After reading Kathleen Brown's Good Wives, Nasty Wenches, & Anxious Patriarchs, answer the questions below.
Goal to understand the overall answer to this question. What role does gender play in colonial American’s formulations of racism and slavery in Early Virginia? Begin by answering these basic questions from the reading (do so in formal, academic writing.)
1. What & who, according to the reading, is a "good wife"?
2. How & why does who is a "good wife" change over time?
3. What was a "nasty wench" in Europe & Early America, and why were these women able to become "good wives"?
4. Who became the new "nasty wench" and why?
5. What laws did the House of Burgesses in Virginia pass that specifically impacted women of African descent? How did they work? How did this impact society? Did the laws intentionally or unintentionally "create race"?
6. Who is Thomasine Hall? What is their story? How did the courts rule in Hall's case? Why? What was the impact?
7. Overall question: What role does gender play in colonial American’s formulations of racism and slavery in Early Virginia?