Notes to Chapter III

BLACKS BEFORE THE LAW IN COLONIAL MARYLAND
Ross Kimmel


1United States Bureau of the Census, Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1957 (Washington, D.C., 1960), p. 756; Lewis C. Gray, History of Agriculture in the Southern United States to 1860, 2 vols. (1933; rpt. Gloucester, 1958), I, pp. 264-265; Stanley Elkins, Slavery: A Problem in American Institutional and Intellectual Life, 2nd ed. (Chicago, 1968), pp. 44-47. Whittington B. Johnson, "The Origin and Nature of African Slavery in Seventeenth-Century Maryland."

2Archives of Maryland, ed. William Hand Browne et al. (in progress; Baltimore, 1883 to date), I, 520 (hereafter Archives Md.).

3In the case of Butts versus Penny, 1677, the English Court of King's Bench ordered ten blacks suing for their freedom to remain the rightful property of their master "untill they become Christians; and thereby they are Infranchised." This case may be found in Helen C. Catteral, ed., Judical Cases concerning American Slavery and the Negro, Carnegie Institution of Washington, pub. no. 374, Papers of the Division of Historical Research, 5 vols. (Washington, D.C., 1926-1937), I, p. 9.

4Archives Md., I, pp. 533-534.

5"Freeborn," in this sense, included female English indentured servants who were literally born free and would ultimately reclaim their freedom. Later laws in Maryland clarified this point (see below).

6Herbert Moller, "Sex Composition and Correlated Cultural Patterns of Colonial America," The William and Mary Quarterly, 3rd ser., II (1945), pp. 135-137. Other authorities useful in discussing the 1664 law include: Jonathan Alpert, "The Origin of Slavery in the United States--The Maryland Precedent," The American Journal of Legal History, XIV (1970), pp. 195, 197, 209; Matthew P. Andrews, The Founding of Maryland (Baltimore, 1933), p. 176; Jeffrey R. Brackett, The Negro in Maryland: A Study of the Institution of Slavery, Johns Hopkins University Studies in Historical and Political Science, Extra vol. VI (Baltimore, 1889), pp. 27-33, 37; Carl N. Degler, "Slavery and the Genesis of American Race Prejudice," Comparative Studies in Society and History, II (1959), p. 61; Oscar Handlin, Race and Nationality in American Life (Boston and Toronto, 1957), p. 20; Eugene I. McCormac, White Servitude in Maryland, 1634-1820 (Baltimore, 1904), pp. 67-70; and George Washington Williams, History of the Negro Race in America, 2 vols. (1883; rpt. New York, 1968), I, pp. 240-241.

7Kenneth Davies, Royal African Company (London and New York, 1957), pp. 299-300.

8Russell R. Menard, "The Maryland Slave Population, 1658 to 1730: A Demographic Profile of Blacks in Four Counties," William and Mary Quarterly, 3d ser., 32 (1975), pp. 29-54.

9Archives Md., II, p. 272.

10Authorities useful in discussing the 1671 law include: Alpert, "The Origins of Slavery," p. 195; Brackett, The Negro in Maryland, pp. 31-32; C. Robert Haywood, "Mercantilism and Slave Labor, 1700-1763," The Journal of Southern History 23 (1957), pp. 454-458; George Washington Williams, History of the Negro Race in America, p. 241.

11Archives Md., V, 267. By 1699, baptism of slaves became common enough in Maryland for a Pennsylvania Quaker, Thomas Story, to attack verbally a Maryland Anglican priest, Henry Hall, for baptizing blacks and thereby being a pary to the enslavement of Christians. See Edward D. Neill, Terra Mariae: or, Threads of Maryland Colonial History (Philadelphia, 1867), pp. 146-147.

12Archives Md., XIII, pp. 515-506.

13Archives Md., VII, pp. 197, 199; Alpert, "The Origins of Slavery," pp. 208-209.

14Archives Md., LXIX, p. 34.

15In 1678, Lord Baltimore informed the Lords of Trade that Maryland tobacco brought no more than 1d. per pound. Archives Md., V, p. 268.

16Archives Md., LXX, p. 195.

