Final answer:
The John Punch case of 1640 was a legal case in colonial America where John Punch, an African man, was sentenced to lifelong servitude, marking an early instance of legal racial distinction and slavery in the English colonies.
Step-by-step explanation:
The John Punch case of 1640 is considered to be one of the earliest documented instances of legal slavery in the English colonies that would later become the United States. In the case, John Punch, an African man, was sentenced to a life of servitude for attempting to escape his indentured servitude, alongside two European men who received significantly lighter sentences. This case laid the groundwork for a legal distinction between the treatment of African and European indentured servants and is often cited as a precedent for racialized lifelong servitude - essentially, slavery. The John Punch case highlights the early establishment of institutionalized racial inequality in colonial America. The case reflects the harsh realities of the colonial legal system, where non-European individuals could be sentenced more harshly, and foreshadows the emerging system of race-based chattel slavery.