People, Locations, Episodes

Tanya Chutkan, Lawyer, and Judge born

*Tanya Chutkan was born on this date. She is an Afro Caribbean lawyer and judge. Tanya Sue Chutkan was born in Kingston, Jamaica. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1983 from George Washington University and a Juris Doctor in 1987 from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. From 1987 to 1990, she worked at the Hogan & […]

Jacques Francis, Slave Diver, and Trial Witness born

*This date in 1527 is celebrated as the birth date of Jacques Francis, A Black British slave salvage diver. Francis was from Arguin Island, Mauritania. However, records at the time described him as a “Guinea diver” and exceptionally talented. He had been working for Piero Corsi on a 1546 salvage attempt of the Mary Rose, […]

Johnson v. Parker is Decided

*On this date, in 1655, Johnson v. Parker was decided. This case involved the designation of indentured servitude and slavery. The Northampton County Court ruled in favor of Anthony Johnson, whose slave, John Casor, ran away and claimed to be an indentured servant. The court charged Johnson’s neighbor, Robert Parker, with having “most unjustly kept” […]

The Barbados Slave Code is enacted

*The Barbados Slave Code was enacted on this date in 1661. Officially titled as An Act for the better ordering and governing of Negroes, it was a law passed by the Parliament of Barbados to provide a legal basis for slavery in the English colony of Barbados. Throughout British North America, slavery evolved in practice […]

The ‘For The Trial of Negros’ Act is signed

*The ‘For the Trial of Negroes’ Act was passed on this date in 1700. This colonial law was passed to socialize and control Black Africans in Delaware. This policy marked 150 years of discriminatory legislation to preserve chattel slavery in America. Blacks received more severe penalties than whites for crimes; they couldn’t carry weapons or assemble in […]

The Maroons Sign a Treaty with England

On this date in 1738, escaped African slaves and British settlers in Central America agreed to a conflict truce.

The articles of pacification from the English with the “Maroons” of Trelawny Town, Jamaica occurred on this date. The Maroons were escaped African slaves with communities in North, Central, and South America. The term Maroon derives from the Spanish word Cimarron. This word was first put on runaway cattle before it came to signify escaped African slaves. The first known Maroon was a slave who escaped from a boat in 1502.

The Treaty of Paris is Signed

*On this date, in 1763, the Treaty of Paris, also known as the Treaty of 1763, was signed. It was signed by the kingdoms of Great Britain, France, and Spain, with Portugal in agreement, after Great Britain and Prussia’s victory over France and Spain during the Seven Years’ War.   The treaty’s signing formally ended […]

Rose Fortune, Law Enforcement Officer born

*The birth of Rose Fortune in 1774 is celebrated on this date. She was a Black law enforcement officer and businesswoman.

Fortune was born into slavery in Virginia, owned by the Devone family. They escaped to New York City then the Nova Scotia (Canada) town of Annapolis Royal in 1783 when she was ten years old. Fortune came from a family of Black Loyalists, (escaped slaves and free Blacks who joined the British army during the American Revolution to find liberty). The British army promised any slave freedom in return for their loyalty.

Roger B. Taney, Lawyer, and Judge born

*Roger Brooke Taney was born on this date in 1777. He was a White American lawyer and judge who supported slavery.

Knight v. Wedderburn is Upheld

*On this date in 1778, the Justices of the Peace court in Perth Scotland ruled on the case of Knight v. Wedderburn. This Scottish slavery decision predated the very similar Dred Scott ruling in America.

An Act for The Gradual Abolition Of Slavery is Passed

*An Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery passed on this date in 1780. Approved by the Fifth Pennsylvania General Assembly, it prescribed an end to slavery in Pennsylvania. It was the first Act abolishing American slavery in human history to be adopted by a democracy. The Act prohibited further importation of enslaved people into the state. […]

America’s Articles of Confederation Are Enacted

*The Articles of Confederation of the United States of America were enacted on this date in 1781. Formally called the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, it was an agreement that served as America’s first constitution after being ratified by all 13 states. It was approved between July 1776 and November 1777 by the Second […]

The Naturalization Act of 1790 is Passed

*On this date, 1790, the Naturalization Act of 1790 was passed. This law of the United States Congress set the first uniform rules for granting United States citizenship by naturalization. The law limited naturalization to “free white person[s] … of good character”. It excluded Native Americans, indentured servants, Black slaves, free Blacks, and later Asians, […]

The 1793 Fugitive Slave Act Is Signed

*The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 was signed into law on this date.   This was an Act of the United States Congress to give effect to the Fugitive Slave Clause of the US Constitution (Article 4, Section 2, Clause 3), which the Thirteenth Amendment later superseded. The former guaranteed a right for a slaveholder to recover an escaped slave. The […]

The Slave Trade Act of 1794 is Passed

*The Slave Trade Act of 1794 was passed on this date in 1794. This law, passed by the United States Congress, prohibited American ships from engaging in the international slave trade. It was signed into law by President George Washington and was the first of several anti-slavery trade acts of Congress. In 1800, Congress strengthened […]