Barbados Slave Code The Barbados Slave Code of 1661 was the English legal code set up to provide a legal base for slavery in the Caribbean island of Barbados . It required that slave owners dress their slaves . However , it also denied slaves even basic rights guaranteed under English common law such as the right to life . It allowed the slaves ' owners to do entirely as they wished to their slaves , including mutilating them and burning them alive , without fear of reprisal . This code was adopted by South Carolina in 1696 , and formed the basic outline for slavery in the British North American colonies . See also Slave codes The legal basis for slavery was established in Barbados in 1636 and in Virigina is 1662 . These statutes created the status of chattel slave for those of African descent , i.e. they were slaves for life and the status of slave was heritable . Slave status passed to children through the mother in these statutes. for example , Virginia 's 1662 statute was as follows : 1662 : “All children borne in this country shalbe [ sp ] held bond or free only according to the condition of the mother.” Hening , William Waller . The Statutes at Large , Being a Collection of All the Laws of Virginia from the First Session of the Legislature in the Year 1619 . 13 vols . Richmond : W. Gray Printers , 1819. 3 : 252 Categories : Slavery | History of Barbados 