South Carolina established its first slave code in 1695. The code was based on the 1684 Jamaica slave code, which was in turn based on the 1661 Barbados Slave Code. The South Carolina slave code was the model for other North American colonies.[1] Georgia adopted the South Carolina code in 1770, and Florida adopted the Georgia code.[2]
The 1712 South Carolina slave code established positions of the state's racial groups. "Negroes and other slaves brought unto the people of this Province for that purpose, are of barbarous, wild, savage natures, and such as renders them wholly unqualified to be governed by the laws, customs, and practices of this Province."[3]
The slave code included provisions such as:[2]
The South Carolina slave code was revised in 1739 with the following amendments:[2]
Some elements of the codes were rarely or laxly enforced as they imposed costs or limitations upon (politically powerful) slaveowners. For instance, well after 1712, slaves commonly worked for hire in Charleston.[4]