Partus sequitur ventrem made enslaved women’s children inherit bondage and incentivized rape

Evidence

Virginia’s House of Burgesses passes a new law holding that “all children borne in this country shalbe held bond or free only according to the condition of the mother.” This doctrine, known as partus sequitur ventrem (“that which is brought forth follows the belly”), is a departure from English tradition, in which a child’s status followed that of the father. The law incentivizes the rape of enslaved Black women by their white enslavers. — Nikole Hannah-Jones et al., The 1619 Project, 178

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines partus sequitur ventrem and contrasts it with English patrilineal inheritance of status.
• XREF: Connects to the origin-story reframing theme: this legal departure from English tradition is a concrete instance of slavery reshaping American law away from European norms.
• CANDY: The phrase partus sequitur ventrem and its inversion of English paternal status law is a crisp, quotable historical fact.