HST 222 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Manumission, Marital Rape, Commodification
Document Summary
Most often went to court and convictions given. Line was blurry when it came to family members. Because of the preexisting relationship between family members, it was hard to prove that it was rape. Marital rape - legal for a long time; as soon as you were married, the contract legally meant you had given consent for the rest of your marriage. Servants were members of the household, under the control of the master, and this made them extremely vulnerable. In these situations, economic mastery also meant sexual mastery. Enslaved women were considered commodities - a material possession - because of their value in labor and sexual regards. Slave-owners one group among other political and economic elites. Master-slave relationship model for all other social relationships. Slave-owners the economic and political elite, all others aspire to join them. First slaves brought over in 1619 with english settlers. Power: laws making slavery hereditary and restricting slaves.