17In 1683, the Provincial Council decided to pay its doorkeeper a fee of 6d. or ten pounds of tobacco for some service rendered. Archives Md., XVII, p. 139.

18Archives Md., LXX, pp. 411-412.

19[Maryland] Provincial Court Judgements, Liber W. C., pt. 2 (1679-1684), p. 880, Maryland State Archives, Annapolis, Maryland (hereafter abbreviated MdSA).

20Bureau of the Census, Historical Statistics, p. 756.

21Ibid. Menard, "Maryland Slave Population," p. 32.

22Archives Md., XXXVIII, pp. 51-52.

23Ibid., pp. 80-81.

24In his article "The Origins of Slavery," p. 209, Jonathan Alpert argued that the omission of the word "other" indicates that this law was meant to extend the marriage taboo to include free Negroes. More than likely, however, the omission was a clerical error since other such errors appear in the body of the law. The clerk wrote the term "Negroes and other Slaves" in the first clause and again, in the singular, in a later clause. He erroneously left out the word "other" when referring to the title of the 1664 law, in the final clause. Moreover, he needlessly repeated a six-word phrase immediately after writing it the first time elsewhere in the text.

25Archives Md., VII, pp. 203-205.

26In the Charles County Court Proceedings, Liber L #1 (1684-1685), p. 24, MdSA, there appears a verbatim copy of the official text of the 1664 law. It falls under the heading "Perpettuall Lawes." Similarly, a paraphrase of the 1664 law appears in the Somerset County Judical Record, 1690-1692, folio 1 v, MdSA, under the heading "An Abreviation of the Laws of this Province now in force in Anno Dom 1688."

27Archives Md., XIII, pp. 546-549.

28During the decade of the 1690's, the white/black ratio narrowed from 10:1 to 7:1, Bureau of the Census, Historical Statistics, p. 756.

29Archives Md., VII, p. 76; XXXVIII, p. 39. Alpert, "The Origins of Slavery," p. 207.

30Archives Md., I, p. 489 (1663); II, pp. 146-147 (1666), pp. 224-226 (1669), pp. 298-300 (1671), pp. 523-528 (1676).

31Archives Md., XIII, pp. 451-457.

32John Codman Hurd, The Law of Freedom and Bondage in the United States, 2 vols. (Boston, 1858), I, p. 232.

33Archives Md., XIX, pp. 167, 193; XXXVIII, pp. 48-49. Reenacted, Archives Md., XXXVIII, p. 70 (1695), p. 70 (1696), p. 85 (also 1696).

34[Great Britain Public Record Office] Calendar of State Papers, Colonial Series, ed. William Noel Sansburyt et al. (in progress; London, 1860 to date), XVI, pp. 390-391.

35During Nicholson's administration, after Maryland became a royal colony, much administrative and legislative housecleaning got underway. The 1699 servant and slave law was but one of many comprehensive enactments aimed at codifying Maryland law. See Matthew P. Andrews, History of Maryland: Province and State (New York, 1929), pp. 204-205.

36Archives Md., XXII, pp. 546-553.

37Menard, "Maryland Slave Population," passim. Archives Md., XXV, pp. 255-59; LII, p. xxi.

38Archives Md., XXV, pp. 87-9, 394-5, 442-444, 450-451.

39Archives Md., XXXVI, pp. 583-586.

40Archives Md., XXXV, pp. 505-506, 520, 547, 562.

41Archives Md., XXVIII, pp. 583, 585, 588, 590; XXXXII, p. 652.

42Archives Md., XXIX, pp. 160-161.

43Archives Md., XXIX, p. 276.

44Archives Md., XXX, p. 16.

45Archives Md., XXX, pp. 65-66; 177-179.

46Archives Md., XXX, pp. 283-292. Bacon's Laws, 1728, Chap. IV.

47Archives Md., XXXIII, pp. 111-113.

48Talbot County Land Record, R.F. #10, pp. 182-183.

49Somerset Judicial Record, 1701-1702, p. 103 (February, 1701). Charles County Circuit Court, 22 (A #2), p. 251 (June, 1703); 26 (E #2), p. 6 (November, 1711). Prince Georges Land Record, D #4, p. 238 (November, 1709); K #3, p. 380 (August, 1721).

