Out of each colonial region, the southern region was undoubtedly the most significant. Their economy was the most prosperous, and their social and political aspects set precedents for other colonies and other people. Other colonies began to be cognizant of the way their economy was run, the things that happened in society, and the laws that were passed, and gained inspiration. As prosperous and influential the southern colonies were, there are negative contributions the south made that get overlooked such as slavery. The southern colonies were economically prosperous, as well as socially and politically precedential, but their contributions of slavery had a detrimental effect that is still felt today.
As a result of this, these societies started to rely on agriculture and most of the cash crops were being exported, this was not good for the economy. England passed many laws one being that the colonies can only trade certain exports (tobacco, sugar, rice, etc.) with England and English ports which limited trade even further. England controlling exports diminished opportunities to trade with many more countries. England was controlling the cash crops which made prices much more expensive and seemed to benefit England quite a bit. Cash crops started to boost the economy which lead for a higher demand in slaves. England set up the colonies mainly to benefit their already powerful country, and this is also why they would only let the colonies trade exports with their ports basically creating a monopoly. This may seem like an overall positive thing, but actually this helped expand the rich and poor gap in the colonies. Either you were a slave or a plantations worker, or the person who was getting rich from the slaves or plantation workers. After agriculture really started to take hold in Chesapeake and South Carolina, the slave population was bigger than the rest of the population that in those societies. This shows how many plantations needed workers to keep the economy going. Each colony may have relied on different crops, but they all had similar experiences as a
In the 18th century the population of British America skyrocketed from 250,000 to more than two million, a great deal of this population increase was because of the increasing slave population and the slave natural increase (pg 107). As opposed to the century before when slaves were scarce, there was a dramatic fluctuation of slaves in the colonies during the eighteenth century. Slaves made such a huge impact in the population that in some places there were more slaves than white men, such as in South Carolina (pg 117). Slavery had a large influence on southern society and on politics as whites rich and poor now shared so called “supremacy” over slaves which worked to unite the whites in some way (pg 122). Slaves also helped the economy as they worked tirelessly for free and for a lifetime with little hope of ever obtaining freedom unlike their indentured servant counterparts. Slaves in the South made the most noticeable contribution to the flourishing southern colonies, especially in the southern economy (pg 117).
Slaves were a major key back in the 17th century for the economy because they were so much cheaper compared to the white servants. In the southern colonies the weather was amazing for large amounts of crops to be created. The crops that were mainly used were tobacco, rice, and other items. In the southern colonies many slaves were taken from the west to the south because the West africans had a skill that the others did not.
Before rice became the staple crop, naval stores drove the economy and whites of South Carolina imported more and more slaves to provide labor for this lucrative business. The book as a whole, seems to be lacking any sort of strong conclusion which would bring together the countless points discussed throughout the work. The fear of revolts or violence drove the whites to seek measure to try and control this segment of the population that far outnumbered them. However, as a result of this early repression of the rights of slaves, the number of runaways steadily increased. Slaves even served in the colony’s militia, playing an acknowledged role in several early defenses of the colony, exemplified in their role during the Yemasee War of 1715. However, the fact remains that his argument is only supported with documents revealing primarily how the white minority saw and reacted to the developing black majority. While Wood does paint a vivid picture of the activities and impact the majority of the population had on the colony, he is (perhaps forced) to illustrate this picture from a decidedly one-sided point of view; a point of view not of the majority, but of the
Further, the colonists wanted to be able to trade with rum and slaves, as every other colony was doing. Of course, they had succeeded with those demands. The south realizes how the North was improving their wealth with salves and wanted to share the reap. Then in 1749, the colony became a slave colony, which improve the economy but refused to think as Africans as humans’ beings like themselves.
