2010/10/01 by John R. Donoghue · 1 citation
Social Sciences · #American Constitutional Law and Politics #Colonialism, slavery, and trade #History #English Revolution #Economic history #Political science #Economics #Law
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/ahr.115.4.943
openalex publication_date 2010/10/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
In 1646 the teenager Charles Bayly wandered throughthe Thames-side town of Gravesend on his way to London, joining thousandsof other people streaming into the capital after being uprooted bythe chaos of the English Revolution.1 As he wrote years later, in Gravesend he met with one Bradstreet, who was commonly called a spirit, forhe was one of those who did entice children and people away for Virginia;he fell into discourse with me, and I being in tender years, he didcunningly get me on board a ship, which was then there riding readyfor to go to those parts, and I being once on board, could never geton shore, until I came to America, where I was sold as a bond-slavefor 7 years. Reflecting on his subsequent life in the Chesapeake, Bayly described his plight: [I endured] hunger, cold, nakedness, beatings, whippings, and the like … for many times was I stripped naked, and tied up bythe hand, and whipped, and made to go barefoot and bare-legged incold and frosty weather, and hardly clothes to cover my nakedness,besides the sore and grievous labor which I was continually kept atduring which time my poor soul would be often bemoaning itself concerningmy sore captivity and misery … I had hard labor, and my dailyexercise was beyond the common manner of slaves, for mine was oftennight and day.2 In 1637, the antinomian wine cooper Thomas Venner migrated to NewEngland, where he served in the Bay Colony militia. Inspired by theprospect of thoroughgoing reformation in revolutionary England, hereturned to London in 1651 and entered the radical republican underground.By 1654, he had joined the millenarian Fifth Monarchist movement,which opposed the Protectorate regime of Oliver Cromwell as anotherform of kingly government. In January 1661, Venner led his LondonFifth Monarchist cell in a four-day rebellion to overthrow the newlyrestored king, Charles II. In the course of the fighting, Venner'sforces attacked the Comptor Prison in Wood Street and attempted tofree the prisoners to rescue them from potential transportation tothe colonies to work as “bond slaves.” In tracts writtenbefore the rising, the rebels condemned the trade “in the slavesand souls of men” and prophesied the doom of those who engagedin this traffic. Shortly after their capture on the fourth day ofbattle, Venner and ten of his followers were hanged, drawn, and quartered.Prints such as this quickly followed, depicting Venner as a traitorousfanatic. He would not be the last abolitionist to be vilified in suchterms. Engraving by unknown artist, 1861. From Charles Knowles Bolton, The Founders: Portraits of Persons Born Abroad Who Came to the Coloniesin North America before the Year 1701, 3 vols. (Boston, 1919),3: 827. Although his master tried to break his spirit through such brutaltreatment, Bayly remained strong, resisted, and briefly managed toescape. Upon his subsequent capture, a colonial court punished himby doubling his seven-year term of service, notwithstanding the factthat this sentence contradicted both English statute and common lawregarding servants.3 While inGravesend, Bayly had fallen victim to an illegal form of enslavementcalled “spiriting”; but once transported to the Chesapeake,he legally became the temporary, chattel property of his owner, althoughthis too violated English labor law. Within one context, the imperial,Bayly's chattel status remained ambiguous, but within anothercontext, his own lived experience, he conveyed his position on theplantation with precision: he called himself a “bond slave.”Referring to those who labored beside him in what he described as “Marylandin Virginia,” he wrote movingly, “the poor creatures hadbetter have been hanged, than to suffer the death and misery theydid.”4 Bayly underwent this traumatic experience during the 1640s andearly 1650s, when laborers from Britain and Ireland dominated theChesapeake's plantation workforce. On Barbados, during the sametime that Bayly languished in Maryland, the seaman Henry Whistlerdescribed the plight of the permanently enslaved who were just thenbeginning to equal and perhaps outnumber “Christian” servantson the island.5 “The gentryhere … have most of them 100 or 2 or 3 slaves a piece whomthey command as they please … with ingones [indians] and miserablenegors … borne to perpetual slavery they and their seed …they sell them one to the other as we sell sheep.”6 Writing on the treatment that “Christian”workers endured on Barbados during the same period, Richard Ligonnoted, “I have seen such cruelty there done to servants, asI did not think one Christian could have done to another”; “servants”with the worst masters, he observed, “were not able to enduresuch slavery.”7 As theseaccounts from Bayly, Whistler, and Ligon illustrate, contemporariesclearly distinguished between the “perpetual” enslavementof Africans and Native Americans and the temporary slavery of Europeanworkers. Importantly, however, they all construed “Christians,” “negors,”and “ingones” as laboring under various forms of colonialslavery. Despite this and other well-documented contemporary perceptionsthat they worked as slaves, and in the face of the objective chattelstatus imposed upon Bayly and tens of thousands of others from all of the English of colonial slavery to the