“This act, giving “legislative countenance to the social ascent of mulattoes,” as Winthrop Jordan pointed out some time ago, was singular among the British colonies in America. But it also made clear the racial basis of claims to national belonging: English rights and liberties belonged to English, or British, subjects, “born of British parents” or sufficiently removed from miscegenated roots to be seen as white and Christian; to be “called English” meant to be “free from all taint of the Negroe race.”(page 148)
This quote is talking about a law passed in 1733 that stated that no one should be labeled a mulatto after the “Third Generation”and if they were brought up to be Christian. This means that A mulatto which is person born of white and black ancestry, shall not be called a mulatto after the third generation of black blood being in their veins, this essentially allowed them to be called white as long as they were brought up Christian. The quote illustrates to us what this meant for the ex-mulattoes. The quote states that English rights were given to English people, people born to British parents, or people “sufficiently removed from miscegenated roots. This means that these people who were mulattoes after the third generation and grew up as Christians were now allowed the rights of Englishmen meaning they were considered equal. The quote also goes on to tell us what makes someone “English”. It states ” …to be “called English” meant to be “free from all taint of the Negroe race.” This of course means that in order to be English you must not contain black blood inside you.
Two questions i have about this reading are:
- If you are only considered “English” is you are free from all taint of the Negroe race.” then why are they allowing Mulattoes become Englishmen and are allowing them equal rights?
- This quote also states that English rights also belonged to people who sufficiently removed from miscegenated roots to be seen as white and Christian. Does this mean that if you look black even after the third generation you are not given those rights?
