African-American History Timeline 1700 - 1799

Here is a timeline of African-American history in the 18th Century. The 1700s 170​2:   The New York Assembly passes a law making it illegal for enslaved African-Americans to testify against whites. The law also prohibits slaves from gathering in groups larger than three in public.   1704:   Elias Neau, a French colonist, establishes a school for freed and enslaved African-Americans in New York City.   1​705:   The Colonial Virginia Assembly determines that servants who are brought into the colony who were not Christians in their original place of origin should be considered slaves. The law also applies to Native Americans who were sold to colonists by other Native American tribes.   1708:   South Carolina becomes the first English colony with an African-American majority.   1711:   A Pennsylvania law outlawing enslavement is overturned by Queen Anne of Great Britain.   A public slave market opens in New York City near Wall Street.   1712:   On April 6, the New York City slave revolt begins. An estimated nine white colonists and countless African-Americans died during the incident. As a result, an estimated 21 enslaved African-Americans are hung and six committed suicide.   New York City establishes a law preventing freed African-Americans from inheriting land.   1713:   England has a monopoly on transporting  captured Africans to Spanish colonies in the Americas.   1716:   Enslaved Africans are brought to present-day Louisiana.   1718:   The French establish the town of  New Orleans. Within three years there are more enslaved African-American men than free white men residing in the city.   1721:   South Carolina passes a law limiting the right to vote to white Christian men.   1724: A curfew is established in Boston for non-whites.   The Code Noir  is created by the French colonial government. The purpose of the Code Noir is to have a set of laws for enslaved and freed blacks in Louisiana.   1727:   A revolt breaks out in Middlesex and Gloucester Counties in Virginia. The revolt is started by enslaved African and Native Americans.   1735:   Laws are established in South Carolina requiring slaves to wear specific clothes. Freed African-Americans must leave the colony within six months or be re-enslaved.   1737:   Following the death of his owner, an African indentured servant appeals to a Massachusetts Court and is granted his freedom.   1738:   Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose (Fort Mose) is established in present-day Florida by fugitive slaves. This will be considered the first permanent African-American settlement.   1739:   The Stono Rebellion  takes place on September 9. It is the first major slave revolt in South Carolina. An estimated forty whites and 80 African-Americans are killed during the revolt.   1741:   An estimated 34 people are killed for their participation  in the New York Slave Conspiracy. Out of the 34, 13 African-American men are burned at the stake; 17 black men, two white men, and two white women are hung. Also, 70 African-Americans and seven whites are expelled from New York City.   1741: South Carolina bans teaching enslaved African-Americans to read and write. The ordinance also makes it illegal for enslaved people to meet in groups or earn money. Also, slave owners are allowed to kill their slaves.   1746: Lucy Terry Prince  composes the poem,  Bars Fight.  For almost one hundred years the poem is passed down through generations in the oral tradition. In 1855, it was published.   1750:   The first free school for African-American children in the colonies is opened in Philadelphia by Quaker Anthony Benezet.   1752:   Benjamin Banneker  creates one of the first clocks in the colonies.   1758:   The first known African-American church in North America is founded on the plantation of William Byrd in Mecklenburg, Va. It is called the African Baptist or Bluestone Church.   1760:   The first slave narrative  is published by Briton Hammon. The text is entitled  A Narrative of the Uncommon Sufferings and Surprising Deliverance of Briton Hammon.   1761:   Jupiter Hammon publishes the first collection of poetry by an African-American.   1762:   Voting rights are restricted to white men in the colony of Virginia.   1770:   Crispus Attucks, a freed African-American, is the first resident of the British American colonies to be killed in the American Revolution.   1773:   Phillis Wheatley publishes  Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral.  Wheatleys books are considered the first to be written by an African-American woman.   Silver Bluff Baptist Church is founded near Savanah, Ga.   1774:   Enslaved African-Americans appeal to the Massachusetts General Court arguing that they have a natural right to their freedom.   1775:   General George Washington begins to allow enslaved and freed African-American men to enlist in the  army to fight against the British. As a result, five thousand African-American men serve in the American Revolutionary War.   African-Americans begin participating in the American Revolution, fighting for the Patriots. Most notably, Peter Salem fought at the Battle of Concord and Salem Poor at the Battle of Bunker.   The Society for the Relief of Free Negroes Unlawfully held in Bondage begins hosting meetings in Philadelphia on April 14. This is considered the first meeting of abolitionists.   Lord Dunmore declares that any enslaved African-Americans fighting for the British Flag will be freed.   1776:   An estimated 100,000 enslaved African-American men and women escape their masters during the Revolutionary War.   1777: Vermont abolishes enslavement.   1778:   Paul Cuffee and his brother, John, refuse to pay taxes, arguing that since African-Americans cannot vote and arent represented in the legislative process, they should not have to be taxed.   The 1st Rhode Island Regiment is established and is comprised of freed and enslaved African-American men. It is the first and only African-American military unit to fight for the Patriots.   1780:   Enslavement is abolished in Massachusetts. African-American men are also granted the right to vote.   The first cultural organization established by African-Americans is established. It is called the Free African Union Society and is located in Rhode Island.   Pennsylvania adopts the gradual emancipation law. The law proclaims that all children born after Nov. 1, 1780, will be freed on their 28th birthday.   1784:   Connecticut and Rhode Island follow Pennsylvanias suit, adopting gradual emancipation laws.   The New York African Society is established by freed African-Americans in New York City.   Prince Hall founds the first African-American Masonic lodge in the United States.   1785: New York frees all enslaved African-American men who served in the Revolutionary War.   The New York Society for the Promoting of the Manumission of Slaves is established by John Jay and Alexander Hamilton.   1787:   The U.S. Constitution is drafted. It allows the slave trade to continue for the next 20 years. In addition, it proclaims that slaves count as three-fifths of a man for determining population in the House of Representation.   The African Free School is established in New York City. Men such as Henry Highland Garnett and Alexander Crummell are educated at the institution.   Richard Allen  and Absalom  Jones  found the Free African Society in Philadelphia.   1790:   The Brown Fellowship Society is established by freed African-Americans in Charleston.   1791:   Banneker assists in surveying the federal district that will one day become the District of Columbia.   1792: Bannekers  Almanac  is published in Philadelphia. The text is the first book of science published by an African-American.   1793:   The first Fugitive Slave Law is established by U.S. Congress. It is now considered a criminal offense to help an escaped slave.   The cotton gin, invented by Eli Whitney is patented in March. The cotton gin assists in the boost to the economy and slave trade throughout the South.   1794:   Mother Bethel AME Church is founded by Richard Allen in Philadelphia.   New York also adopts a gradual emancipation law, abolishing slavery entirely in 1827.   1795:   Bowdoin College is established in Maine. It will become a major center of abolitionist activity.   1796:   The African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) is organized in Philadelphia on August 23.   1798:   Joshua Johnston  is the first African-American visual artist to gain popularity in the United States.   Venture Smiths  A Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Venture, Native of Africa but Resident Above Sixty Years in the United States of America  is the first narrative written by an African-American. Previous narratives were dictated to white abolitionists.