during the eighteenth century few whites tried to “upgrade” their slaves
even though doing so would have increased the slaves’ value. In South
Carolina in 1740, teaching a slave to write was punishable by a fine of 100
pounds. Attempts to Christianize slaves were also frowned upon. In this,
the English Protestants were far less liberal than the Catholic Spaniards. In
1667 the Virginia legislature attempted to forestall any thought that conver-
sion of slaves would make them candidates for freedom. By 1706 Virginia’s
lead had been followed by five other colonies. The South Carolina Society
for the Propagation of the Gospel complained in 1713 that masters
are generally of [the] Opinion that a Slave grows worse by being a
Christian; and therefore instead of instructing them in the principles of
Christianity which is undoubtedly their Duty, they malign and traduce
those that Attempt it [and in the Legislature also it is] thought inconsis-
tent with the planters’ secular interest and advantage; and it is they that
make up the bulk of our assembly.This remained true during all of the seventeenth century and most of the
eighteenth.
Why such opposition? If Karl Marx (much later, of course) was right in
saying that “religion is the opiate of the people,” it would seem to have
been more to the interest of the masters to promote Christianity among
slaves. But the masters did not see it that way, for both economic and secu-
rity reasons. In the first place, giving Sunday to the slaves as a day to grow
some of their own food cut down on expenses. They could not do that if
they went off to church. Also—particularly during the planting and harvest-
ing seasons, when men, women, and children often worked as much as
eighteen hours a day, every day in the week—going to church would be a
distraction; moreover, it could, conceivably, grow into a demanded “right.”
Second, when slaves attended gatherings of any sort, even (or perhaps
especially) religious meetings, they could “conspire,” be encouraged to
rebel, or plan to escape. In 1715, in “An Act Concerning Servants and
Slaves,” the legislature of North Carolina forbade gatherings of any sort,
including attendance at church. It was safer to keep slaves isolated in the
small groups that worked on each separate plantation.
Blacks in America 183