Therefore, property rights had to be
placed above marriage rights. In contrast, in South America the
Church insisted that slave unions be brought within the sacrament
of marriage. The Church also strove to limit promiscuous
relationships between slaves as well as between masters and
slaves, and it encouraged marriage instead of informal mating.
Also, the law forbade the separate sale of members of the family,
husband, wife, and children under the age of ten.
The general thrust of the laws outlining police and disciplinary
powers in North America was to entrust complete jurisdiction to
the master. One judge had laid down the law that the master's
power must be absolute in order to render slave obedience
perfect, and, although the courts were empowered to discipline
slaves in certain situations, the masters generally acted as
judges, juries, and dispensers of punishments. In those rare
cases where the law did protect the slave against extreme
mistreatment, its protection was nullified by the universal
proscription against any slave or Black person testifying in
court against any white.
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