50Archives Md., XXXIV, pp. 731-733. Bacon's Laws, 1751, Chap. XIV, sec. 9; 1753, Chap. XXVI. Examples of blacks having their ears cropped under this act may be found in: Prince George's County Court Record, W #1, p. 603 (November, 1737); X #12, pp. 118-119 (August, 1738); AA #1 (vol. 29), p. 26 (August, 1768). Examples of whites being appointed constable may be found in: Anne Arundel County Court Judgments, A.B., p. 2 (March, 1738); I.S.B. #2, p. 718 (November, 1753). Charles County Circuit Court, 1741-1743, p. 652 (November, 1743). Prince Georges County Court Record, R #8, pp. 392-393 (March, 1732); X #12, p. 189 (November, 1738); C.C. #15, p. 603 (November, 174).

51Archives Md., XXXIV, pp. 731-733.

52Provincial Court Judgments, T.P. #2, pp. 505-506 (Hanniball) P.L. #4, pp. 72-73 (Mingo), pp. 287-288 (Sambo); W.G. #1, pp. 541-542 (Daniel); P.L. #7, pp. 156-157 (Bristol).

53Provincial Court Judgments, W. G. #1, pp. 391-392 (Adam and Nann); P.L. #7, p. 162 (Plutoe), p. 269 (Pompey).

54Provincial Court Judgments, P.L. #7, pp. 307-309.

55Provincial Court Judgments, W.G. #1, pp. 140-141.

56Provincial Court Judgments, P.L. #7, p. 161.

57Archives Md., XXXIX, pp. 374, 386, 391; XL, pp. 92-95. In 1741 the Baltimore justices sentenced a white, George Goatley, to one year in prison for enticing a slave to run away. See Baltimore County Court Proceedings, T.B. & T.R., pp. 90-91.

58Archives Md., XL, pp. 86-87; XLIV, pp. 647-650. Reenacted thereafter: Archives Md., XKVI, p. 625 (1751); LV pp. 393-394 (1757); LVIII, p. 180 (1762).

59Archives Md., XLVI, pp. 149-151. Reenacted: Archives Md., LV, pp. 395-396 (1757).

60Archives Md., XLVI, pp. 618-621. Reenacted: Archives Md., LV, pp. 396-397 (1757); LVIII, pp. 183-184 (1762); LIX, pp. 287-188 (1765); LXIII, p. 394 (1773).

61Archives Md., L, pp. 116, 284-285; LII, pp. 450-475; LV, pp. 132-133, 402; LIX, pp. 52, 172.

62Archives Md., L, pp. 7, 9, 38-39, 76-78; LII, pp. 128, 130, 135, 139; LXI, pp. 384, 396-397, 401; LXI, pp. 29, 83. Tax and duty laws: Archives Md., XXIX, pp. 289-292 (1704); XXVI, pp. 349-350 (1704); XXVII, p. 371 (1708); XXX, pp. 326-331 (1715); XXXVIII, p. 198 (1716); XXXIII, pp. 109-110 (1717); XXXV, pp. 268-270 (1721); XLII, p. 11 (1740); XLIV, pp. 166, 168 (1745); L, p. 563 (1754); LVIII, p. 95 (1762); p. 512 (1763); LXII, pp. 29, 62, 80, 89, 91, 92 (1769); LXIII, pp. 242-243 (1771).

63"The Statutory Law of Slavery and Race in the Thirteen Mainland Colonies of British America," William and Mary Quarterly, 3d series, 34 (1977), pp. 258-280. He has practically nothing to say about Maryland in particular. He is heavy on colonies with secondary literature on their slave codes: New York, Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Georgia.


This web site is presented for reference purposes under the doctrine of fair use. When this material is used, in whole or in part, proper citation and credit must be attributed to the Maryland State Archives. PLEASE NOTE: The site may contain material from other sources which may be under copyright. Rights assessment, and full originating source citation, is the responsibility of the user.


Tell Us What You Think About the Maryland State Archives Website!



© Copyright November 14, 2000 Maryland State Archives