A Token of Freedom

Private Bill Legislation for Free Negroes in Eighteenth-Century Jamaica

Bibliographic Data

ID4222673
AuthorsSamuel J Hurwitz (corresponding author), Edith F Hurwitz
Year1967
Volume24
Issue3
Pages423
Publication date1967-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe William and Mary Quarterly (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0043-5597 • E-ISSN: 1933-7698
PublisherJSTOR (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.2307/1920876
OpenAlexW2314861298
LanguageEN
Citations received12

Nm T EGRO slaves, strength and sinews of this western world, were considered in Jamaica as property, as instruments of production, and not as human beings.' Even if they were freed Negroes were still excluded from the political and social community. Although the act of manumission inevitably transmuted the Negro from a thing into a being, the law took no cognizance of this. Free Negroes could own property but in Jamaica freedom conferred no additional rights.2 They were excluded from the franchise, from elective or appointive office, and from testifying in the regular courts of the land.3 Legally they were considered no better than slaves. In all judicial proceedings they were relegated to slave courts where their testimony carried no more weight than that of slaves.4 Although free Negroes in Jamaica could legally acquire and hold property, only a limited number were able to accumulate any appreciable amount of wealth. In a society where property conferred status, this small

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