Barbados Slave Code

The Barbados Slave Code, established in 1661, was a set of laws that governed the treatment of enslaved Africans on the island. It defined slaves as property, giving their owners extensive rights to control and punish them, often harshly, with little or no legal protection for the enslaved. The code aimed to prevent rebellions and maintain the plantation economy by formalizing the subjugation of enslaved people. It became a model for other colonial slavery laws, reinforcing racial slavery and denying enslaved individuals basic rights and freedoms.