Slavery and Servitude in the Colonies

The transatlantic slave trade had both short-term and long-term consequences. In the short term, it transplanted millions of Africans to the Americas and Europe, depleting African nations of vital...

The lives of both slaves and indentured servants were extremely harsh. Ill-treatment was common, as the owners of slaves and servants regarded those who worked for them as inferior. The main...

Africans were used as slaves instead of Native Americans because Europeans found Native Americans unsuitable for slavery. Many Native Americans escaped when enslaved near their ancestral lands, and...

At the time the colonies were founded slavery was legal in every one of them.  It is true that colonies in the South (especially South Carolina) had way more slaves than did the Northern...

The Middle Passage had devastating effects on Africans, leading to immense suffering and death during the brutal voyage. Slave traders profited financially but often faced moral and physical dangers....

Race-based slavery did not begin to develop as an official system until the 1690s. For a more thorough explanation of this development, I would recommend reading American Colonies by Alan...

During the period of European colonialism, imperialism, and slavery, race played a big part in the structuring of new societies and the replacement of old ones. White, Christian Europeans were of...

Slavery started in what is now the United States in 1619.  In that year, a load of slaves was dropped off in Jamestown, the first settlement in what is now the United States.  Slavery...

The plantation system was significant in American history for at least two main reasons. First, the plantation system came to define the culture and economy of the South.  In that region, the...

Triangular trade provided several benefits for the colonies and the Europeans. Triangular trade is a series of trade routes between three countries or regions.  Triangular trade provides these...

The enslavement of African people was the foundation of the economy and social structure of the Southern colonies of America from the early 17th century to the late 19th century. The economy of the...

The term “saltwater Africans” is one that is sometimes used to refer to African slaves who were actually taken from Africa and brought to the Americas across the “Middle Passage.”  They are...

Indentured servants were historically significant in the American colonies for at least two main reasons. First, indentured servants were the original backbone of the economy in the Chesapeake...

After the United States gained its independence from Great Britain in 1776, Vermont was the first state to abolish slavery, which occurred in 1777. By 1804, slavery had been abolished in all the...

The Atlantic slave trade was one of the largest economic ventures and humanitarian tragedies of its time, if not in all of modern history. Its rise was the result of several factors mostly...

First, it is important to remember that, in actuality, less than 5% of African slaves ended up in North America—most were either sent to South/Latin America and the Caribbean or died during the...

There are reasons why the economy in the South relied on slave labor. The South was mainly an agricultural region. The climate was very suited for farming, and the soil was very fertile. As farming...

Triangular trade is the term given for the network of trade controlled by Britain during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In this network, ships were loaded with manufactured goods in...

The answer to this question relies upon an examination of three main systems of forced labor in the seventeenth century. Indentured servitude was the most common practice throughout the early...

The impact of these things was different for different groups of people and different areas of the world. The major impact of these things was, of course, on the Africans who were taken from their...

European colonists justified slavery on a number of grounds. Some argued that the institution was openly endorsed in the Bible. The first settlers were staunch Protestants who believed in the...

The term "Atlantic circuit" refers to the patterns of trade and exchange that are more commonly known as the "triangular trade."  In short, European nations traded weapons and other...

In 1619, the Colony of Virginia was little more than a remote outpost of Great Britain. There were relatively few colonists in the territory and the colony had failed to turn any significant profit...

The treatment of indentured servants in colonial North America varied greatly. How they were treated depended largely on the attitude of the landowner for whom they worked. The landowners were...

The slave trade was heavily impacted by the southern colonies, and then states, in America. They required large numbers of slaves. They made the slave trade profitable. Slavery is like any other...

Keep in mind this is a pretty specific question, and your instructor may be looking for a specific response from class notes or your textbook.  In my opinion, there were two key reasons...

The plantation system developed for several reasons. The Southern colonies had been founded by companies or proprietors who wished to make a profit, and they accordingly encouraged cash crops like...

To me, the major difference between the two is that North American slaves were generally treated better than the ones in Latin America.  This was especially true after the slave trade was...

Slavery in America began in the Virginia colony. During the early colonial period, there was a reliance on indentured servitude to supply workers for large tobacco plantations. The first of these...

There are a number of reasons for this.  To me, the big ones are: I would say that the most important one was that the plantation system could not, in those days, function without forced...

Slavery existed in the American colonies almost from their inception. A Dutch ship brought the first slaves to Jamestown in 1619. European settlers used slaves because they were a cheap labor...

There were several laws used to control the slaves. The plantation owners believed the slaves needed to be controlled to prevent rebellion.  Rebellion was a constant fear the slave owners...

The economic argument for slavery was that it was necessary and profitable.  It was seen as necessary because it would have been very hard (if not impossible) to get free people to do the work...

Though every colony had at least some enslaved people, the colonies that took in the most African slaves were those that raised staple crop for the Atlantic market. In North America, these colonies...

The origins of slavery in the North American colonies were primarily driven by the demand for a reliable and cheap labor force to sustain profitable agricultural enterprises. Initially, indentured...

Slaves were brought to the colonies in order to solve a labor shortage problem on the major plantations. Sugar, tobacco, and cotton are very labor-intensive crops. Indentured servants would often...

In order to answer this question a clarification needs to be made. There was a legal institution of slavery in the United States and in the American colonies. This legal institution allowed for the...