Text 4 The first mention of slavery in the statutes of the English colonies of North America does not occur until after 1660 -- some forty years after the importation of the first Black people. Lest we think that slavery existed in fact before it did in law, Oscar and Mary Handlin assure us that the status of Black people down to the 1660’s was that of servants. A critique of the Handlins’ interpretation of why legal slavery did not appear until the 1660’s suggests that assumptions about the relation between slavery and racial prejudice should be reexamined, and that explanations for the different treatment of Black slaves in North and South America should be expanded. The Handlins explain the appearance of legal slavery by arguing that, during the 1660’s, the position of White servants was improving relative to that of Black servants. Thus, the Handlins contend, Black and White servants, heretofore treated Mike, each attained a different status. Th
A. extending rather than causing racial prejudice in these colonies.
B. hastening the legalization of slavery in these colonies.
C. relieving some of the conditions of slavery for Black people in these colonies.
D. delaying the introduction of slavery into the English colonies.
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