CH. 2 Development of Slavery in Mainland North America Flashcards Preview

HIST 300: African American History (Slavery) > CH. 2 Development of Slavery in Mainland North America > Flashcards

Flashcards in CH. 2 Development of Slavery in Mainland North America Deck (168)
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1
Q

What did the first colonists in Jamestown think about slavery?

A

wasn’t on their minds

  • none of early VA/MD settlers intended to import Africans for workforce
2
Q

When did black slaves first start appearing in the Chesapeake Bay colonies?

A

middle of 17th century

  • grew rapidly after 1680
  • by early 1700s = over 50% of laborers in MD/VA were of African origin/enslaved
    (GB)
3
Q

Why did black slavery suddenly become popular in VA/MD at the beginning of the 17th century?

A

English landowners found it difficult to find adequate labor force to grow tobacco

  • white servitude worked alongside black slavery for a while
  • black labor ultimately proved more economical/had fewer problems for landowners
    (WB)
4
Q

Why is that black slavery in the English colonies seen as inevitable?

A

colonies part of growing Atlantic economic system

  • economy moving towards production of staple crops for Euro market by 17th century
  • economy relied on African chattel slavery to function
  • MD/VA landowners just following conventional path of Atlantic colonial system
    (EEM)
5
Q

Why were black slaves preferred by settlers?

A
  • could work them harder/control them more than European servants
  • Africans relatively inexpensive compared to Euros (thus brought greater profits to landowners)
    (CA)
6
Q

Why were the English so eager to establish Atlantic economic system overseas in the first place?

A

second chance at rivaling Spain for international dominance

  • had failed previously when searching for precious metals + finding maritime shortcut to Asia
7
Q

How did English colonization start?

A

sponsored by domestic investors as sailors went as far as East Indies/Ottoman Empire

  • Spanish success in North America in staple producing agriculture inspired English
  • colonial production of staples would create favorable balance of trade
  • colonists w/ money could afford to purchase imported goods from England
  • England gets exclusive trade to staple crops from overseas colonies
    (SCCE)
8
Q

What was the main variation between the colonies?

A

items that were produced

  • VA/MD = tobacco exclusively at first than diversified into cereal + livestock
  • SC/GA = exported livestock + timber first than established rice + indigo plantations
  • MS = French landowners failed to turn profit w/ rice/indigo
  • Northern colonies = produced foodstuffs (fish) + very active in carrying trade
    (VSMN)
9
Q

What did the commodities the different colonies were producing affect?

A

determined size/type of labor force that colonists required

10
Q

Who did the mainland colonies have close ties to?

A

the Caribbean

  • slave ships serviced English island colonies as well as mainland
  • islanders emigrated to mainland when economic opportunity seemed greater
  • mainlanders especially attuned to Caribbean
    (SIM)
11
Q

What happened in the Caribbean Euro colonies by 1640?

A

transition from tobacco/cotton to sugar plantations

  • English Barbados + French Martinique both made switch
  • opted for African slave labor over white servants they’d been using before
  • Jamaica + St. Domingue + English islands followed suit
    (EOJ)
12
Q

What had happened by the last quarter of the 17th century in the Caribbean?

A

plantation model established “next door” to mainland North America

  • still growing in other colonies up/down the Atlantic rim
  • led to large amount of African slaves to be be imported to mainland colonies
    (SL)
13
Q

How does Ira Berlin differ between societies w/ slaves vs slave societies?

A

societies w/ slaves = slavery just one form of labor among many

slave society = slavery stood at center of economic production
(SS)

14
Q

How does Berlin group Africans/African Americans?

A

chronologically by set of common experiences

  • charter generations (first arrivals + their children + their grandchildren)
  • plantation generations (who were forced to grow great staples)
  • revolutionary generations (who faced resurgent slave regime)
    (CPR)
15
Q

What does Ira Berlin emphasize about the time of slavery?

A
  • overriding importance of human toil in slavery’s growth

- stresses effects of late 18th century Age of Revolution (roiled waters of American slavery
OS)

16
Q

What does Berlin say was the most consistent agitator of the waters of American slavery?

A

constant struggle between master/slave

  • struggle persisted in every locale where slavery appeared
  • was major force behind changing nature of slavery as an institution + African American society
    (SW)
17
Q

What did the first settlers in colonial Virginia in 1607 come to be?

