  Distribution of slaves  400,000 of 10 million in NA  Most to West Indies and South America  Rise of slavery in America  Slavery too risky/expensive in pre-Bacon colonies  Rising wages in England = less indentured servants  Bacon’s Rebellion  Royal African Company loses British monopoly of slave trade Colonial Slavery

The Slave Chain

  The Middle Passage

Africans were often treated like cattle during the crossing. On the slave ships, people were stuffed between decks in spaces too low for standing. The heat was often unbearable, and the air nearly unbreathable. Women were often used sexually. Men were often chained in pairs, shackled wrist to wrist or ankle to ankle. People were crowded together, usually forced to lie on their backs with their heads between the legs of others. This meant they often had to lie in each other's feces, urine, and, in the case of dysentery, even blood. In such cramped quarters, diseases such as smallpox and yellow fever spread like wildfire. The diseased were sometimes thrown overboard to prevent wholesale epidemics. Because a small crew had to control so many, cruel measures such as iron muzzles and whippings were used to control slaves.

Heading for Jamaica in 1781, the ship Zong was nearing the end of its voyage. It had been twelve weeks since it had sailed from the west African coast with its cargo of 417 slaves. Water was running out. Then, compounding the problem, there was an outbreak of disease. The ship's captain, reasoning that the slaves were going to die anyway, made a decision. In order to reduce the owner's losses he would throw overboard the slaves thought to be too sick to recover. The voyage was insured, but the insurance would not pay for sick slaves or even those killed by illness. However, it would cover slaves lost through drowning. The captain gave the order; 54 Africans were chained together, then thrown overboard. Another 78 were drowned over the next two days. By the time the ship had reached the Caribbean,132 persons had been murdered.

When the ship returned to England the owners made their claim - - they wished to be compensated the full value for each slave lost. The claim might have been honored had if it had not been for former slave Equiano, then living in England, who learned of the tragedy and alerted an abolitionist friend of his. The case went to court. At first the jury ruled in favor of the ship's owners. Since it was permissible to kill animals for the safety of the ship, they decided, it was permissible to kill slaves for the same reason. The insurance company appealed, and the case was retried. This time the court decided that the Africans on board the ship were people. It was a landmark decision. On another voyage, on another ship, a similar incident occurred. On La Rodeur in 1812, there was an outbreak of ophthalmia, a disease that causes temporary blindness. Both slaves and crew were afflicted. The captain, fearing that the blindness was permanent and knowing that blind slaves would be difficult if not impossible to sell, sent 39 slaves over the rails to their watery death. As with the captain of the Zong, he hoped that the insurance would cover the loss.

  The Slave Markets

  Slave Codes  Servant v. Slave  Slavery based on race, heredity, and chattel  The English / Americans invented a new chapter in slavery in human history.  Race had never been a defining factor in bondage – rather it was an economic or political institution. “Slave market in Rome” by Jean-Leon Gerome

  Slave Life  Deep South – rice and indigo farming w/ harsh conditions  Upper South – tobacco farming  Culture - Language (Gullah), music, religion, and weaving all show blending of Africa and America

  Slave Revolts  New York City (1712)  Stono Rebellion, SC (1739)  None equaled the size of Bacon’s rebellion, so African slaves were seen as a ‘safer’ investment

  Slavery exacerbated the gap between rich and poor  Hierarchy  Merchant Planters & FFVs (First Families of Virginia)  Small Farmers – largest social/economic class  Landless whites and indentured servants  Slaves & Indians  Plantation economy prevented growth of –  Cities and a transportation network  Merchant and professional classes  Schools and Churches Colonial Southern Society

  Southern, Middle & New England Colonies  Geography  Demographics  Economics Colonial Regions

  Higher standard of living than Europe  Close relationship with environment - Disease, agriculture, weather  Class distinctions grew with economic growth Generalizations of British America

 New France  Fur Trade / Beavers  Befriended Huron

 West Indies

  Antoine Cadillac – contested English expansion Detroit

 Louisiana New Orleans (1718) – Robert La Salle  countered Spanish expansion in the Gulf of Mexico

II.Clash of Empires (European Wars in America) A.Three wars between 1689 & 1748 B.France & Spain (Catholic) v. England (Protestant) C.Britain won Acadia (renamed Nova Scotia) – Queen Anne’s War D.Louisburg controversy – War of Jenkin’s Ear E.French Acadians moved to New Orleans

 War of the League of AugsburgKing William’s War, War of Spanish SuccessionQueen Anne’s War, 1702 – War of Austrian SuccessionKing George’s War, Seven Years’ WarFrench and Indian War, War of the American RevolutionAmerican Revolution, Wars of the French RevolutionUndeclared French War, Napoleonic WarsWar of 1812, World War IWorld War I, World War IIWorld War II, Dates In EuropeIn America The Nine World Wars

 French & Indian War A.Primary Cause – Conflicting land claims in the Ohio River Valley

 GW and His Mess 1.VA governor sent GW to order French out of ‘VA territory’ 2.GW confronts French troops near Ft. Duquesne (Pittsburg)

 Defeated at Ft. Necessity

 WTF did Georgie Start?  A world war that pitted England, Prussia & Portugal against France, Spain, Austria, and Russia.

 1 Albany Congress  Called by Britain to unite colonial defense  Benjamin Franklin & Albany Plan of Union  1 st attempt at colonial unity *  Plan for colonial self rule  Rejected by  Colonists – not enough independence  Crown – too much independence

 1. Battle  Braddock’s Defeat – trouble on the frontier

 Battle  Louisburg, Nova Scotia  Battle of Quebec – 1759  William Pitt – ‘Organizer of Victory’

 North America before the French &Indian War

 1 Treaty of Paris (1763  France out of North America (except Caribbean & fishing posts)  UK – North America to westward to Mississippi River & Canada; also gained Florida from Spain  Spain – ceded French land west of the MS River

 1. Effects of the War  Friction between colonial troops & British regulars –emergence of an ‘American’ identity  Britain now had large debt & large area to defend  Chief Pontiac’s rebellion against Ohio settlers  Proclamation of 1763 – prohibited colonists from moving beyond the Appalachian Mountains