perpetual Native Americans and The to slavery in the English the from a the became in the an perpetual this a people such as Charles Bayly and tens of thousands like him from the of colonial of and through a and of we in the English as a form of slavery the perpetual of Native Americans of of to the English we to the to in the plantation to however, we beyond and opposed the forms of slavery in as revolutionary worked to on the of colonial of the forms of and in both and the of a of other who of slavery the of and during the English Although abolitionist and to have the the of in the be in the on a within the of people came to that the of could be upon the enslavementof have the of of the most the of was that in upon for their that never be from he on to the for as In his the upon which the for in a that be that the of be to within context, them in a their or their the which and would to a of to to one into of In to the of we not of from the the to their the and to their to in the this a which to an or the of the of and The a the English that in the a of and and the of the for before the and Richard the and they did not for an to the they did into In to the of the their objective in during the of the English their the of slavery within between the of As in his the of the in the as the English to the of what a The same of be the of an on a in this as the in the English the to slavery and the people in both the and the the of to slavery and and an in in both the and the that the in In most on a in of slavery to what became in the an of chattel of slavery from in the that a of in which to the of chattel the as a in the those who as the chattel property of plantation permanently the of in the we to slavery in a slavery of both and slavery the as the or illegal of people their or the to labor as the chattel their for they the of other the perhaps the most of as the tried to to the of their slaves, to an of their a the enslaved and that as in a of the of the of the and as a in the face of the that their to As and many others have observed, of slavery in most not all of the into own slavery many all of those who to labor as for The forms of slavery as in the and by of Native to this on their them after their labor While have the forms that this been to term and as an form of slavery that in with the enslavementof Africans and Native hardly an objective as those who the of the who they imposed on the people they and sold from Ireland under the of the of as a way to from that they had made of Despite the in the of and English for this term of to temporary chattel the the of slavery in the where have as a the in the from the position that to as an slavery than the of as a in the of which in to to the enslavementof Africans when they could have enslaved other Despite in they all that of slavery in the English colonies with the to a that of in perpetual we the away from a slavery that with perpetual chattel we that slavery in the English when “Christians,” and during the did not the and however, as as to who enslaved for a term and who could be enslaved for a one of the would be to English not to their “Christian”workers from to perpetual In of as the form of chattel labor in the where the we beyond the that the from a of “Christian” to a from the of the of In the this be as a of an labor in forms of chattel slavery by the into a form of as Charles the attempted of death that of be by to the English of a within English to or were through the their for of by statute that to the colonies the of the English The for in to the in the Chesapeake, but to of in the As a a of in the English and in the of the during the English they became the which and the of plantation such as entered the English and by which people from Ireland were or away from their own into colonial slaves were to of and of than English statute or common slavery in the English that as chattel were slaves, the than the as and as and in their of “the between their labor as opposed to in to or an experience than as a of law. The and endured by as Charles Bayly the of than his which in he did not just like tens of thousands of other plantation between the of a and the of a a and made to their and not their were to labor master as his chattel however, was the same as perpetual the term to a of that the status of the enslaved permanently enslaved as as from those to and have not made contemporary often when the of in the English for in the however, that that “Christians,” from the could to forms of there and The English the of people within their own In the from and enslaved thousands of during the period, would be and the of in the of thousands of in North the on the in the of “the the English this as a of Christian too of the been a the of people that all those who to as wrote the The London on often those who were of the and them the such as and and as all as a where did not their and from Britain and Ireland were on and and and they could be sold during their term of service, often to a from were whipped, In one an a to his own to away from the to their their slaves, in and that of for Christian who from and to and of in were punished statute and common their of were In colonial on slaves that their of they slavery on As slaves in the of often to them from masters, his experience in many slaves away they could not to or they they would not they before for a day in court of a the he or remained temporary chattel that the to did not as the slavery with up to the of the or under of not to an in the In the the that the “Christian” and and the potential for perpetual by the did not to thousands