Slaves, African and indigenous, were a smaller part of the New England economy and a smaller fraction of the population, but they were present.[21] The Puritans codified slavery in 1641.[22][23] The Massachusetts royal colony passed the Body of Liberties, which prohibited slavery in many instances, but did allow three legal bases of slavery.[23] Slaves could be held if they were captives of war, if they sold themselves into slavery or were purchased from elsewhere, or if they were sentenced to slavery by the governing authority.[23] The Body of Liberties used the word "strangers" to refer to people bought and sold as slaves. Colonists came to equate this term with Native Americans and Africans.[24]