The Southern states had a great number of slaves, over 12 million slaves were brought to the colonies thousands of slaves were imported every year.The slave trade was a source of income in the South, at the time there were
The North’s economy was based on textiles, shipping, and skilled trades. Their climate was not suited for the same type of agricultural products that the South produced like cotton, sugar, rice and tobacco. Northern states like New England manufactured and shipped goods like guns, clocks, plows and axes (page 399). One reason for the South’s dependence on slavery is because their economy relied on the existence of slave labor. For example, the cultivation of cotton depended largely on slave labor, with 75% of the crop grown on plantations,
In the early 18th century, South Carolina experienced a boom in their rice industry. This caused a shift from a frontier to a plantation economy, affecting the quality of life of slaves. Their tasks switched from farming, hunting, fishing, and raising cattle, to being trapped in the rice fields. The slaves felt much resent for this extremely difficult, straining work. In the 1730s, there was an outbreak of many slave conspiracies in the West Indies, especially in the Bahamas and Antigua. Furthermore, many runaway slaves from South Carolina had made their way down to Florida, where Spain offered them freedom. This inspired slaves to fight for their freedom. As a result of the Stono Rebellion, slaveowners came to fear their slaves and the threat of future uprisings. Because of this fear, The Slave Code of South Carolina of 1740 was created. This code greatly limited rights of the slaves living in the region.
“It was otherwise in the Chesapeake, the colonies of Virginia and Maryland. There, the legal institution of slavery grew out of economic opportunism and evolving social custom.” However, racism was involved as well in these areas. The British North Americans again resorted to the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, bringing in the labourers necessary to grow their crops; no matter how inhumane. “Economic need drove the tobacco planters to import large numbers of enslaved Africans in the late seventeenth century.” Working on these plantations was not an easy life, and the travelling conditions that these people went through were
The Southern Colonies developed race-based slavery because of the rising need to increase labor and to decrease costs. The move toward profit-based agriculture over subsistence farming meant that there was an expanding need for laborers, which would increasingly expand with success, necessitating a further increase of cheap labor. In addition to being labor intensive, the Southern crops: rice, tobacco, sugarcane, and indigo were grown for cash rather than for immediate need. Technically there is no such thing as enough with a goal as abstract as profit and so would not end with a fulfilled, finite, need but rather with means and a desire to expand. With profit as a goal expansion is only limited by available, usable, acreage and becomes a goal in and of itself. With expansion as a goal, a self-replenishing and unpaid workforce allows for greater profit and thus greater expansion. It was a snowball effect creating a market for humans.
There were similarities and differences in the economy of New england and the Southern colonies. New England colonies had small farms, lumberjacks, and shipbuilders. The colonies were near the Atlantic Ocean to help with their jobs. The coast helped the colonists trade. New England did not have slaves instead they used indentured servants to help with labor. These servants in a passage to the New World and after about 7 years they are given land and freedom. On the other hand, to make money in the South they would sell slaves to make a profit. The slaves did most of the work on their plantations. The slaves would do all of the work so their owners could make the money from the crops they grew. When they were traveling on the ship to be sold the conditions were terrible. The ship was very crowded and many of the slaves got sick. According to “The Slave Flyer” it states that they made sure the slaves didn't have smallpox because they would be able to sell them for more money if they seemed to be in good condition. They didn't care if they were not healthy they just wanted them to look healthy (Doc 8). Many people came to the South only to find gold. They only cared about finding gold so they didn't build houses or get prepared for what might happen to them. They just looked
The South Carolina pre-revolutionary Stono Rebellion led to many different forms of reactions from the people in colonial South Carolina. It can be characterized as that of a further dark future for the slaves, while creating more fear and discontent for the white citizens of the area. The revolts output created attitudes that led to the American revolution for whites, while creating the harsh and negative attitudes displayed toward blacks which we still see today. The repercussions created a greater sense of fear for Africans among the white population in Southeastern North America, one which necessitated a means for controlling what they believed to be a dangerous people. The revolt also showed the whites sense for blaming others for the uprising among the slaves, as multiple Spanish men are claimed to have incited the slaves to rise up and kill to gain their freedom in Florida.
During the development of the colonies and the nation as a whole, slaves were utilized in order to produce the crops and perform laborious tasks that were “below” white people. In the 1660s, there was an increased demand for tobacco products as well as indigo and rice in England (“African American Slavery in the Colonial Era, 1619-1775”). In order to fulfill the demand, there was a spike in interest in purchasing slaves. More and more slaves were needed to produce larger amounts of crops for the plantation owners.