A

traders not planters

  • initials investors in Virginia Company pictured warehouses filled w/ different commodities
  • settlers turned to planting when they failed as traders
    (IS)
18
Q

What made the transition from trading to planting easy for early settlers in Virginia?

A

accommodating surroundings (climate/soil/running water)

19
Q

Who was the first settler to successfully grow tobacco in Virginia?

A

John Rolfe

20
Q

How was tobacco viewed at the time?

A

noxious weed by some but a commodity to the English

  • English used it more than any other Europeans (thus brought a good price on exports)
  • by 1617 = tobacco was dominant export from VA to England
    (EB)
21
Q

How did England at first react to the need for more labor to tend to the tobacco fields in North America?

A

not worried (had plenty of domestic workers)

  • English society = large domestic unemployment + dec. wages + general turmoil
  • resulted in primarily young men to go overseas to work tobacco fields
    (ER)
22
Q

How did poor white laborers get overseas to work if they couldn’t afford the trip?

A

made deal w/ recruiters to repay their fare through work on land

  • white laborers thus came mostly as servants/apprentices
  • most served 5-7 yrs as indentured servants
    (WM)
23
Q

What was the hope of many early English settlers when it came to finding labor to work tobacco fields?

A

hoped to develop good relations w/ Native Americans

  • thought Natives would be open to being exposed to “English civilizing tendencies
  • trade/military alliances already had formed between them
    (TT)
24
Q

What happened on March 1622?

A

Powhatan confederacy launch surprise attack on several English colonies (results in 350 English deaths)

  • caused English to have disdained image of Native people of the region
  • idea of enslaving them grew popular among settlers
    (CI)
25
Q

How did the attempted enslavement of Native Americans in the Chesapeake Bay fare?

A

unsuccessful

  • Native American lifestyle didn’t fit w/ regimented cultivation of tobacco fields
  • either ran away/balked at the work/died from strain
    (NE)
26
Q

When did Africans first appear in Jamestown?

A

1619

  • seemed to fit colonial life better than Native Americans
  • first arrivals were bound laborers similar to white servants before them
  • still closer to slaves than indentured servants + served longer stints than whites
  • conditions still better for them than plantation slavery to come century later
    (SFSC)
27
Q

What were the first African arrivals to Jamestown like?

A

lives not significantly worse than English servants at the same place/time

  • mostly Atlantic creoles familiar w/ Euro culture + Atlantic commerce system
  • thus not at a disadvantage to white workers
    (MT)
28
Q

What was something unusual about life for first black arrivals in Jamestown?

A

substantial # able to purchase freedom + enter class of small planters

  • some even owned servants themselves
  • 10 of 53 black men in Northampton County were free (owned land + grew crops + traded + argued in court etc.)
    (ST)
29
Q

What were the experiences like for both black/white servants in the Chesapeake colonies?

A

neither pleasant nor rewarding

  • most wanted to work off contract + earn a wage + obtain land/few servants + enter planter class
  • many not able to achieve this goal
  • servitude in North America not at all like in England
  • planters extracted as much work out of servants as possible (far more than Englishmen accustomed to)
    (MMSP)
30
Q

What was a consequence of landowners working their black/white servants so hard?

A

discipline was harsh + soon seen more as a commodity than a person

  • not many servants lived long enough to fulfill planter ambitions
  • many died of disease in first third of the century (no matter the race)
    (NM)
31
Q

What was the state of the colonies in 1640?

A
  • tobacco prices had been falling + wages remained low for first few decades of colonies
  • large planters had already claimed most of the Tidewater land
  • led to growing # of servants to not be able to purchase land after fulfilling contract
  • caused growing unemployed/poor class of young men to emerge (similar to England) (resented wealthy)
-  poor angry class seen as dangerous (all men in colonies were armed) (rebellion on the horizon)
(TLLCP)
32
Q

What was Bacon’’s Rebellion (1676)?

A

most well known poor class revolt against wealthy in North American colonies

33
Q

How did landowners try to slow the growth of the poor class in the colonies?

A
  • lengthening terms of servitude
  • trying to pass laws preventing those w/o property from voting
  • problem would remain
    (LTP)
34
Q

What was the consequence of imported white servitude to the colonies?

A

provided labor force but also a disruptive class of young men

35
Q

What prevented the VA/MD colonies from claiming the white servants as chattel slaves to prevent rebellions?

A

cultural factors prevented it

  • Euros okay killing each other in war but looked down on chattel slavery
36
Q

What did landowners in the VA/MD colonies begin to realize in the 1670s?

