The system of chattel enslavement governed every single aspect of an enslaved person's life, including the physical locations that they were allowed to inhabit at any given time. Laws and levels of punishment were specifically designated for "going at large." Read about how Richmond City Commonwealth Causes reveal this history in today's The UncommonWealth.

https://uncommonwealth.virginiamemory.com/blog/2023/08/30/the-crime-of-going-at-large/



Vincent T. Brooks
Senior Local Records Archivist
Library of Virginia
800 East Broad St.
Richmond, VA 23219
804-692-3525
Fax 804-692-2277
The Uncommonwealth<https://uncommonwealth.virginiamemory.com/>


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