Negro/negro & black/Black

[Joel S. Berson]

In 18th-century English publications, nouns, whether proper or
common, were widely capitalized.

"Negro" was universally capitalized.  Was it considered a proper noun
or a common noun?  (P{robably an unanswerable question.)

"black" was, I think, generally if not universally not
capitalized.  (I have only an impression, since I have not attempted
to examine instances.)  When used as a noun rather than an adjective,
was it capitalized?

At some point, it became the practice not to capitalize common
nouns.  When was this?  (Around the turn of the 19th century?)

In the 19th century "Negro" changed to lower case "negro".  Did this
change  take place at the same time as the general change for common
nouns?  Was there any discussion  at the time (e.g., whether it
should be/was a proper noun vs. should not/was a common noun)?

Thanks,
Joel

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