Colonial Connecticut, sometimes referred to as a "kid brother" of Massachusetts, often enacted similar laws and regulations passed by the larger colony. Established as a Puritan theocracy by Reverend Thomas Hooker in 1636, Connecticut had black servants or slaves as early as 1639, with slavery becoming an accepted system of labor by 1680. Slavery was legalized in Connecticut when Massachusetts' "Body of Liberties" passed in 1641 and was subsequently incorporated in the "Articles of the New England Confederation."

Connecticut's slave population grew rapidly, with the proportion of slaves to free inhabitants jumping by over 40 percent between 1756 and 1774. By the end of the colonial era, Connecticut's slave population was greater than that of any other New England colony. The more than 6,000 enslaved blacks living in Connecticut before the Revolution represented a large portion of the colony's "private property." Still, this number was less than three percent of the population, and most of them lived in the cities of New London and Fairfield. The type of slavery practiced in the State by 1800 is sometimes called "family slavery" to distinguish it from the plantation slavery of the southern states.

Connecticut, like Massachusetts, had a number of individuals who urged emancipation. Just before the Revolution in 1774, Connecticut outlawed the importation of slaves, citing that the institution was injurious to the "poor and inconvenient." Offenders who violated the statute were fined 100 pounds per slave. In 1788, a statute prohibited shipmasters from engaging in the slave trade. Violators of the law were fined a hefty 50 pounds per slave and 500 pounds per ship.

Connecticut developed a stricter slave code than Massachusetts. The movement of blacks throughout the colony was severely limited. Blacks were required to be off the streets by nine at night and to remain within the towns where they lived. Any slave caught wandering about without a pass was arrested as a runaway. Slaves who violated curfew laws were severely whipped. Connecticut held slave owners liable for slave offenses. A 1730 statute noted that blacks found guilty of "speaking defamatory words" were to be arrested, whipped, and then sold at auction.

Connecticut, like a number of New England colonies, allowed slaves to elect black "governors" or "kings." These officials were chosen to help settle disputes among slaves and determine penalties for minor offenses. Election days were festive celebrations, as blacks came dressed in their best clothes for the party and games that followed the counting of the ballots.

Manumission was not always an easy matter in Connecticut. A law passed in 1702 required masters to obtain the permission of local authorities before freeing their slaves. The Revolutionary War, however, offered some black males the chance for freedom. Although no freedom statutes were passed for military service by Connecticut, the law did allow masters to emancipate, without posting a bond, healthy slaves who had served the colony in the War. Connecticut also exempted from military service those whites who could procure a slave substitute; and black substitutes were often promised their freedom for their service. By the end of the War, several hundred blacks gained their freedom by serving as substitutes for whites in Connecticut's armed forces.

With blacks more numerous in Connecticut than in the rest of New England states combined, lawmakers were hesitant to abandon slavery in the face of rising racial tensions. After emancipation bills were rejected in 1777, 1779 and 1780, abolitionists realized that emancipation could not succeed without a number of concessions. A bill presented in 1784 to the legislature as part of a general statute codifying race controls finally succeeded in gradually emancipating black and mulatto children born after March 1, 1784, when they reached the age of 25. The law worked, however, and by 1820 only around 200 slaves remained in the State. The State abolished slavery completely in 1848.

Primary

The Public Records of the State of Connecticut, 9 volumes. Hartford: Lockwood and Brainard, 1894-1953.

Secondary

Evans, Gwendolyn. "The Slave in Connecticut during the American Revolution." Connecticut Historical Society Bulletin, XXX, 1965.

Greene, Lorenzo J. The Negro in Colonial New England, 1620-1776. New York: Columbia University Press, 1942.

McManus, Edgar J. Black Bondage in the North. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1973.

Steiner, Bernard. History of Slavery in Connecticut. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1893.

