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Difficulty: MediumDevelopment of Chattel Slavery

Read the following excerpt from the Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina (1669) and answer the question below.

"Since charity obliges us to wish well to the souls of all men... any inhabitants of the said province may be at liberty to join themselves to what church or profession they think best... But yet no slave shall hereby be exempted from that civil subjection he owes to his master, but be in all things in the same state and condition he was in before."

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

  1. The legal definition of chattel slavery as a permanent status unaffected by religious conversionAnswer
  2. B
    The gradual transition of European indentured servants into a system of permanent hereditary labor
  3. C
    The establishment of uniform labor and religious codes across both the Southern and New England colonies
  4. D
    The imperial enforcement of mercantilist laws to restrict the domestic slave trade in favor of European imports

Answer

The legal definition of chattel slavery as a permanent status unaffected by religious conversion
The excerpt shows that while Carolina offered religious liberty to its inhabitants, it explicitly stated that conversion to Christianity or joining a church would not exempt an enslaved person from their lifelong servitude. This reflects the broader trend in seventeenth-century English colonies to legally codify slavery as a permanent, racialized status that could not be escaped through religious conversion, removing a traditional English legal barrier to enslaving fellow Christians.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the source text to identify the main topic.
The text discusses granting religious liberty to inhabitants while explicitly maintaining that this does not change the 'civil subjection' an enslaved person owes to their master.
Understanding the core focus of the source allows for linking it to the correct historical concept.
2
Evaluate the legal implications of the passage.
By stating that conversion does not exempt an enslaved person from subjection, the law removes a traditional English common law barrier where Christians could not be enslaved, thereby solidifying lifelong servitude.
This shows how colonial law shifted to define slavery as a permanent status based on race rather than religion.
3
Match the finding to the options provided.
The option describing the legal definition of chattel slavery as a permanent status unaffected by religious conversion directly mirrors the text's purpose.
This identifies the correct answer by directly connecting the document's content to the correct historical trend.

Key Concept

Development of Chattel Slavery
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Topics

Development of Chattel Slavery

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