A

switching to another form of servitude necessary to have greater control of labor force

  • would need to get labor mostly outside of Europe
37
Q

Other than fear of rebellion from young former servants what else dec. the # of imported English servants into the Chesapeake colonies?

A
  • dec. # of young Englishmen available/willing to go overseas
  • waning economic opportunity to be found in VA/MD to attract Englishmen
  • competition from other new colonies for limited supply of white laborers
  • awareness of imperial trends in labor acquisition around Atlantic
    (DWCA)
38
Q

What caused the shortage of English migrants to America after 1630?

A
  • dec. in English birth rates
  • start of English Civil War
  • rising real wages domestically after war dec. the poor class/# of unemployed willing to travel overseas
    (DSR)
39
Q

What were the effects of King William III’s + Queen Anne’s Wars on the # of English willing to go work overseas?

A

led potential servants to find military employment/take jobs abandoned by those in service

40
Q

Why did economic opportunities in the Chesapeake dec. substantially after 1680?

A

long depression in tobacco market began in 1680

  • made it more difficult for poor immigrants to acquire enough money to buy own land/labor
  • opportunity appeared greater in NY + PA (young Englishmen willing to travel went here instead)
  • some whites in VA/MD left to go to NY + PA
  • more whites left Chesapeake colonies through 1690s than entered them
  • by 1700 = white servant immigration not close to meeting labor demand
    (MOSMB)
41
Q

What was the response by the Chesapeake colonies to the labor shortage post 1700?

A
  • still imported English criminals as indentured servants + southern Irish
  • dec. in # of servants + large availability of Africans ultimately led MD/VA colonies to make switch to blacks
  • surplus of Africans result of inc. carrying trade between Africa/Europe to Caribbean colonies
    (SDS)
42
Q

How were the new African laborers different than the first arrivals in Jamestown in the early 1600s?

A

not the Atlantic creoles from west-central Africa

  • whites considered these new Africans from west Africa “outlandish”
  • had traditional face paint/scars + resembled culture English found brutish
  • were comparatively inexpensive to the creoles
    (WHW)
43
Q

Why were the new “outlandish” African slaves worked harder than white servants?

A

conventions that protected white servants from overwork didn’t apply to Africans

44
Q

What made full chattel slavery more attractive to Chesapeake settlers over the servant system before 1700?

A

settlers interested in building a family estate

  • slaves + their children permanently bound
  • theirs to work/sell as they choose
  • VA/MD officially transforms from society w/ slaves to slave society
    (STV)
45
Q

At what pace did the transition to slavery occur in the Tidewater?

A

varied

  • wealthy tobacco growers in York county bought Africans early (by 1680 4/5 laborers were black)
  • more northern areas switched slower (African slave rush full steam ahead by 1695)
  • Chesapeake planters had purchased 3000 African slaves by 1700
  • 1700 = free whites still made up majority of tobacco labor but blacks quickly becoming laborers of choice
    (WMCF)
46
Q

What was the trend of the early popularity of black Atlantic slave trade in the Chesapeake?

A

from 1700 = Atlantic trade most popular source of black labor until pop. could self sustain (would take a while)

47
Q

Why did it take a while for the black slave pop. to be able to self sustain w/o needing to import more?

A
  • mortality rates for “unseasoned” slaves still high in first two decades of 1700s
  • men slave imports largely outpaced women slave imports (meant fewer offspring)
  • planters saw no need to import women since they could get young African men for good price
  • planters didn’t encourage child birth (could hinder a women’s slaves ability to work)
  • gender balance finally came around 1740 when pop. could self sustain w/o more importation
    (MMPPG)
48
Q

What economic changes did the Chesapeake region go through in the 18th century?

A

tobacco sapped Tidewater soil of nutrients

  • as pop. of planters grew in colonies this became problem as soil didn’t have time to recover
  • more planters began turning to grain production in 1750s/60s
  • NC began to become more important in the region (slave economy emerging rapidly)
  • Chesapeake colonies were most diversified economies on mainland by American Revolution
    (AMNC)
49
Q

How did NC begin to grow in the 1750s in the Chesapeake?

A

economy grew rapidly

  • rested on naval stores + lumber + grains + provisions
  • imported bulk of slaves later than most of Chesapeake + more of them directly from Africa not Caribbean
    (RI)
50
Q

What did all the Chesapeake colonies have in common by the 1750s?

