How and why slavery developed in American colonies
The significant starting point of slavery was in 1619 after twenty Africans were brought ashore to the British colony by the privateer The White Lion in Jamestown, Virginia. The development of slavery was primarily because of the European demand for New World cash crops like tobacco, sugar, cotton, and rice ( Harvey, 2019 ). These cash crops meant there would be huge plantations, and workers were required. Furthermore, slavery developed because it was cheaper and acted as a more plentiful labor source than the indentured servants. Enslaving the Africans was particularly favored by the Southern British colonies because they were believed to be well suited to the tropical climate ( Snyder, 2015 ). Furthermore, the slaves in question brought various special skills as well as husbandry knowledge for specific crops like rice. Therefore, slavery developed because it was a building block of the colonial economy.
African slave trade and slavery were an integral part of the expansion and the development of the British commercial empire in the Atlantic world. Another reason that led to slavery was the rampant death of the labor force that was meant to work in the massive plantations ( Snyder, 2015 ). The Africans particularly died of malaria and yellow fever because they had limited natural immunity to these diseases. However, most slaves, including the American Indians, experienced a high mortality rate because of the low housing, malnutrition, overworking, as well as inadequate clothing allowance ( Harvey, 2019 ). The high mortality rate meant that the dead slaves had to be replaced by others, which developed the continuation of slavery.
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Ways through which the practice of slavery was different between each colonial region in British North America
The thirteen British colonies were divided into four areas, including New England, the Middle, the Lower South, and the Chesapeake. The New England had no large farms for agriculture, which reduced the demand for slavery in this colonial region. The enslaved individuals in New England were allowed to learn special skills alongside crafts ( Harvey, 2019 ). The enslaved men mostly worked alongside doctors, ministers, as well as merchants, while the women were compelled to be household servants ( Snyder, 2015 ). The region of New England had the culture of indentured servitude, which played a significant role in how slavery evolved therein. Conversely, the enslaved in the Lower South colonial region experienced more brutality as the men were forced to farm labor under intense working conditions. The women were also forced to engage in agricultural work.
There was a significant growth of slavery in the Middle British colonial region because of the readily available and cheap land for farming. Slavery was particularly brutal in the Middle colonies because of the overcrowding, overworking, unsanitary conditions, and deplorable working conditions ( Snyder, 2015 ). The slaves were treated harshly and violently in the Middle region, and the masters installed fear in slaved by using rape, whipping, burning, and castration. Lastly, in the Chesapeake colonial region, masters used their slaves to tobacco, corn, and other grains. The landowners turned from the indentured servants to slaves because it was ever-renewed and more profitable.
Difference between slaves and indentured servants
The difference between slaves in the British colonial regions and indentured servants is that slaves were owned, fully controlled, and were coerced and restricted from movement. On the flip side, the indentured servants were not held and compelled to work on the plantations. The indentured servants were contracted and worked willingly in the farms ( Harvey, 2019 ). The contract of the indentured servants gave them certain rights that the courts could adjudicate. However, both the slaves and the indentured servants were mistreated as they worked in the plantations.
References
Harvey, M. (2019, October). Slavery, Indenture, and the Development of British Industrial Capitalism. In History Workshop Journal (Vol. 88, pp. 66-88). Narnia. Retrieved from https://academic.oup.com/hwj/article-abstract/doi/10.1093/hwj/dbz027/5532118
Snyder, T. L. (2015). The power to die: Slavery and Suicide in British North America . University of Chicago Press. Retrieved from https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/P/bo20832142.html
