Elizabeth Key and Colonial Adaptations

Elizabeth Key's Case (1656)

• Elizabeth Key gained freedom in 1656 due to her father's status.
• Her lawyer, William Greensted, took her case, fathered two children with her, and eventually married her.
• Key won her case, escaping a life in slavery, unlike her mother.
• The 1662 statute aimed to prevent similar avenues to freedom.

Adaptation of Principles

• The evolution of chattel slavery illustrates how Europeans modified their principles to suit the new colonial environment.
• The clash between individuals like Elizabeth Key and William Greensted versus the Virginia House of Burgesses demonstrates the struggle to interpret and manipulate the world's rules.
• These power contests shaped the emerging new world from the collision of cultures.

Types of Colonies by 1700

• Tribute Colonies: Established in Mexico and Peru, initially dependent on the wealth and labor of indigenous populations.
• Plantation Colonies: Focused on sugar and other tropical/subtropical crops, utilizing bound labor.
• Neo-Europes: Aimed to recreate or approximate European economies and social structures.