What is the New World and why is it important? Some may argue that it was the most important trade that ever happened in the World because it created a foundation for what are nowadays seven individual but intermingled continents. It was the first time in history that slaves were gathered and sold across the Atlantic Ocean. Bacon rebellion’s of former indentured servants towards planters caused the shift to African labor. The Atlantic slave trade was unique in its entirely because it was the biggest, most brutal trade in history.
The slave trade began because the demand for agricultural goods became too high and the owners of these farms did not have enough workers. The goals of the slave trade were to transform the labor systems in the colonies, to fuel international trade, and to enrich merchants, planters, and their families and partners. The rise of slavery reshaped the South because it allowed for the expanded cultivation of cash crops like tobacco, rice, and indigo, which [brings] high profits for planters as well as merchants. With more workers the planters were able to produce more merchandise, which in the end made them more money. The planters were selfish to think it was not morally wrong to hire these sick, and humiliated Africans to do their dirty work for him.
More than 10 million slaves were shipped in the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. The Africans slaves were processed and purchased in a few different ways. Some were sold by superior Africans, but
Slavery was an important economic factor, in the South, from colonial time through the early years of the United States to the end of the Civil War. The methods used by the slaveholder, who owned large scale plantations, in the south were harsh on the slave. Slaves were viewed as material properties used for to be used for economic gain. One large scale plantation owner named John R. Williams wrote to another slave , in a letter, "...Africans do seem to be made to be slaves. Their coarse manners and slow wits show that they need outlet guidance..."1* Masters would do what was necessary to keep the slave obedient and productive. This meant slaves that misbehaved would be physically punished, lose privileges, or maybe even sold, separating them from their families. For these reasons slave often didn 't misbehave, but tension that builds up will be released in often violent ways. This is the reason for frequent slave revolts. The these revolts were often led by a person or a group of people. They would gather the unhappy slaves and lead them to rebel.
The Southern Colonies had hopes of creating profit from the export of agricultural goods when they developed a plantation economy; farms would grow single crops, such as rice and tobacco. However, as the agriculture business grew, so did the demand for more workers, but they needed a cheap source labor to rely on. The idea of slavery was brought up, but the Southern Colonies could not enslave the Native Americans because they became difficult due to their independence. As a result, African slaves were used because of how easy it was to enslave them. Many African slaves were taken from their homes, and put in a foreign place; this left them defenseless and afraid. The slave population grew largely, and became a steady source for many single
Between the years 1492 through 1750 a new world was discovered that was before unknown to the eastern hemisphere. New contacts were formed in the Atlantic world due to the discovery and colonization of the Americas and later African slave trade, which were both very major events of this time. These interactions mainly affected Western Europe, Africa, and the Americas, whose economies were broadened and social structures further developed and altered as a result.
Slaves were an economic positive but a social negative in history. They helped the economics of the country thrive and grow, but it was also a insult of a race. Africans also had a history that they should have been proud to have. Instead, they were denied their heritage and were made to be ashamed of the people that they were. The development of slavery was the white slave owners ' way to maintain control of the growing population of Africans, socially and industrially. If the slaves were confined to the fields of the plantations for supervision, the whites would remain dominant race and maintain their theory of "white supremacy." It also freed the slave owners from the worries of labor
The South's economy greatly depended on slavery. Document 2 shows a graph that says the South barely had factories. Their economy concentration was on agriculture. The South had a warmer climate and fertile soil. These were factors that were perfect for growing tobacco. Slaves from Africa provided for the hard labor. The South began to grow other crops on plantations, which had the use of slaves. "The South thus quickly established a rural way of life supported by an agricultural economy based on slave labor" (Doc 3). The South felt if they stayed and there was a removal of slavery, it could damage their economy. Instead of risking this damage, the South had another reason for
Slavery in america began in the 17th century in Virginia. Slaves were being transported to america through the triangular trade. The triangular trade was a process in which africans were captured and traded for rum and other goods from england to africa. Slaves were packed in an unsanitary and crowded ship, they were treated poorly. The 18th century was the busiest period for the slave trade. More than 6 million africans were enslaved and transported to the new world. Document C illustrates how slavery spread throughout the united states, document c also shows that slavery in the north had decreased, it was mostly due to the fact that they were industrializing and they didn’t need slaves. The south, however used slaves because they were agricultural. they produced a lot of cotton, and many other cash crops and needed slaves to work their farms.
