Apr 30, 2020 | 17th Century, England, Legal Case, Transcription
reMaking Slavery in the courts Butts v. Penny(1677) A foundational English Common Law case that defined slavery in England and its empire in the Americas, and to create mechanisms to enforce ownership and recover debts related to slave sales. It literally redefined...
Apr 30, 2020 | 17th Century, North America
Virginia Enquiries to the Governor of Virginia (1671) Back in England, those appointed to supervise the colonies often wrote to governors to learn about the various colonies’ structure, affairs, etc. In 1670, these supervisors wrote to Virginia’s governor...
Apr 30, 2020 | 17th Century, Barbados, Slave Code, Transcription
BARBADOS Barbados Slave Code(1661 – 1667) In 1661, Barbados became the first English colony to pass a comprehensive slave code. Below is the best version of it we have. The problem is that the only versions of it that survive date to 1667, when it had already...
Apr 30, 2020 | 17th Century, Book, England, Transcription
ROBERT FILMER Sir Robert Filmer – Patriarcha (1680) While some wrote to defend the execution of King Charles I, others wrote to justify the power of kings and queens. Filmer’s work became one of the most important books on the legitimacy of monarchial...
Apr 30, 2020 | 17th Century, Charter, North America, Transcription
Carolina Original Charter of Carolina (1629) Charles I granted this charter to Sir Robert Heath for the lands south of Virginia in 1629. It acts as a constitution for that territory: setting out the boundaries, governing structure, and delegating to Heath some of the...
Apr 30, 2020 | 17th Century, Book, Transcription
JOHN MILTON John Milton – Eikonoklastes (1649) Following the end of the English Civil War, the country was rattled by the destruction of the monarchy and the execution of a king. Many thought the murder of a monarch unjust. Others, like Milton, made the case for...
