Discuss and Explain how slavery was treated in the seventeenth century by discussing laws, customs and liberties extended to slaves. What contributed to the hardening of the line between slavery and freedom?

The line between slavery and freedom was more permeable in the seventeenth century than it would become later. Explain how slavery was treated in the seventeenth century by discussing laws, customs and liberties extended to slaves. What contributed to the hardening of the line between slavery and freedom?