themselves, should be willing to extend personal
liberty to others;--Therefore," etc. The statute then proceeded to enact
"that for the future, no negro or mulatto slave shall be brought into
this colony; and in case any slave shall hereafter be brought in, he or
she shall be, and are hereby, rendered immediately free...." The logical
ending of such an act would have been a clause prohibiting the
participation of Rhode Island citizens in the slave-trade. Not only was
such a clause omitted, but the following was inserted instead:
"Provided, also, that nothing in this act shall extend, or be deemed to
extend, to any negro or mulatto slave brought from the coast of Africa,
into the West Indies, on board any vessel belonging to this colony, and
which negro or mulatto slave could not be disposed of in the West
Indies, but shall be brought into this colony. Provided, that the owner
of such negro or mulatto slave give bond ... that such negro or mulatto
slave shall be exported out of the colony, within one year from the date
of such bond; if such negro or mulatto be alive, and in a condition to
be removed."[41]

In 1779 an act to prevent the sale of slaves out of the State was
passed,[42] and in 1784, an act gradually to abolish slavery.[43] Not
until 1787 did an act pass to forbid participation in the slave-trade.
This law laid a penalty of L100 for every slave transported and L1000
for every vessel so engaged.[44]

21. ~Restrictions in Connecticut.~ Connecticut, in common with the other
colonies of this section, had a trade for many years with the West
Indian slave markets; and though this trade was much smaller than that
of the neighboring colonies, yet many of her citizens were engaged in
it. A map of Middletown at the time of the Revolution gives, among one
hundred families, three slave captains and "three notables" designated
as "slave-dealers."[45]

The actual importation was small,[46] and almost entirely unrestricted
before the Revolution, save by a few light, general duty acts. In 1774
the further importation of slaves was prohibited, because "the increase
of slaves in this Colony is injurious to the poor and inconvenient." The
law prohibited importation under any pretext by a penalty of L100 per
slave.[47] This was re-enacted in 1784, and provisions were made for the
abolition of slavery.[48] In 1788 participation in the trade was
forbidden, and the penalty placed at L50 for each slave and L500 for
each ship en