Slavery In The English Colonies

In 1705, a law was passed that made the status of African slaves very clear. The Act of the Virginia General Assembly stated that slaves were the property of their owners and could be punished even by death as seen fit by the master.

The origins and development of slavery in Britain’s North American colonies during the colonial period can be traced down to the fact that North American colonies were created for the economic profit of Great Britain. Reasons for the development of slavery in the North American colonies can be the switch to slavery from indentured servitude due to the desire of free labor and the results of Bacon’s rebellion, the introduction of cash crops such as sugar and tobacco and the introduction of the plantation system, and the easy access of slaves due to the triangular trade and the middle passage.

The origins and development of slavery within Britain’s North American colonies in the period 1607 to 1776 was majorly in part by the English need for economic power. England had just arose as the strongest naval of the North Atlantic had they had to keep their high standing in the world. Bacon’s Rebellion, the profit received by cash crops, and the ability to easily purchase slaves through trade highly boosted Britain’s economy. The colonists within the British colony kept through economic standing and power by making themselves higher than any other through slavery.

In 1619, Virginia was an isolated British settlement on the Chesapeake Bay. It was sparsely populated by men trying to make the colony profitable for England. But the colonists were devastated by hunger, disease, and raids by Native Americans. So when the White Lion, a badly damaged Dutch slave ship arrived, carrying 20 kidnapped black Africans, the colonists bartered food and services for the human cargo. The Africans started working for the colonists. They would work 7 years of hard labor in exchange for land and freedom. But when colonies started to prosper, the colonists were reluctant to lose their labor. Since the Africans did not have citizenship, they were not subject to English common law. They were workers with no rights.

Legal treatment of the slaves changed marginally from colony to colony, as indicated by the territory’s economic structure. For instance, the northern colonies had less slaves an inevitably banned slavery. In spite of the fact that slavery was abolished in 1804, they were stilled financially reliant on the institution. A considerable lot of the northerners vested in guaranteeing that slavery in the south kept on developing because they relied on the export of fish, liquor and dairy products

Although, Slavery had existed for centuries as a lowest social status in different parts of the world like Africa, Roman Empire, Middle East and etc., in English colonies slavery gained an importance, because of increasing demand for labor force and becoming relationship legitimated by law. Therefore, Englishmen were the reason of slavery in the colonies and its consequences.

it was declared in Virginia that it would not be a crime to kill a disobedient slave while punishing him/her. Moreover in 1669, slave masters were banned from emancipating slaves. Slaves that were given their freedom could not stay in the colony. Furthermore, Virginia voted to banish Europeans who marry a black, mulatto, or Indian person. It can be concluded that these laws fashioned the chattel slavery in the United States

Slavery became an established activity in America by 1600’s. The slaves were mostly to provide free and cheap labor. Apart from America, slavery was practiced in other parts of the world throughout history, and in fact it can be traced back to the time of the ancient civilization. With industrial revolution especially with the rise of sugar plantations, the slaves were used to grow sugar in the periods from 1100. This intensified between 1400 and 1500 when Portugal and Spain ventured into sugar growing in the eastern Atlantic regions. The growth of the plantations required labor, hence African slaves were bought from Africa, to provide labor.

During the 16th and 19th centuries, slavery was widespread throughout the world. It was practiced by African and European countries to facilitate labor in their colonies abroad. These cultures, who were economically dependent upon the slave trade, also utilized slaves to fill vacancies wherever the citizenry failed to meet the needs of labor. The areas that are experienced in the primary sources are the English colonies of North America, Spanish colonies that spanned from Florida through the Caribbean Islands, and Africa, the European source for slaves, which utilized slaves similar to livestock headed for the market. Whether one was a slave of the English, Spanish, or Africans, slaves were treated differently based on control such as personal agency and use of religion.

The Virginia Slave Code changed over time to reflect this opinion. The initial Slave Code was concerned with masters taking advantage of their workers. Another main concern was the abandonment of one's work as a slave. This can be seen from the code written in 1642 where it says, “Be it therefore enacted and confirmed that all runaways that shall absent themselves from their masters’ service shall be liable to make satisfaction by service at the end of their times by indenture double the time of

In the American colonies, Virginians switched from indentured servants to slaves for their labor needs for many reasons. A major reason was the shift in the relative supply of indentured servants and slaves. While the colonial demand for labor was increasing, a sharp decrease occurred in the number of English migrants arriving in America under indenture. Slaves were permanent property and female slaves passed their status on to their children. Slaves also seemed to be a better investment than indentured servants. Slaves also offered masters a reduced level of successful flight.

Being a slave was never easy, because the will never be free and will continue to be slaves forever even for the master’s unborn child. In addition, colonies was skeptical about the slaves they were taking in each season. Colonies didn’t trust slaves that come from other places except Africa, because they believe the ones that was sent from the other countries were to escape and even attack. Although statistics say slaves commits less crime than whites, colonies made improvement to their systems to keep slaves in check. On the other hand, slaves could be free if their masters wish them to be free, however, even to get free slaves have to do extra work to secure their freedom.

Disease was a big thing on board due to close quarters. Common illnesses were fever, dysentery, and smallpox. Slaves were fed twice a day and if they didn't eat they were forced. Also if a captive dies they are thrown overboard to prevent more illnesses. “The combination of disease, inadequate food, rebellion and punishment took a heavy toll on captives and crew alike. Surviving records suggest that until the 1750s one in five Africans on board ship died.”(liverpoolmuseums.org.uk). The British and French made laws stating that the number of people on board must be reduced and every ship must have a surgeon aboard. This was only made concerning crew members health not the captives. The surgeons onboard the ships were usually unqualified, but

The document shows that there was bias in Virginia society that time. Beginning with a situation in 1630, Negroes are human like others, but they were considered to be something dirty that may cause sin for who did something with them. Hugh Davis was punished because of that. After that, there were many laws to control them. The laws define slavery in terms that were specifically racial. January 1639/40-ACT X was created to reduce the right of the Negro. In addition, when those people became slaves, they had to be slaves in their remaining lifetime (as seen in the law March 1661/2). Moreover, in December 1662-ACT XII, it stated that children could be slave or not considering the condition of their mother. So a new born baby was slave if the

This report gives a broad overview of Slavery during the construction of the New World and England’s Industrial Revolution. We will explore the manner in which slaves were treated, how they worked and lived, methods of their capture and transportation to the New World and their aspect of life in ‘captivity’.