A

nearly all work done by African slaves + their children

51
Q

How did the slave trade begin to change in the Chesapeake in the later third of the 18th century?

A

slave trade began to level off but #s still staggeringly high

  • 1690-1770 = 100,000 slaves imported to Chesapeake
52
Q

What did the growth of black labor in the Chesapeake necessitate?

A

a legal basis for the institution

  • long standing precedent irrelevant b/c English law didn’t allow slavery
  • economic/social pressures of English planters to create slavery to compete w/ other Europeans led to legal basis
  • English landowners in Caribbean had already worked through legal difficulties of slavery fortunately
  • VA/MD looked to Barbados/Jamaica for legal precedent for slave codes
    (LEEV)
53
Q

What was the legal framework around slaves before the explosion in their pop.?

A

Tidewater legislators didn’t bother to codify slavery

  • blacks/whites shared same escapades/punishments
54
Q

What started happening involving the legal rights of blacks in the middle of the 17th century?

A

judges/lawmakers started to strip rights of African immigrants

  • 1640s = blacks in MD lose right to bear arms
  • 1640s (VA) + 1660s (MD) = black women included in list of tithable
  • 1660s = MD/VA gave stiff punishment between biracial fornication
    (JSSS)
55
Q

What did VA pass in 1669?

A

an act about the casual killing of slaves

  • state recognized they must make slaves fear for their lives to make them work to best ability
  • law said that death of slave from master will not result in felony charges
    (SL)
56
Q

What happened to blacks who had gained their freedom before the legal framework around slavery?

A

lived normally like they had til about 1670

  • by 1680 blacks had been stripped of most of their remaining rights
  • biggest loss was no longer had the right to own property
    (BB)
57
Q

Why was the loss of the right to property considered the biggest loss to slaves?

A

for everyone in colonial America property was the dream

  • in property all persons had legal rights that gave them confidence in dealing w/ others + underlying self respect
  • taking away property right took away their ability to accumulate wealth + participate in quest for betterment
  • undermined the possibility of blacks to have success in personal relations
    (ITU)
58
Q

What was life like for blacks in the Chesapeake colonies before slavery became popular?

A

blacks scattered broadly among white servants/free men

  • public contacts w/ as many whites as blacks
  • little segregation based on race
  • seldom lived on farms w/ more than a dozen workers
  • only a few lived w/ a handful of slaves
    (PLSO)
59
Q

What did the inc. in slaves after 1700 do to the Chesapeake colonies society?

A

three level society created (based on land + slave holdings)

  • most landowners lived on small farms (have a slave or two but family members did most of work)
  • middle level of landowners who owned a few slaves (aspired to be big planters)
  • middle level = economically/socially transient group (either middle moved up/overreached + moved down)
  • largest planters (smallest class) = eventually owned nearly all slaves in the two colonies (MD/VA)
  • largest planters = hired overseers from group of young landless white men to harshly discipline slaves
    (MMMLL)
60
Q

How did slaves + farms + crops change in Chesapeake society post 1700?

A

fell into distinct spacial arrangements

  • largest plantations = tobacco holdings along Chesapeake Bay
  • wealth/slaves concentrated in these tobacco core regions in both MD + VA
  • around periphery grain farming + livestock were primary economic activities (smaller land/fewer slaves)
    (LWA)
61
Q

How were slaves housed in the Chesapeake colonies?

A

did not live in single group communal quarters

  • planters often housed slaves in small clusters of dwellings around their holdings
  • this dispersed cattle/hogs + put laborers close to the fields they worked
  • MD = typical dwelling housed 4-5 men/women field hands + 1-2 women for cooking/cleaning/childcare
    (PTM)
62
Q

How did the establishment of black slavery in the Chesapeake colonies change every facet of society through the 18th century?

A
  • blacks made up nearly 40% of each colonies population by 1780
  • VA legislators created more restrictive rules as slave pop. grew
  • use of overseer + private slave catchers
  • reliance on white pop. to guard against runaways
  • eventually moved towards use of militias
    (BVURE)
63
Q

What were the early slave patrols like in the Chesapeake colonies?

A

often consisted of cross sections of white society (not just lower class)

64
Q

What was the opposite effect that came with the growth of black slavery in the Chesapeake colonies?

A

almost complete disappearance of free blacks

  • made up less than 5% of Chesapeake pop. by American Revolution
65
Q

What makes up the Low Country in the US?

