The Story of America European Colonists According to...

why would these people leave their home in Europe to live in “the new world?” land religious freedom economic opportunity new life

13 Original Colonies New England = New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island Middle = New York, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania Southern = Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia

Jamestown Given a charter by the King of England to establish a settlement in 1607 Hoped to find gold; had to settle on farming to survive Colony fell apart because of little food and sickness 1/2 of the first 100 settlers died Tobacco was harvested and more people came

Southern Colonies Rural; large plantations land owners held most of the power slaves relied on agriculture (tobacco, rice, corn, cotton)

The Story of America African Slaves According to...

Colonist Problem: Getting Workers Indentured Servants English settlers used a system of indentured servitude as a source for labor in the colonies Poor white people who couldn’t afford the journey to America, would promise to work for the colonists in return for their paid passage to America Often these people had to work for up to seven years to pay their debt It is estimated that almost half of the people living in the colonies were indentured servants

The indentured servants, once freed, hoped to earn enough money to own their own property (only about 20% ever were able to do this) The colonies had placed restrictions on available lands, creating unrest among newly freed indentured servants In 1676, working class men burned down Jamestown, making indentured servitude look even less attractive to Virginia leaders Indentured servants could leave without anyone knowing, forcing a need for costly replacements; slaves, especially ones you could identify by skin color, could not move on and become free competitors. Tobacco

SLAVE TRADE From 1619 to 1808 over 1 million African men, women, and children were brought to the United States African tribes sometimes enslaved other Africans (usually prisoners of war) and sold them to slave traders Slave traders captured and kidnapped million Africans The difference were taken to other countries or died in captivity.

SLAVE TRADE Captured Africans were chained together in the hot sun and were forced to march for days to the ship 2 out 5 captives died on the way to the ship from disease, weather, and beatings Those who made it to the ship were put into cages until enough captives were caught (sometimes weeks)

SLAVE TRADE Once on the ship, slaves were crowded into a dark hold on the bottom of the boat Chained to a railing, unable to shift positions, and forced to lay in body waste Once a day, they were forced on deck to exercise Food was usually a handful of beans or rice with yams and a drink of water

SLAVE TRADE Trip took 25 to 35 days Some jumped overboard Some mutinied 1 out of 3 captives died while on the ship

SLAVE TRADE Once in America, slaves were oiled, open sores filled with tar to be ready to sell Buyers pushed and prodded slaves, looking for defects Sold to the highest bidder

Why were Africans brought to America? Labor was needed to clear the forests, tend the plantations and farms. At first the Africans were treated as indentured servants, who would be freed of their obligations to their owners after serving for several years. Over the course of the century, a new race-based slavery system developed, and by the dawn of the new century, the majority of Africans and African Americans were slaves for life

Treatment of Slaves Slaves were an investment and were treated like livestock (animals) Many worked from sunrise to sunset in the heat with few breaks Overseers might use whips and dogs to force them on Owners convinced slaves that they were helpless, by dominating them physically and threatened to use greater force.

The growth of slavery in North America The number of slaves grew from around 4,000 in 1665 to over 20,000 in 1700 In the year 1700 Virginia had 6000 slaves, in 1763 there were 170,000 (half the population)