Based on the provided documents, the English colonies in America both protected and limited freedom and equality to some extent.
On the one hand, the colonies were entitled to the same privileges and freedoms as their fellow subjects in Great Britain. The First Charter of Virginia guaranteed to the colonists and their posterity all of the "liberties, franchises, and immunities" possessed by anyone born in England. The Rights of the Colonists as Subjects included personal security, personal liberty, and private property, which are some of the first principles of natural law and justice. The Stamp Act Congress passed a "Declaration of Rights and Grievances," which claimed that American colonists were equal to all other British citizens. On the other hand, the colonies were subject to British rule, which limited their freedom and equality. The British House of Commons had the right to give and grant the property of the Colonists. The English laws were abolished in a neighboring province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies. Therefore, the extent to which English colonies protected or limited freedom and equality was a complex issue that depended on various factors, including the specific colony, the time period, and the political context.