A

modern day Florida + Georgia + South Carolina

66
Q

What was the first European nation to colonize the Low Country?

A

Spain

  • also first to introduce African slaves to Low Country
67
Q

How did African slaves participate in the early parts of the Low Country during Spanish rule?

A

worked on the building/fortification of St. Augustine in FL

  • would help build stone fortresses in 1672 to protect Spanish from pirates/other Euro nations
  • 1683 = 6 black/mulatto officers + 42 soldiers part of St. Augustine black militia
    (WS)
68
Q

Why did the African slave pop. in the Low Country remain relatively small during Spanish rule?

A

St. Augustine functioned to protect Spain’s shipping passing between colonies + mother country

  • did not grow staple crops for exports like most American settlements
69
Q

Why was St. Augustine + the Spanish controlled Low Country a thorn in the side of Britain?

A

wanted to create slave based plantation economy in southern mainland post 1670

  • King Charles of Spain freed black slaves escaping from British colonies if they made it to FL outposts
  • Spanish Florida became refuge for men/women slaves from British plantations
  • at first Spanish authorities reneged on refuge promises + resold blacks back to slavery to profit poor colony
  • post 1738 = St. Augustine governor reinforced crown’s refuge orders
    (KSAP)
70
Q

What was the effect of the reinstatement of the refuge orders by the new St. Augustine governor after 1738?

A

1738 = 38 blacks refugees + black militia captain (Fransisco Menendez) establish first free black town

  • located 2 mi from St. Augustine
  • named village Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose
  • abandoned then rebuilt + occupied until Spanish lost FL to English in 1763
    (LNA)
71
Q

What was the importance of Gracia Real?

A
  • drew slaves from England’s southernmost colonies

- some slaves fleeing from SC + GA (differed from Spanish FL + English Chesapeake colonies
DS)

72
Q

What region was considered the hub of Britain’s American empire?

A

Greater Caribbean

  • made up of British sugar islands of Jamaica + Barbados + Leeward Islands
  • economy/society would inspire ones established in SC + GA colonies
    (ME)
73
Q

Where did most of the early GA/SC British settlers come from?

A

Barbados + sugar islands (not British Isles)

  • came intent on producing for English market but Low Country was not a tobacco friendly environment
74
Q

What did the early economy of GA/SC focus on since tobacco couldn’t be grown there?

A

concentrated on providing sustenance for themselves

  • produced livestock + timber for the English settlers in the Caribbean
  • exported deerskins to the mother country
  • eventually turned almost exclusively to rice production
    (PEE)
75
Q

Why were the first SC settlers so supportive of black labor to work fields so early into the colony?

A

black slave labor had already been thriving on sugar plots of Barbados since 1640s

  • many early SC authorities were in the slave trade + been successful in sugar production in Caribbean
76
Q

What was the makeup of slaves in early SC?

A

mostly Atlantic creoles

  • persons of African descent became pop. majority in Low Country colonies after a generation
  • extension of coastal Carolina would thus mean spread of slave based economy/society regardless
    (PE)
77
Q

What was an important distinction to make between the Low Country + Chesapeake?

A

the environment

  • Low Country = subtropical + humid + more like British West Indies
78
Q

What did the environment in the Low Country mean for early Africans imported in?

A
  • Africans who’d developed malaria/yellow fever immunities had advantages over masters
  • Africans = whether they came from West Indies/Africa they were already used to climate/growing conditions
  • meant Africans in early days had other value besides labor (husbandry + technical know how)
  • English masters more dependent on slaves than other regions
    (AAME)
79
Q

What were the first 30 years of the SC colony like?

A

From establishment in 1670 to 1700 incorporated a lot of Barbados + British culture

  • settlers from both places
  • economy began to provide Barbados w/ provisions
  • model life of SC landowner same as English gentleman in Barbados
    (SEM)
80
Q

What was happening in Barbados by 1650?

A

was overcrowded + most of arable land under cultivation

  • freed servants on land now lacked opportunities
  • pop. needed provisions
  • migration became prevalent in last third of century to other British colonies
    (FPM)
81
Q

How did SC become a colony?

A

mix of wealthy planters + freed servants + African slaves from Barbados settled near present day Charleston

  • first began growing maize + beans for survival
  • soon began to produce other foods + raise livestock + harvest timber
    (FS)
82
Q

How was slavery being part of SC’s economy inevitable?

