Maryland Comprehensive Slave Code (1692)

Maryland enacted a comprehensive slave code in 1692 consolidating and extending earlier laws. The code restricted enslaved people's movement, prohibited assembly, regulated the lives of free Black people, and codified punishments for various acts of resistance. It also established clearer procedures for the return of runaways and penalties for those who assisted escapees. The 1692 code was part of a colony-wide consolidation of racial slavery law in the aftermath of Bacon's Rebellion across the Chesapeake.