1700

The number of slaves in British North America reaches 27,817. About 22,600 of these slaves live in the South.

1710

The number of slaves in the British colonies reaches 44,866.

1715

Maryland state law forbids marriage between European women and African- American men. There are penalties for clergy that perform such marriages.

Of the total population in the North American British colonies (434,600), 58,850 are of African descent.

1723

Constables were authorized to patrol areas of each county for unauthorized meetings of African-Americans. It was believed that these measures would prevent slave riots and insurrections.

1725

The number of slaves in the British colonies reaches 75,000.

1730

Of the total population in the North American colonies (654,950), 91,021 are slaves. Of the slave population, 17,323 live in the North and 73, 698 live in the South.

1731

November 9th, astronomer and mathematician Benjamin Banneker is born to free parents in Ellicott, Maryland.

1740

There are 150,024 slaves living in the colonies. Of the slave population, 126,066 live in the North and 23,958 live in the South.

1750

In Somerset County, a recently freed slave, Harry "Dr. Harry" Game begins his medical practice. Game learned his practice from a Guinean practitioner. He develops a large clintele of both white and African-American patients.

The number of slaves reaches 236,400, encompassing approximately 20% of the population. Of these slaves, over 206,000 live in the South.)

1754

Although he has never seen one, Benjamin Banneker constructs a clock that strikes on the hour, the first clock made completely in America.

1756-
1763

The French and Indian War.

1760

The number of slaves reaches 325,806. Of these slaves, 40,033 live in the North and 285,773 live in the South.

1767

Kunta Kinte (of Roots fame) arrives in Annapolis as part of a cargo of slaves.

This advertisement refers to the ship that Kunta Kinte made his voyage on from Africa to America.

1770

Of the total colonial population (2,312,000), 462,000 are slaves.

1775

The number of slaves reaches a half a million.

April 18, the Revolutionary War begins with the shot heard around the world.

1777

African- American Marylanders, slave and free serve on both the sides of the Americans and the British in the Revolutionary War.

1783

September 3, the Revolutionary War ends with the signing of the Treaty of Paris. The treaty called for the slaves taken by the British to be returned to their respective masters.

African- Americans had to be free before 1783 to vote for sheriff and delegates to the General Assembly.

1784

Because of the enslavement of humans is considered against the will of God, the Methodist Church orders its members to free their slaves within the year. The order was faced with so many objections from churches in Southern States that it was suspended.

A law was passsed to prohibit the importation of slaves in Maryland.

1787

In Baltimore, some African- American Methodists left the church due to discrimination. The groups later were the founders of two Baltimore churches: Sharp Street Methodist Church and Bethel Methodist Episcopal Church. The United States Constitution provides for a male slave to count as three-fifths of a man in determining representation.

1789

In Baltimore, The Maryland Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery and the Relief of Poor Negroes and Others Held in was founded.

A bill for the gradual emmancipation of slaves was rejected by the General Assembly of Maryland.

The inspiration for "Uncle Tom" in Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, Josiah Henson is born in Charles County, Maryland.

1790

The first census is taken in the new nation. The results:

• 19.3% of the population is African-American
• 59,466 are free
• 697, 897 are slaves
• Massachusetts reports no slaves.

1791

The first edition of Banneker's almanac was published by Benjamin Banneker.

The Bill of Rights was added to the U. S. Constitution.

Benjamin Banneker works on the survey to create the layout of the District of Columbia, the nation's new capital.

1792

Congress passes a law that allows only white men to enroll in militias during peacetime.

African- American Catholic refugees flee the revolution in Haiti for Baltimore.

1793

Congress passes the first fugitive slave law.

African- Americans were no longer allowed to participate in the Maryland militia.

1798

In the Baltimore Intelligencer, the first advertisement by Joshua Johnston (Johnson) appears. He is the first African-American portrait painter to receive widespread recognition. Johnston is active in Baltimore from 1796- 1824.

1799

Restrictions against the enlistment of African-Americans on men-of-war and in the Marine Corps are issued by the United States navy.