Slavery in the United States

Slavery 1st African slaves came on a Dutch ship to Jamestown in 1619 Middle Passage was the second part of the triangular trade route (see map) About 18 million Africans were transported between 1600-1800 with about 3 million dying on the way over

The slave- ship Brookes (1788)                                                                                                   The slave- ship Brookes (1788) Fig I lengthwise cross-section Fig II breadthwise cross-section: men Fig III breadthwise cross-section: women Fig IV lower deck with platforms Fig V lower deck without platforms Fig VI half-deck with platforms Fig VII A lower deck B lower deck: breath C men's section D platform: men's section E boy's section F platforms: G women's section H platforms: women's section I gun room K quarter deck L cabin

Inside a Slave Ship

19th Century: A diagram depicting the proper way to pack and                                                                                                                                  19th Century: A diagram depicting the proper way to pack and ship slaves across the Atlantic Ocean

                                          Massachusetts was the first colony to legalize slavery in 1641

US Population Timeline First English settlement: Roanoke, Va 1785 Jamestown in 1607 1600-1619:         est. 210 Pilgrims land at Plymouth Rock in 1620 1620-1629:        est. 2499 1,000 Puritans arrive in Massachusetts in 1630 1630-1639:        est. 5700 Within 10 years, 20,000 Puritans arrive in Massachusetts 1640-1649:     est. 27,947 1650-1659:     est. 51,700 1660-1669:     est. 84,800 1670-1679:    est. 114,500 1680-1689:    est. 155,600 1690-1699:    est. 213,500 1700-1709:    est. 275,000 1710-1719:    est. 357,500 1720-1729:    est. 474,388 1730-1739:    est. 654,950 1740-1749:    est. 889,000 1750-1759:  est. 1,207,000 1760-1769:  est. 1,610,000

                                                        1655 The First Slave Auction at New Amsterdam

Slave Sale Ad

1861: The selling of slaves at U.S. auctions was a profitable business                                                                                                                                                   1861: The selling of slaves at U.S. auctions was a profitable business venture for individuals looking to make a large profit on a minimal investment.

Charleston Slave Market

                                                                                                                                           1857: A slave owner brands his slaves in order to help him "keep track of merchandise."

Punishments for slaves

Slave Codes Slave codes were laws meant to control slaves. These codes forbid slaves from learning to read, owning firearms, or marrying a white person. The penalty a slave faced for learning to read was having a thumb cut off! These laws also made the children born to slaves automatically slaves for life (generational slavery).

                                                                                                                             1823 Sugar slavery in Latin America

                                                                           A cotton plantation on the Mississippi River

Anti-Slavery Lundy formed the first anti-slavery society in 1815

Human Rights and the Rights of Slaves

Summary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) Everyone has the right to:  Be born free and should be treated in the same way  Be treated as equals, despite differences in language, sex, colour etc.  Life and to live in freedom and safety  Be recognized by the law  Be treated equally before the law  Ask for help when their rights are not respected  A fair trial  To be presumed innocent until proven guilty  Privacy  Travel within and to and from their own country  Asylum  A nationality  Marry  Own property and things  Freedom of thought, conscience and religion  Freedom of opinion and expression  Meet with others  Take part in government and to vote  Social security  Work and join a trade union  Rest and leisure  An adequate standard of living and medical help  Education  Take part in their community’s cultural life Everyone is entitled to a social and international order that is necessary for these rights Everyone has the right not to:  Be held in slavery  Be hurt or tortured  Be imprisoned unjustly Everyone:  Must respect the rights of others No-one can take away any of the rights in this declaration

The rights of slaves 1764  Slaves must be locked up at night  Slaves are property and can be sold  Masters can do as they like with their slaves  Masters must destroy slave culture  Slaves are given new names  Slaves can be killed  Slaves cannot marry  Slaves cannot be educated  Slaves must be locked up at night  Slaves must wear a ball and chain  Slaves cannot become Christians  Slaves cannot possess property/sell anything  All blacks are slaves  Slaves’ children are the property of the master

Modern Slavery forced to work -- through mental or physical threat; owned or controlled by an 'employer', usually through mental or physical abuse or threatened abuse; dehumanized, treated as a commodity or bought and sold as 'property'; physically constrained or has restrictions placed on his/her freedom of movement.

Whole families are in bonded                        My first boss bought me and beat me - Kadum, 18 Cambodia                        Many migrant workers are trafficked into the United States and are forced to harvest crops on farms in Florida Dieusibon Delice ran away from the abuses he faced as a child domestic worker and is now living in a shelter in Haiti                       Boy bonded labourer Pakistan (Sindh Province)                       Whole families are in bonded labour. Kailash Bhika, 28, with his wife, Rambeti, 24, daughter Ratma, 4 and son Kalv (18 mo)                        Jiera (19, Lithuanian) was a victim of human trafficking. "My life has been ruined... They trafficked me into prostitution when I was 17." What Jiera thought was going to be a holiday in London became a nightmare before she escaped with the help of a Lithuanian punter.

http://slaveryfootprint.org