''Paratus Sequitur Ventrem''

By Crusader1307

''Paratus Sequitur Ventrem'' was a Legal Term used in Colonial America around the late 17^th Century AD. Based on the more Ancient Roman theory, it stated that a Child, born to a woman from another Country or Nation, so delivered living into America, adopted the same status as it's Mother. In short, if a ''Slave'' woman gave birth – Her Child did not inherit Citizenship status and also retained Her ''status'' as Slave. The Romans developed this to regulate ''who'' could be considered Roman and thus fall under Roman Laws (and protections). The same legal application was adopted in early Colonial America. It also regulated the ''creation'' of interracial children and regulated them to servitude as well (if discovered and so identified). This would become The ''Law of The Land'' in America for several Centuries, prevalent more so in The Amercian pre-Revolution South.