9 July 1640
Court decisionSupplement
John Punch receives lifetime servitude while Europeans receive fixed terms
Colonial Virginia
On 9 July 1640, Virginia’s General Court sentenced John Punch to serve Hugh Gwyn or his assigns for life after Punch and two European servants were brought back from Maryland. All three received thirty lashes. Victor, identified as Dutch, and James Gregory, identified as Scottish, had to finish their indentures and serve four additional years.
Dates preserve the source’s precision. This entry is part of a selected historical record; its qualifications and sources are retained below.
Context / qualification
The judgment explicitly distinguishes Punch as Black and imposes a different term of service. It is a surviving example of racialized lifetime bondage, not proof that slavery or every racial distinction began with this case.
Sources
- Howard Zinn, A People’s History of the United States, chapter 2, p. 30; supplied print pages, edition/year unidentified
- Virginia General Court, 9 and 22 July 1640; McIlwaine (1924), pp. 466–467 ↗
- Helen Tunnicliff Catterall, Judicial Cases (1926), vol. 1, pp. 77–78; McIlwaine court extracts and notes ↗