Eventos
Jamestown
is foundedAfrican and white
indentured servants
work side-by-sideAntonio
(later Anthony Johnson)
arrives in VirginiaCensus lists
Africans as
“servants,” not
“slaves”John Punch is
sentenced to
lifetime servitudeFree Black
families live
in VirginiaLaws begin
codifying racial
slaveryThis is the moment
when Virginia began
transforming into a
slavery society.The 1640 sentencing of John Punch was the first
clear legal distinction between Black and white
laborers. Though all three men ran away, only
Punch—because he was Black—was sentenced to
lifetime servitude. This marked the beginning of
race-based slavery in Virginia and set a legal
precedent that tied African descent to permanent
slavery, a defining feature of a slavery society.
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