Many colonies taxed slave births or population increases. Owners who failed to register newborn slaves committed fraud, an illegal act. In Jamaica (18th century), planters would sometimes conceal births to avoid duties—these men could be fined or even imprisoned.
Though technically "rape" was a crime, the legal system categorized enslaved women as property, making the law inapplicable to them. skacat illegal aspects of legal slavery 18 best
Cockfights and boxing matches involving enslaved people as forced participants were common in the 1740s–1760s in New Orleans and Kingston. Gambling on these events was illegal under colonial gaming laws, and forcing a person to fight was assault and false imprisonment. Many colonies taxed slave births or population increases
Silas was "property," a status upheld by the highest courts in the land. But even within the suffocating cage of the law, Miller practiced a darker, quiet illegality. The law said Silas had to be fed; Miller sold the corn meal meant for the quarters and replaced it with rot. The law, as cruel as it was, technically prohibited "unusual cruelty" in some territories, yet Miller’s lash moved with a frequency that ignored any boundary of "usual." Though technically "rape" was a crime, the legal