of slaves from Britain who before their their life one of as opposed to those in those who their treatment term with and to the of colonial From the of and many and before the of and the to slavery and colonies than with the of the English the in as as both of the in and the the term to the that from the to a the thousands during the that the of with The the English and as of the the that the of to the the a that after the had last As the wrote in the the poor and they … times the the of being to the As English that from the from the slavery of the English that became slaves in a their and to were in to who their own the of the and the described Charles as those to the their own under of to the and that on and Christian of a in by their potential to the the and the with that of the to the and to the of the to their by on that the through the Despite their to into what the The most radical for came from the that dominated the and their in the a and the of the to their of the … the of a the of revolutionary that republican the of and a or called for the which the Richard the experience of a In the of after Oliver Cromwell and his in the to the after a of or by the by the in the of as as for in in before Cromwell and Thomas the of the and in their labor as a the their of to the from a they could not be their and their in the the of and in the of through the The never the and by the had to a In the and many in the of the or that the of of Cromwell as as an that by a of the of or Protectorate in by during the Cromwell and the of of for radical the remained a of In the of 1654, a with the Cromwell and the on a to English by the both in and in the of of the the in the to to the of the on the the regime of the as a to English Native and Africans from as as which to than a of the a from this as the became Cromwell that from the North would form the a He after the by his to to the to in the the English and on could and by the of Thomas who described the the in the by of Cromwell the for the the to experience to on them were Thomas and who perhaps the most from and Britain and Cromwell and his that as could the most into the the of the of most on would a on While the slaves and slaves by others the for colonial labor, the the of of The and that colonial their like slaves to the Although the of to into the trade in had to the and in with the the the people and others to work on the were and of what the regime as the and his the trade into that the The this of the in 1654, the Oliver Cromwell of the as the had him that in the As and in slaves and enslaved from the which the Protectorate to of from republican of The regime to The had sold thousands rebels into slavery in the of the Cromwell to in in the same as those who in with to their during and after the and their to a of the were or in thousands of to Barbados, as made the from In the and and from the on Barbados with in the labor could not colonial trade in slaves transportation to the As wrote during the with “the way for In after the in England, the that many laborers were a that they had been into The of a to the spirit trade the same In and and of the of this and to to Although hardly with to the trade that sold thousands of people such as Charles Bayly did on the trade worked to In this way that an into colonial spirit people into between and While to many people were into tens of thousands of people from Britain and Ireland as slaves in the and during of the and however, to in the the Bay Colony to and of their As what in of up in the by the to by the of Importantly, however, the work Bay Colony statute did not the temporary enslavementof and the temporary or perpetual of Native In of the the of into slavery on in the the in slaves to and slaves would be in Colony as as those for were slaves or in a In after on the of Africans from England, the Bay Colony Richard to the trade in the Thomas had sold there after away from be to their to a to both to of and the of this did however, to the of the the of capital statute ten called for who a or and the of however, did of the radical In had to in the of the Bay Colony of radical by the English common in to and an that the most Henry and in the and of followers on quickly fell with their own like his on in his own had for the to a called this and an to of the that to his In under with the Bay Colony the and children to where of them The to the and then and of the to in where the enslaved and his them labor the Bay in this treatment the of the after which for London, where he to from London, he to Thomas a that for all of met in Street one of the radical of the and the served as of for the the of with the this the and a who his to Cromwell for the the of their for In the of his most In the the radical to him the Bay his own in his with all to himself a by and of to or hard labor in that or that with not be made to one had not to be a to his own the time to in his the in the Bay the of and The an in to In a from the of by most of the their as a the called to the Bay Colony and in the and Christian the English the the of form of in the as this would to of a them to to which not to a that him for then to with this in of which in the of and their the in republican the and to in While and labored in London to from worked in America to the perpetual the through the “the common course to that that they have them for the to for “the such beyond the of the statute to the slavery that people such as Charles Bayly through the both and slavery on a of or being or would for than ten labor in would the manner with English of and the of English labor a radical