Virginia 1682 Slave Code: All Non-Christian Servants Declared Enslaved

Virginia's 1682 Act declared that all imported servants who were not Christians in their native country were to be held as enslaved for life, regardless of subsequent baptism. The law also clarified that enslaved people who converted to Christianity after arrival remained enslaved. It further restricted enslaved people's movement and assembly. This comprehensive code tightened the legal architecture of hereditary race-based slavery, closing the Christianity loophole entirely and extending enslavement to all non-Christian imports regardless of prior status.