Racial Slavery and The Regulation of Sex in Virginia, 1642-1769
During the colonial era of the United States, the frontier colonies were settling down with stability in the late 17th century. With the transition towards “a more firmly established social order,” colonies such as Virginia began to take a regulated approach towards the issue of interracial marriage and fornication. This sort of trend also surfaced in neighboring colonies. Borrowing from Fischer’s “False, Feigned, and Scandalous Words:” Sexual Slander and Racial Ideology Among Whites in Colonial North Carolina, the perfect example of how an association of sex and race led to a specific degrading generalization: A similarity was drawn between a white woman having sexual intercourse …show more content…
A “Christian white woman” who has a child with a colored man would be subjected to pay a fine of “fifteen pounds current money of Virginia” or be sold into servitude by the church for five years to pay off the debt while the child will be bound to servitude until he or she is “thirty one years of age.” Whereas, if a free white man were to impregnate a servant, in which her race does not have any influences, he would only be required a mandatory payment to the church who would in turn take charge of the …show more content…
They were the ones who were obligated to take care of the “bastards” and sell them off as indentured servants or slaves depending on the status of the mother. Furthermore, the church also initiated a distinct difference in statute for Christians and non-Christians imported servants. If the servants were Christians in their native countries, they will only need to serve up a five-year term or more depending on their age, but freedom is guaranteed. If the servants were non-Christians in their native countries, they will be subjected to slavery in Virginia, no matter if they converted to Christianity or not. This statute shows the rise of social status for the poor white class that largely consisted of indentured servants, as well as the emergence of the African-American slave class as their
During the colonial era of the United States, the frontier colonies were settling down with stability in the late 17th century. With the transition towards “a more firmly established social order,” colonies such as Virginia began to take a regulated approach towards the issue of interracial marriage and fornication. This sort of trend also surfaced in neighboring colonies. Borrowing from Fischer’s “False, Feigned, and Scandalous Words:” Sexual Slander and Racial Ideology Among Whites in Colonial North Carolina, the perfect example of how an association of sex and race led to a specific degrading generalization: A similarity was drawn between a white woman having sexual intercourse …show more content…
A “Christian white woman” who has a child with a colored man would be subjected to pay a fine of “fifteen pounds current money of Virginia” or be sold into servitude by the church for five years to pay off the debt while the child will be bound to servitude until he or she is “thirty one years of age.” Whereas, if a free white man were to impregnate a servant, in which her race does not have any influences, he would only be required a mandatory payment to the church who would in turn take charge of the …show more content…
They were the ones who were obligated to take care of the “bastards” and sell them off as indentured servants or slaves depending on the status of the mother. Furthermore, the church also initiated a distinct difference in statute for Christians and non-Christians imported servants. If the servants were Christians in their native countries, they will only need to serve up a five-year term or more depending on their age, but freedom is guaranteed. If the servants were non-Christians in their native countries, they will be subjected to slavery in Virginia, no matter if they converted to Christianity or not. This statute shows the rise of social status for the poor white class that largely consisted of indentured servants, as well as the emergence of the African-American slave class as their