Slave Laws of Louisiana

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"Slave Laws of Louisiana"

No Land . . . Only Slaves!
"A Different Look at Deeds"

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"Slave Laws of Louisiana"

1719

First slaves arrive in French Colonial Louisiana.

1724

Under French rule, "the Code Noir" is based on the 1685 edict used in the French possessions of the Carribean and regulates the treatment of slaves.

* Slaves to be instructed in Catholic Faith
* Slaves should be married under Catholic laws (with master’s consent)
* Regulations of proper feeding & clothing of slaves
* Proper treatment of slaves, hours of labor and no work on Sundays.
* Slaves have right to complain if being mistreated by cruel masters.
* Children must remain with their mothers until age 10.
* Slaves not allowed to own property through their own labor (it was feared they might steal to acquire property).
* No right to testify, to hold office or make contracts.
* No concubinage or inter-racial marriage.
* Masters must be over age 25 to emancipate a slave & must have permission by the government through the Superior Council.

1763

Under Spanish rule: “Las Siete Partidas”

* Manumissions allowed without government approval.
* Right to own property.
* Right to self-purchase by petitioning for appraisal & paying the appraised value to the master, called “coartacion.”
* Relief from cruel masters by petitioning to be sold to another master.

1803

Under French rule: back to "Black Code"

* Retained coartacion for next 3 years

1806

Under US rule: Retained Spanish law

* Embargo on importation of slaves

1807

"Black Code" Closely resembled Colonial French slave laws.

* Slaves could no longer force masters to sell them their freedom
* Government approval over manumissions
* Required criminal conviction of a master to force sale to another.
* Protected children under 10 from being sold away from their mothers
* Slave became “immovable property” (tied to the land)

1808

"the Digest of 1808" an attempt to gather all of the slave laws together in one uniform body of law. Based on Spanish law with French law.

* Right to sue cruel masters.

1816

Regulations for Steamboat owners and Ship's Captains relative to passage of persons of color.

1822

Legislative Committee appointed to revise the Digest of 1808 & prepare a new code (Using existing French, Spanish & English law)

1825

"Civil Code" to replace Digest of 1808

* Slaves could not own property unless by consent of Master.

1840

Tougher regulations for Steamboat owners and Ship’s Captains relative to passage of persons of color.

1852

"Statute of 1852"

* Limited manumission: Masters must provide $150 per freed slave for passage to Liberia or the means for them to be transported.

1857

Prohibition of ALL emancipations.

Sources:

Deeds of Conveyance Records. Bienville Parish Clerk's Office, Arcadia, Louisiana.

Deeds of Conveyance Records. Bossier Parish Clerk's Office, Minden, Louisiana.

Deeds of Conveyance Records. Caddo Parish Clerk's Office, Shreveport, Louisiana.

Deeds of Conveyance Records. Claiborne Parish Clerk's Office, Homer, Louisiana.

Deeds of Conveyance Records. DeSoto Parish Clerk's Office, Mansfield, Louisiana.

Genovese, Eugene D. Roll, Jordan, Roll: The World the Slaves Made. Vintage Books 1976 ed.; New York, NY. 1972, 1974. p.13, 400

Schafer, Judith Kelleher. Slavery, the Civil Law, and the Supreme Court of Louisiana. LSU Press; Baton Rouge, LA. 1994. p.97-98

Smith, Edith and Vivian Lehman. No Land . . . Only Slaves! volumes 1-18. Balch Springs, TX, 2000-2008.

Finding Your African American Ancestors: A Beginner's Guide David Thackery. Ancestry Daily News 11/2/2000 http://www.ancestry.com/library/view/news/articles/2862.asp?rc=locale%7E&us=0

In Celebration of Black History Research Ancestry Daily News 11/2/2000 http://www.ancestry.com/learn/library/article.aspx?article=10957