A

SC gov. incentivized slavery by giving landowners free land for bringing slaves

  • 1669 Constitution of Carolina gave masters absolute power over their slaves
83
Q

How important were the black slave men from Africa to the colonial enterprise of the Low Country?

A

considerably important

  • some brought great husbandry knowledge of livestock + crops
  • white settlers relied on them to develop thriving herds of cattle
    (SW)
84
Q

What was the recipe for economic success in the early Low Country?

A
  • planter’s ability to adapt to Low Country environment

- willingness to blend English w/ non-English techniques
PW

85
Q

Why did everyone in the Low Country have reason to produce rice over maize based foods?

A

early settlers went through trials to find suitable staple crop to grow in region

  • experimented w/ rice in 1690s but didn’t show much promise at first
  • began to succeed in rice growing around end of the century
  • rice was inexpensive + filling + easy to store = made it popular among poor Euro families + feeding workers
  • Euro high demand for food + inc. Euro pop. = rice revolution in Low Country
    (EBRE)
86
Q

What was the SC colony economy like prior to 1740?

A

relatively diverse

  • rice would completely takeover maize + livestock + lumber production
  • rice was major Low Country export by 1720s when it surpassed pitch/tar
87
Q

What did farmers do that caused the boom in rice production in the Low Country?

A

switched from reservoir rice culture to tidal rice culture

  • began accounting for 60% of Low Country exports by 1760s
88
Q

What did the beginning of the rice boom create?

A

a huge demand for labor

  • caused mass import of slaves more than any other mainland colony rest of 18th century
89
Q

How did Low Country geography affect rice production?

A

limited rice culture + affected direction of its spread

  • rice grew in coastlands where tidal rivers irrigated the fields
  • cultivation existed in strip along Atlantic seldom more than 20 mi wide
  • expanded quickly southward but growth halted as Spanish English territory murky in that direction
    (RCE)
90
Q

What happened in 1732?

A

British establish Georgia colony

  • was made to reform England’s dispossessed/criminals elements + become beacon of Christian morals
  • Georgia Trustees banned slavery from colony in 1734 (thought it would hinder original mission of colony)
  • GA free of slaves first two decades of existence
    (WGG)
91
Q

Why did slavery quickly become adopted by GA shortly after the legislative ban?

A

hurried along by failures of inadequately prepared poor white colonists in producing staples trustees demanded

  • SC colonizers joined w/ GA planters to persuade trustees to adopt slavery
  • trustees first experimented w/ more humane version of slavery in 1740s
  • but went full adoption by after 1750 due to economic pressures
92
Q

Who were the first migrants in GA coastal regions?

A

land hungry South Carolinians

  • brought w/ them know how of producing rice + preferred slave labor force
  • other groups came too following Spanish land cession after 1763
    (BO)
93
Q

Where did GA get most of its first slaves from?

A

via SC market until 1760s

  • began importing slaves directly from Africa after that
  • GA had to wait until market could dispose of entire cargo before slavers would come to there ports
  • had about equal pop. distribution between black/white by 1773
  • blacks outnumbered whites considerably in rice production regions (like SC)
    (BGHB)
94
Q

Why did slavery stay exclusively in the Low Country of GA but not extend more inland?

A

confinement of rice culture to coastal strip + inland GA had difficulties growing staple crops

95
Q

What did the rice production boom in the Low Country do to the agricultural economy?

A

created first large scale plantation operations on mainland

  • began to resemble sugar cane operations in Caribbean
  • small farms not as efficient as large plantations
    (BS)
96
Q

What did SC begin to grow alongside rice as a main staple?

A

indigo

  • was able to grow in drier areas where rice couldn’t
  • early growth of English textiles in 1740s + demand for blue dye brought 30 year boom in crop
  • high maintenance plant but fast production cycle so could be integrated w/ other operations
    (WEH)
97
Q

What did the introduction of the large plantation style economy have on the Atlantic slave trade?

A

enormous # of Africans exported to mainland

  • 92,000 imported to Charleston between 1706-76
  • 1740 = black slaves make up 90% of pop. in upper/lower Charleston
    (NS)
98
Q

What did plantation masters in the Low Country do during the slow growing periods?

A

spent time in Charleston/Savannah to escape cold + left plantation operations in hands of overseer

99
Q

What did the transition to intensive large plantation agriculture do to slaves?

