Historical Organization
Jamaican Assembly
Jamaican Assembly
Details
Organization Timeline
Jamaica codifies restrictions on enslaved people in a new slave law
📅 14 December 1696The Jamaican assembly passed an act for the "better Order and Government of Slaves." It required enslaved people to carry tickets to travel away from plantations, authorized punishment for movement...
A Jamaican law makes the practice of Obeah a capital or transportable offense
📅 1 January 1761A 1760 Jamaican act took effect on 1 January 1761 and criminalized practices the colonial state called Obeah. It authorized death or transportation after conviction and also restricted enslaved...
The Assembly frees Jack for helping suppress the recent rebellion
📅 19 December 1761A Jamaican act manumitted Jack, an enslaved man owned by planter Peter Thomas, citing his role in revealing conspiracies and suppressing the recent uprising. The Assembly also ordered an annual...
The assembly frees Cato after his role in the 1760 uprising
📅 9 November 1764A Jamaican statute freed Cato, who had informed colonial officials about the 1760 uprising and helped pursue rebels. The assembly paid his enslaver £70 as compensation. The act records a coerced...
Colonial law targets independent housing used by enslaved people in three towns
📅 19 December 1770The assembly ordered owners to register separate huts in Spanish Town, Port Royal and Kingston and report which enslaved people lived there. It required enclosures and allowed officials to demolish...
Jamaica imposes an additional duty on enslaved people imported to the island
📅 12 February 1774The assembly passed a law adding a 40-shilling duty for each enslaved African or Black person imported to Jamaica. The measure extended a revenue system that treated forced migration as taxable...
A Jamaican law varies import duties and inspection by enslaved people’s reported age
📅 24 November 1774A statute funding British regiments also regulated the importation of enslaved people. It required shipmasters to report cargoes, imposed duties, and created port inspections. It set different rates...
A consolidated Jamaican slave code replaces earlier laws
📅 1 March 1788A consolidated slave law came into force on 1 March 1788, replacing earlier acts and restating controls on enslaved people. It prescribed severe penalties for flight, resistance, alleged Obeah and...
Jamaica enacts a more detailed register of enslaved people
📅 11 December 1816The Jamaican legislature passed a law requiring a more particular return and enrolment of enslaved people. The measure was presented as a way to guard against illegal imports after the British trade...