Question

What important change took place in Virginia during Johnson’s life that prevented others from achieving the success that he did? (3rd segment)

Answer 1

Answer:

The answer is below

Explanation:

Anthony Johnson, a black man from Angola became one of the first African indentured servants to be free and own land in Virginia (Thirteen colonies, America). During his lifetime, in 1662, Virginia Colony passed a law that children in the colony would henceforth hold the social status of their mother. This is about the Roman principle of partus sequitur ventrem. This translates to children of slave women who were born into slavery, regardless of whether their fathers are white free men or black free men.

Therefore, most, if not all of the subsequent people of African origin at the time, were technically born into slavery, as many of them do not have white mothers, thereby, that change of law prevented them from achieving the same level of success as Anthony Johnson.

Anthony Johnson died in 1670.