The assembly passed a law that purported to limit service to ten years or age twenty-four. The law was weakly enforced and the colony continued slave trading and slaveholding. The gap between...
The colony restricted the importation of enslaved people and imposed penalties on traders, while existing slavery and Rhode Island’s participation in the Atlantic economy continued. The act came after...
The act declared children born to enslaved women after its passage free, while placing them in long-term service and leaving people already enslaved in bondage. It was gradual and conditional...