A

inc. their mortality rate
- made work more difficult + living conditions dec.
- planters not worried about dying slaves since prices were low so easy to replace

  • when rice price fell planters began growing even more rice + using more land (even worse living + inc. mortality)
    (MPW)
100
Q

What caused white anxieties to mount in all mainland colonies?

A

when proportion of slaves to free blacks began to rise

  • resulted in slow erosion of black rights in Low Country
  • Low Country gave harshest punishments/strictest laws to blacks of all the English colonies
    (RL)
101
Q

When did restrictions on free blacks begin in the Low Country?

A

SC when it adopted Jamaican Slave Code of 1684 in 1691

102
Q

When did white fears really begin to rise in the Low Country?

A

after mid 1720s (when slave imports topped 1000 per year)

  • “suspicion gatherings” of blacks in Charleston prompted action of SC trustees
103
Q

What action did SC trustees take to restrict the group gathering of blacks in Charleston?

A

organized “Negro Watch” in 1721

  • confined blacks found on the street after 9 PM
  • colonial militias began taking irregular patrols in rural areas (militias acted w/o restriction on punishments)
    (CC)
104
Q

What were some actions taken by colonial militias against slaves/free blacks in the Low Country?

A
  • lashed slaves found off their plantations
  • searched slave dwellings for no reason
  • killed suspected runaways who resisted
    (LSK)
105
Q

What were the high court “slave justice” punishments for blacks in the Low Country?

A

harsh/severe

  • castration + nose splitting + mutilation + burning
  • overseers/masters would administer even worse private punishments outside of legal realm
    (CO)
106
Q

What were the job constrictions put on free blacks in the Low Country?

A

blacks/whites not able to work same jobs

  • whites limited blacks in practicing skilled trades
  • most blacks served as road/canal builders + waste disposers + debt collectors for masters
    (WM)
107
Q

What social construct became a large issue among white men in the Low Country?

A

interracial sexual relations

  • white fear of black men raping white women spread throughout the century
  • news devoted a lot of time to alleged black rape (ignored common white rape of black women)
    (WN)
108
Q

What were some hidden social/cultural advantages for blacks living in the Low Country plantations?

A

rice production lent itself to a task system of labor

  • overseers doled out specific tasks for slaves to do (when finished slaves given free time)
  • free time let slaves develop their own cultural practices separate from white society
  • raised own crops + hunted/fished + made on crafts + spent time socializing
  • important in first developments of African American culture
    (OFRI)
109
Q

What is the contemporary view of how rice was introduced as a staple in the Low Country?

A

not an accidental success by English as once claimed

  • credited w/ men/women of West Africa introducing crop + technology for producing it in swampy Low Country
110
Q

What was the experience like for African slaves coming to Lower Mississippi?

A

differed from other major colonies on mainland

  • France + Spain major Euro colonizers in the region
  • Lower Mississippi remained marginal in colonial ambitions
  • French tried making slave based economy but never took hold like other parts of Southeast
    (FLF)
111
Q

What was the result of the lack of a true staple slave based society in Lower Mississippi?

A

slave society but was a more opening setting by 1750

  • mingling of Indians whites + blacks
  • allowed individuals in each group greater movement + more social/economic interactions
  • greater black opportunity for freedom
    (MAG)
112
Q

What happened in Lower Mississippi after the Spanish took control from the French in 1763?

A

meant more effort to stimulate plantation based economy

  • Spain still provided ambitious blacks more opportunities than other colony regions
  • greater mixture of Indians + whites + blacks than anywhere else in North America during colonial period
    (SG)
113
Q

How did the Lower Mississippi colonies start?

A

first settled by Frenchmen from Canada in 1699

  • intent on securing backdoor to Indian fur trade
  • w/ French Caribbean sugar plantations thriving they had little reason to duplicate success in Mississippi
    (IW)
114
Q

What happened after the establishment of New Orleans by the French in 1718?

A

settlers raised pressures to import African slaves (gov. allowed slavery in 1719)

  • 1719-31 = 7600 African slaves imported directly to LA
  • most from Senegambia + referred to as Bambaras
    (SM)
115
Q

What was the result of the early slave imports into LA?

A

LA not safe place + many new migrants didn’t live long

  • in time Africans began to survive even better than whites
  • blacks outnumbered whites by 1722
    (IB)
116
Q

What happened to the Africans that were staying in New Orleans?