The initial view of the white population that African Americans were inferior to them quickly led to slavery, but there was a definite second motivator. Slavery provided cheap labor to the white elite; this provided the means to improve their own socioeconomic standing while effectively eliminating any possible economic competition from blacks.
Slavery began when the African American people were brought to Jamestown, Virginia, in 1619. Hundreds and thousands of African Americans were packed into a ship. Men, women, and children were crammed inside in every available space with minimal breathing space. This caused majority of the slaves to contract diseases easily. Slaves were considered as movable property and labor workers. Slaves experienced a strain workload, harsh punishments, and the worry that their family members could be sold at any moment. “During the first half of the nineteenth century, renting out excess slave labor to temporary masters for a few weeks, months, or even years at a time was a common practice among slaveholders in Maryland and throughout much of the upper South” (Polgar, 2011).Agriculture became a large part of the economy for Southern farmers. The great amount of cotton grown during this time produced a need for slave labor during the first half of the 1800s. Slaveholders obtained a huge number of slaves to plant, care for, and harvest their crop. “Children were propelled into adulthood by
The Slave States used their factories and plantations as reasons for owning slaves. The plantation owners were very greedy and slaves were very cheap and did absolutely did all the work for them. It was nearly free labor and it increased your social status as well. The more slaves you owned, the wealthier you looked and the more likable and desirable you are to those around you.
Slaves were used to cultivate cotton, the South’s main export. (Doc 2) The slaves were more efficient and required less pay than their white counterpart. This caused the South to be more in favor of using slaves, especially when expanding to western territories because they could save money. Some northerners claimed that the conditions that slaves lived in were cruel and brutal, but the South Carolina governor argued in 1835 that “English [factory] operatives” and “millions of paupers” had it worse than southern slaves. (Doc 1) Southern farmers heavily invested in slaves because of their ability to work hard and their inexpense. They did not feel that slavery was unlawful or immoral, because they felt that the black skin color made them inferior to
The south for a good while was always fond of using slavery as a cheap source of work. The increase in the number of slaves was when John Rolfe became one of the first to cultivate tobacco in the so called “New World back then in the 17th century. There was good money to be made about the amount of labor that went into the tobacco cultivation was harch, hence why slaves were used. Ever since then, it is obvious to note that slaves dominated the aspect of southern life. Whether that be economically, socially or politically, slaves played an important role in each category.
The Atlantic Slave Trade involved the forced intercontinental migration of West Africans across the Middle Passage during the 17th to 19th centuries. Between twelve and fifteen million slaves were exchanged between Africa, Europe and the Americas, together with raw materials and manufactured goods.
The first is that these slaves had prior farming experience, knew how to grow crops unfamiliar to the colonies, and they could teach these skills to their masters. The second advantage is that Africans tended to be immune to malaria and yellow fever meaning they found a more efficient way to grow rice. The last advantage was that slavery was like a disease. Enslavement laws stated slaves were purchased once and then “owned” for their entire life. (Teaching U.S History) If a slave had a child, that child would be enslaved for the rest of his or her life leading to multiple generations of slaves. Slavery proved to be a plentiful investment for plantation owners. The slave trade itself brought in a great amount of money to the colonies. For the areas that weren’t thriving off crops, they could just import or export slaves. Slavery proved to be a plentiful investment for plantation
Two societies, two regions, the north and the south had very different views on slavery and struggled to be on the same terms. Slavery was basically claiming human beings as property. Slavery was very crucial and accepted in the southern states. In the south, slavery was considered a necessity in order to maintain the agricultural economy of the entire region. The fertile soil and climate of the southern region made it ideal for large scale farms (plantations) and crops like tobacco and cotton. Slavery was a southerner’s way of life as economic growth stimulated from the ever-expanding system of staple crop production, notably cotton that depended on the labor of at most 4 million slaves. Slaveholders worked these African American slave’s days in and out on plantation farms growing crops mostly cotton that was also sold to the north! The southerners protested that slavery could not be eliminated without
It is believed that 25 million slaves were sold and shipped using the transatlantic slave trade however there has been plenty of debate by many people that the 25 million slaves figure is not accurate at all. They believe that more than 25 million slaves may have been transported using the transatlantic slave trade also known as the triangle trade, Murphy (2012).