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Slavery at common law

Slavery at common law in the British Empire developed slowly over centuries, and was characterised by inconsistent decisions and varying rationales for the treatment of slavery, the slave trade, and the rights of slaves and slave owners. Unlike in its colonies, within the home islands of Britain, until 1807, except for statutes facilitating and taxing the international slave trade, there was virtually no legislative intervention in relation to slaves as property, and accordingly the common law had something of a "free hand" to develop, untrammelled by the "paralysing hand of the Parliamentary draftsmen".[1][a] Two attempts to pass a slave code via Parliament itself both failed, one in the 1660s and the other in 1674.[2]

Some scholars assert slavery was not recognised as lawful,[3] often on the basis of pronouncements such as those attributed to Lord Mansfield, that "the air of England is too pure for any slave to breathe".[b] However the true legal position has been both complex and contested. In the 17th and 18th centuries, some African slaves were openly held, bought, sold, and searched for when escaping within Britain.[4][5]

  1. ^ A reference from Cheshire's Private International Law (1936) as to the virtues of developing common law principles without statutory intervention; although quaere the extent to which this was a benefit in relation to slavery.
  2. ^ Paley, Ruth; Malcolmson, Cristina; Hunter, Michael (1 June 2010). "Parliament and Slavery, 1660–c.1710". Slavery & Abolition. 31 (2): 257–281. doi:10.1080/01440391003711107. ISSN 0144-039X. S2CID 144587717.
  3. ^ Anti-slavery society
  4. ^ Mohdin, Aamna (12 June 2018). "Researchers discovered hundreds of ads for runaway slaves in 18th-century Britain". Quartz. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  5. ^ Ruane, Michael E. (3 July 2018). "Ads for runaway slaves in British newspapers show the cruelty of the 'genteel'". Washington Post. Retrieved 3 September 2018.


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