individuals, and restricts the freeing of enslaved people by requiring their transportation out of the colony.
Understanding the specific regulations helps identify the intent of the colonial government to separate racial groups and control the free Black population.
2
Connect the primary source to the broader historical developments of Period 2 (1607–1754).
During this period, colonial legislatures in the Chesapeake and Southern colonies increasingly codified chattel slavery, making it a hereditary system and writing laws that legally enforced racial divisions.
This connects the specific document to the general historical trend of developing a rigid racial hierarchy.
3
Evaluate the options and select the one that aligns with the analysis.
The option identifying the establishment of a rigid racial hierarchy and restriction of a free Black population is the correct choice, while distractors representing indentured servitude standardization, New England integration, and mercantilism are incorrect.
This confirms the correct option based on historical consensus and document analysis.

Key Concept

The legal codification of chattel slavery and racial hierarchy in the Chesapeake colonies.
Estimated Time:1m 30s
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Topics

Development of Chattel Slavery

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