| For the Colony in Virginea Britannia. Lawes Divine, Morall and Martiall, etc | |
| Border: | yes |
| Author: | William Strachey (scribe of Thomas Dale) |
| Title Orig: | Lawes Divine, Morall, and Martiall |
| Country: | Kingdom of England |
| Language: | English |
| Publisher: | Walter Burre of London |
| Pub Date: | 1612 |
| Isbn: | 9780783743691 |
Lawes Divine, Morall, and Martiall, colloquially known as Dale's Code, is a governing document enacted in 1610 (then published in 1612) by the Deputy Governor of Virginia Thomas Dale.[1] The code, among other things, created a rather authoritarian system of government for the Colony of Virginia.[2] It established a "single ruling group" that "held tight control of the colony." The word "martial", contained in Dale's Code, refers to the duties of soldiers, while the terms "divine" and "morall" relate to crime and punishment. The code prescribed capital punishment for any colonist who endangered the life of the colony by theft or other crimes.[3]
Two severe punishments under Dale's Code were: an oatmeal-thief was chained to a tree and left to starve; a pregnant Anne Laydon (nee Burras) was whipped for "sewing shirts too short" and miscarried.[4]
Dale's Code remained in force until 1618.[5] The Virginia General Assembly replaced the system. Four centuries later, one scholar came up with a theory that it strongly influenced the justice system for decades afterwards, particularly in the governing and punishment of slaves.[6] In the "Calendar of State Papers Colonial, America and West Indies: Volume 1, 1574-1660," the following unattributed commentary on the code is present: