Manuscript document, signed “John Dundas,” one page, 7.25 x 7, January 10, 1795. Rare Virginia 'non-importation' slave certificate, in part: "I James Graham do sware that my removal to the State of Virginia was with no intention to evade the Act for preventing the further Importation of Slaves within this Commonwealth nor have I brought with me, or will cause to be brought, any slave with an intent of Selling them, nor have any of the Slaves now in my possession been imported from Africa or any of the West India Islands since the first day of November Seventeen hundred and seventy eight…Negroes, Sam, Linder." Signed at the conclusion by Mayor of Alexandria John Dundas, a planter and mill owner who owned a large plantation on which he built an imposing home known locally as 'Dundas Castle.' A statement by a court official on the reverse certifies that on April 24, 1795, "James Graham produced to the court this certificate of the Importation of Slaves within this Commonwealth." In fine condition, with complete separation along the central vertical fold repaired with archival tape on the reverse.
During the American Revolution, the rebellious colonies banned the importation of slaves from Africa as most of the trade was conducted by British ships—thus benefitting the enemy. Virginia passed its first act 'for preventing the Farther importation of Slaves' in 1778, which provided an oath—sworn here by James Graham—to be taken by slaveowners moving into the commonwealth from elsewhere. In spite of various revisions over the course of the next three decades, Virginia's non-importation policy remained in place until 1808, when Congress banned the importation of slaves on a national level. This significant document references Virginia's original ban on the international slave trade, and is therefore a significant piece of early American history.
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