Since slavery permeated throughout almost every aspect of society, the goal will
ID: 236737 • Letter: S
Question
Since slavery permeated throughout almost every aspect of
society, the goal will be to determine how and why this institution thrived in early America and continues to be controversial today. So, to begin our discussion let’s focus
on the motivations for slavery, particularly in the Chesapeake and Caribbean colonies. What social, economic, and political developments during this period inspired Europeans
to initially use indentured servants, but then switch to slavery? Why was this form of labor so prevalent in Virginia, Maryland, and the Caribbean, but not in New England
or Pennsylvania?
Explanation / Answer
Slavery was one of the brutal practice in the human history in which a person was owned and exploited by others. The slave labour was a symbol of wealth and reputation in ancient Greece and Rome. But the slavery which emerged in the American colonies in Europe was completely different from the practice prevalent in the ancient Greece and Rome. It was developed due to emerging capitalist economy. Here the main purpose of slavery was to produce the raw materials and export the staple crops like cotton, tobacco, sugar to the markets of Europe. The capitalist profit give way to the Chattel slavery in America. Chattel slavery is a form of slavery existed in US prior to the civil war in which the slaves were treated as property. They can be sold,brought, owned and they cannot withdraw themselves from this arrangement.
After the establishment of James Town in 1607, English colonist thought of cultivating tobacco which had a huge market in Europe. SInce cultivation of tobacco required intensive labour. Due to shortage of labour, colonists authorties first enslaved Indians. But due to their declining population because of disease they hire indentured servants. These indentured labours were poor British and Irish people most of them were prisoners who agreed to work for a fixed term of labour, without any pay in exchange of the better prospects of life. For this they signed the contract, usually for 5- 7 years.
While the indentured labour service was at its peak, African came in Virginia as slaves or servants. Initially these white and black and white servants work together in the plantations. After that some colonial elites realised that this labour system is not suited to their demands. Some indentured servants become independent farmers and then compete with the planter for the best land. Also there was a threat of rebellion from these tobacco colonies. At the Bacon's rebelilion, a major uprising in which both black and white workers they came together against the colonial regime.
After this Bacon rebellion the colonist elites took some steps so to supress the rebellion. They give some privilege to the white colonist while repressive laws were passed against the black slaves. They made marriages between these black and white workers as illegal and created restriction for these black slaves to live an independent life. The purpose of these actions were to made realise that these black African descent were inferior to the white skinned European workers. So this developed racial discrimination among them and after that white servants or indentured servants importance declined and only the black slaves were the labour for the plantations in Chesapeake and South Atlantic colonies like Maryland. North Carolina, South Carolina, Virgina, Georgia
Slavery spread from tobacco plantations of Chesapeake colonies to rice swamps in Georgia and South Carolina and then to the sugar plantations of Louisiana. But this slavery institution reached its peak at the end of the eighteenth century after the invention of cotton gin. This machine was used to remove seeds from cottons and thus there was a large profit in growing the crops across South. Now the South become a major source of raw material and thus helps in industrial revolution taking place in Northern Europe and Northeastern United States. So the cotton and the chattel slavery together make the position of American South into the international market.