form of republican that they had America, but one that was by the that had during his the Within the of a republican form of the the for from the of the English with to when the the not the this to but a of from have this we have what have been the in a a to being enslaved by of to itself of the most of chattel to slavery not be a of as for be as a in the of that in to the in and colonies to and the of a that into of In this the of the of the in 1654, which to the labor, and Although tried to the of the with the trade could the to The English did as when for the the London in from his own that the and the a for the the did the on met with than English in just of many in by slaves, but most from Although the to to from a he thousands of and on which the and of the on the did to the work they were to as than for the himself as that by and to the the Protectorate the the poor had to and for the of the in with the of the and Cromwell in his in his by In a tothe Cromwell we have the and to and be for the In the of the from the the Protectorate that all the of in the would be made that the same of that this had been through be In this the regime to not by the the labor, and of people from the but by In the of to to the colonial English and the subsequent in London and than plantation Barbados, the the trade Africans with to a Barbados by have the in the of the of the many of the Protectorate for the The by in this to be in of most and their radical in the between and and the to slavery and the to England, up with a of as the Fifth we had to London on an to in the of joined other and Thomas Fifth Monarchist in the of London, where the revolutionary spirit of during the Bay Colony in the 1640s during a when for and the of the He to during the and joined the as a in Thomas of he his in of the a master wine of and of had served Bay Colony before to London in where as a cooper in the of who the Protectorate would suffer for the regime with on had in of Fifth of the and his had led to the and and the on as the in their to the and such as had and from the English of the The of the Oliver with in on this in the of the The English the on the of the Fifth Monarchist that Venner in his the to one most of tothe for in the the London kept in or languished in for to a and life of colonial of and from he and his have the and of who from the for their to the from their to the for the many and that and Venner and his to and as to and the Venner and other in the of the of the through and had through the work of and tothe both and of their Within the of this between the republican antinomian millenarian that through the Fifth by and led to a to Protectorate that in the of and through the of The Bay Colony Henry on the of the who had one of the most in through his of the made his to Venner and his followers through Fifth Monarchist of Although had the to before his to through the they in the and then Venner and other were they could their of the and London one of in the English in the trade in the in the the to the the of The itself served as a to with as as the of the the made in the the of and from of London, of and most of in as the London in a of the most and the of the that and and than the their their on a before the of the in a of the many of many for the was in like to the of their for slaves to like the and of from the in and labor of who the of their own and the of the In one of their the rebels in the a with had of for the and of by a that had but the the of had “the had the into of the and made them to of enslaved for and in the of the that they would up in to the the of In England, Venner became slavery and but in London, he and his rebels the of one that the of the and in a of the rebels to the of and and and that in the of slaves and souls of of prophesied that regime would the made slaves by the and of In the of and the of thousands to for or to labor as the of from the colonies in England, of the trade to the In the of the the of the to the way for the of and other as the work of the slavery came to in The and had been in and with others had into slavery on Barbados by and for their and their from that their labor violated the of before the of the after a had through the of London, not from the In the that the the in to the of people of however, did this and in to a in The of Charles in and his republican of and his followers into an of a of Fifth Monarchist that which in the of of The that “the of of the an to the of and other Fifth The would in of the to to the the In England, the Fifth Monarchist Bay Colony for the of in from a of by his The on to in of that or sell them into On January 1661, of and a rebellion to overthrow the and the upon the through the an to the of and a who had his to the The most on Wood in of the Comptor the Fifth would have with the of the poor into colonial The the of the and but them before the In the Venner with his The the Comptor as the of in which the of slaves the in the of the English In the both Thomas Venner and Henry would with for their to the with during his the Venner that the his life in had him that was the the for later, when led away for the Bay Colony last that the Venner had not The of radical joined their the of colonial with their both and the English from what as under and republican they a of of from chattel slavery could in from their own In the a of that a in the of as as the of English and the English The most that during in of the Wood Street where tried to the of would have been for slavery in the Wood from and of the of of of London The and illegal trade in “bond and in the of and the