The Maryland law of 1663, for example, condemned all blacks, and even non-black slaves, to a life of slavery. All negroes or other slaves within the province, all negroes to be hereafter imported, shall serve for the terms of their lives. More than a century later, in 1818, Georgia passed a law prohibiting the freeing of slaves, and imposing a thousand dollar fine on any owner who attempted to do so. Virginia, as well, passed legislation discouraging owners from granting freedom to black slaves. Until the Civil War, freed blacks remaining in the state for more than a month lost their freedom, and were returned to slavery.
Evidence suggests, however, that the law varied from colony to colony and region to region.
The 1825 Civil Code of Louisiana, published in The Results of Slavery , by Augustin Cochin, reveals quite different policies. Although Louisiana revised its earlier law, it continued to permit the freeing of slaves under the condition that they were removed from the country, and even ordered slave owners to pay for the journey. While only exposing the conditions on the American continent, this evidence reflects the wider inconsistency of manumission policies. Some colonies strictly forbade owners from granting freedom to their slaves, while other areas had provisions which permitted it. One might conclude that the same holds true in the West Indies and Europe, and therefore, Equiano's situation might have been rare, but was not unique.