Case of John Casor
- When
- 1653–1655
- Where
- Northampton County; Northampton County court
- Episodes
- 3
In 1655, the Northampton County court ruled that John Casor, an African man, was enslaved for life, marking one of the earliest instances of judicially sanctioned lifetime servitude in the Thirteen Colonies.
Episodes
- Freedom Suit Filed
John Casor filed a freedom suit in 1653 against his owner Johnson.
- Johnson Sues Parker
Johnson sued Robert Parker in 1654 for detaining Casor, claiming lifetime service rights.
- Court Ruling on Casor
The court ruled on March 8, 1655, upholding Johnson's right to Casor's perpetual service.
Background and detail
Court Ruling. On March 8, 1655, the Northampton County court upheld Johnson's claim to Casor's perpetual service. This decision provided judicial sanction for the enslavement of a Black person by a free Black individual. Historian Russell notes this distinguished the case from earlier Virginia records of slavery as punishment for crime.
Historical Context. Historians debate the exact status of African servitude before legal slavery was established. While some cite John Punch (1640) as the first documented slave, the Casor case is noted as an early instance of lifetime enslavement resulting from a civil suit.
People involved
- John Casor · Enslaved person; freedom-suit filer
- Johnson · Enslaver/claimant
- Robert Parker · Defendant in Johnson's 1654 detainer suit
Sources
- John Casor Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-06
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.