Development of the System of Slavery

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Slavery was introduced to the Americas through the popularity of sugar. As soon as Christopher Columbus introduced the sugar cane to Europe, European countries such as Spain, were establishing sugar-producing colonies in the Americas. Indian labor was first used in these colonies for the production of sugar, but because Indians were drastically dying off by the hundreds and thousands, due to European diseases and harsh labor, African labor was soon sought. Numerous West Africans were being transported to various European colonies in North America to work the sugar plantations. As the market for sugar began to increase, so did the number of Africans transported across the Atlantic to North America. This means of transportation is noted in history as the African Slave Trade. According to scholars, 76 percent of the 11 million Africans that unwillingly partook in the African Slave Trade arrived in North America between 1701-1810 (Out of Many, 83). The sugar boom that took place in the middle of the 17th century may have had a great impact on those numbers.

The different forms of slavery in the North American colonies greatly depended on the economy of that colony and the type of commodity that it was capable of producing. In the British Chesapeakean colonies of Virginia and Massachusetts, tobacco was the main cash crop. Since it required extensive hand labor and skill, slaves were needed for it's development and that meant slaves had to work the harsh conditions of the tobacco plantations. In the Georgia and South Carolina colonies, slaves were used for indigo and rice cultivation. Slave labor was preferred over Indian labor in this colony because slaves were thought to be better rice workers due to their agricultural experience in Africa (Out of Many, 90).

Since commodity crops are what basically made an economy successful, the dependence and necessity for slaves increased. Before slaves became so needed, in some parts, slaves could look forward to their freedom, through Christianity. However, as more slaves started becoming Christians, and the demand for labor grew, laws changed and in 1662 Virginia passed two laws that would make slavery a permanent condition.

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