TYPE	YEAR	LAWS/CODES	DESCRIPTION
Slavery legalized	1650	Statute	Connecticut became the second colony after Massachusetts to recognize slavery as a legal institution.
Slave code	1660	Code	Law prohibited blacks from acquiring military training in the militia. No black, mulatto, or Indian was permitted to wander outside of his community. If a ferry operator carried an enslaved person without a pass, he was fined 20 shillings.
Manumission	1702	Statute	Required slave masters to obtain the consent of their local selectman before manumitting a slave.
Alcohol	1703	Statute	Innkeepers could not sell alcohol to enslaved persons.
Trade	1708	Statute	To prevent slaves from stealing their masters' property, no white could purchase anything from an enslaved person without an order from his master; if apprehended, the buyer had to return the property plus double its value. If he had disposed of the property, he paid three times its value. If unable to pay, he received 20 lashes, and the slave 30 lashes.
Freedom of movement	1723	Statue	Enslaved persons were not permitted in the street after 9 p.m. without a pass. If picked up, the slave was brought to a justice of the peace and received ten lashes unless the master paid ten shillings to release him or her. Anyone harboring another person's slave was fined ten shillings, half to the government and half to the informer.
Freedom of movement and behavior	1730	Statute	If a free person entertained a black in his/her home after 9 p.m. without a certificate from the slave's master, the free person was fined 20 shillings. If a black slave slandered a white, the slave received 40 lashes, and the slave's master was fined for the blacks misbehavior. If the master refused to pay, the black was sold to cover costs.
Slave trade	1771	Statute	Slave trade was outlawed.
Importation of slaves	1774	Statute	Statute prohibited the importation of slaves because they were injurious to the "poor and inconvenient." The fine for violating this statute was 100 pounds per slave.
Manumission	1779	Petition	Blacks who had served in the Continental Army petitioned the Connecticut legislature, stating: "We are endowed with the same faculties with our masters, and the more we consider the matter, the more we are convinced of our right to be free." Emancipation bills were rejected in 1777, 1779, and 1780.
Gradual abolition	1784	Statute	Gradual emancipation scheme was included as part of a general statute codifying race controls. Black and mulatto children born after March 1 would become free at the age of 25.
Slave trade	1788	Statute	No captain or master of a Connecticut ship was permitted to engage in the slave trade. The fine was 50 pounds per slave and 500 pounds per ship for violating this statute.
Slave trade	1788	Statute	It was illegal to import any inhabitants from Africa as slaves or servants. Penalty: $167 for every person found on board ship, and $1,667 for every vessel employed in the importation of slaves.
Kidnapping	1788	Statute	Any person found guilty of kidnapping any free black, Indian, or mulatto resident within the State was to be fined $334. Slave owners were permitted to remove enslaved persons who belonged to them outside of the State.
Children	1788	Statute	Slave masters were required to register the names of all slave children born after March 1, 1784, within six months after their birth with the town clerk. Failure to do so would result in a penalty of seven dollars for every month's delinquency.
Slave trade	1792	Statute	Statute outlawed slave trade. Violators of statute were to be fined $334. Statute did not prevent slave owners from leaving the State with their property.
Manumission	1792	Statute	Slave owners could emancipate their slaves and were to apply for a certificate from government authorities. A certificate would be awarded if an enslaved person was in good health and between the ages of 25 and 45. Upon receipt of such a certificate, the master and his heirs and executors would be forever discharged from any charge or cost associated with supporting the freed black.
Behavior	1796	Statute	A black, Indian, or mulatto slave found guilty of publicly offending another person (white) was to be whipped as many as 40 stripes.
Road service	1796	Statute	Indian, mulatto, and black servants or slaves between the ages of 15 and 60 (along with white persons) were to assist in the maintenance of state roads at least two days per year.
Behavior	1796	Statute	"And whereas Indian, Negro, and Molatto Servants and Slaves are very apt to be Turbulent, and often to be quarrelling with white People, to the great Disturbance of the Peace." It was unlawful for Indians, black or mulatto servants, or slaves to disturb the peace or attempt to strike a white person. If convicted, person was to be punished by flogging, not to exceed 30 stripes.
Runaways	1796	Statute	Blacks, mulattoes or Indian servants traveling without a written pass were considered runaways. Persons who encountered such slaves were to secure them and bring them before a justice of the peace.
Ferries	1796	Statute	Ferry operators who transported any enslaved Indian, mulatto or black without a certificate were to be fined $3.34 for each offense.
Free blacks	1796	Statute	Free blacks found traveling without a pass were to be stopped and seized, and were required to pay all charges.
Trading	1796	Statute	Free persons were prohibited from trading with any Indian, mulatto or black servant or slave. Offenders were required to pay double the value of goods traded. If unable to make restitution, offender was to be publicly whipped up to 20 stripes.
Stealing	1796	Statute	Indian, mulatto, or black servants or slaves found guilty of stealing money or goods were to be punished by whipping up to 30 stripes.
Freedom of movement	1796	Statute	Black, mulatto or Indian servants or slaves found away from home after 9 p.m. were to be apprehended and brought before a justice of the peace. Offenders were to be publicly whipped up to ten stripes, and to pay court costs. A master could redeem his servant by paying $1.67.
Importation of slaves	1796	Statute	No Indian, black or mulatto slave was to be imported into Connecticut "by Sea or Land, from any Place or Places whatsoever, to be disposed of, left or sold within this State." Offenders were to be fined $334 for every slave imported.
Care of freed slaves	1796	Statute	Enslaved persons set free were to be maintained by their former owners or their heirs, if they were in need of support.
Care of freed slaves	1796	Statute	Owners of emancipated slaves were freed from all responsibility if they procured a certificate from legal authorities who found such a person able to support himself.
Gradual abolition	1796	Statute	Black or mulatto children born after March 1,1784, were to be freed at age 25.
Gradual abolition	1821	Statute	Statute declared that all black and mulatto children born into slavery were to be freed at age 21. Emancipated slaves were to be supported by their owners. Masters could acquire a certificate relieving them of financial responsibility from town authorities when emancipating slaves who were no older than 45 and were in good health. The act prohibited the slave trade and exportation of slaves outside of the State.
Free blacks	1833	Statute	A residency requirement was passed for blacks seeking to attend free schools, declaring that open admission "would tend to the great increase of the colored people of the State and thereby to the injury of the people."
Slave trade	1835	Statute	Any action or prosecution related to the slave trade or concerning Indian, mulatto, and black servants and slaves, could be brought and prosecuted at any time within three years after such cause of action arose.
Abolition	1835	Statute	The 1821 "Act to prevent Slavery" was reenacted.
Abolition	1848	Statute	Slavery abolished in all forms.