A

constructed levees/buildings + worked on farms/plantations

  • outside of New Orleans slaves felled trees + cut roads + built dwellings + grew labor/tobacco on plantations
117
Q

What was different about the French slave codes vs the English slave codes in the colonies?

A

French already had legal basis for slavery in Code Noir in 1685 (similar code decreed in LA in 1724)

  • French code also called for Catholic instruction of slaves
  • placed church/state in way to guarantee slaves some meager rights (never worked out that way)
  • slaves rarely received sacrament beyond baptisms
  • even more rarely went to law enforcement for protection/compensation
  • slave punishments in Lower Mississippi still very severe
    (FPSES)
118
Q

Who else were maltreated in the Lower Mississippi along w/ black slaves?

A

Indians

  • threatened by expanding plantations (some captured as slaves)
119
Q

What was a common fear among French authorities in the Lower MS?

A

thought runaway slaves would make bonds w/ local Indian tribes (some actually did)

  • handful of maroon settlements where Africans + Indians organized banditry raids + traded stolen goods
  • planned ways to stop expansion of plantations
    (HP)
120
Q

What event happened in 1729?

A

Natchez Indians aided by runaways rose up in districts across North New Orleans + killed 200 French settlers

  • New Orleans governor armed 15 trusted slaves who joined Natchez enemies (Choctaw) to quell rebellion
121
Q

What did French authorities award blacks that fought back slave rebellions with?

A

their freedom

  • formed small black militia to protect the colony + ensure loyalty of black pop. in the future
  • militia helped protect colony against Indians + rival Euros over next several decades
122
Q

What caused French authorities to stop importing slaves after into the Lower MS 1730?

A

past insurrections + fear of even larger/unruly black pop.

  • caused expansion of tobacco/indigo plantations to slow
  • colony began to diversify its export economy
  • happening same time slave economy sustaining in Chesapeake + thriving in Low Country
  • constrictions on blacks in lower MS began to loosen as other colonies becoming more constrictive
    (CCHC)
123
Q

How did restrictions loosen for blacks in the Lower MS after slave imports halted?

A

creoles began to replace African born slaves + began finding more ways to gain their freedom

  • once free they joined societal economy in trading goods/services
  • subsistence based exchange economy emerged that French could do little to control
  • eventually slaves began participating in the economy too
    (OSE)
124
Q

How did slaves begin to participate in the subsistence exchange based economy in the Lower MS?

A

some masters began allowing slaves time to work for themselves

  • many of them marketed the foods they’d grown/game they’d trapped on their own
  • some slaves prospered as boatsmen for bayous/boatsmen
  • eventually masters permitted individual slaves to hire out their own time
    (MSE)
125
Q

What group became more prevalent/important in the Lower MS as blacks gained more of their freedom?

A

importance of black militias

  • gained individual respect/status as they kept protecting from foreign enemies
  • by 1760 = unique creole society had emerged in Lower MS
    (GB)
126
Q

What were some of the privileges awarded those apart of the creole society in the Lower MS?

A

had greater independence than their counterparts in Anglo-America

  • harsh punishment/discrimination still existed but had more opportunities + modest respect
127
Q

What happened due to the Paris Treaty of 1763?

A

LA taken over by Spain + FL taken over by English

  • altered the creole society to an extent
  • both Spain/English intended to recreate the slave plantation society
  • imported more slaves for indigo production
  • but Euros had trouble controlling established society so it remained fluid
    (ABIB)
128
Q

What happened in the Lower MS in 1769?

A

black militia helped authorities put down revolt by unhappy French planters

  • prompted Spanish authorities to keep paths to freedom open for LA blacks
  • New Orleans pop. of free blacks inc. in # + advanced both economically/socially
  • creole blacks speaking mix of French/African language became integral part of society
  • slave society became society w/ slaves
    (PNCS)
129
Q

When again would life become more restrictive for free blacks in the Lower MS?

A

not until 1795 when sugar cane became the staple crop in the region

  • by that time New Orleans had foundation of unique creole society in sizable free black pop.
  • those who remained in slavery + others imported made up backbone of sugar cane workforce
130
Q

How important were blacks to New England + Middle Colonies?

A

more important than many think

  • especially in farming areas of CT + Long Island + lower Hudson River (blacks made up 50% of labor force there)
  • certain industries like ironwork in PA/tanning in NY relied heavily on slave labor
  • slaves worked in the carrying trade + around shipyards in RI + MA
    (ECS)
131
Q

Where were slaves concentrated in New England?

A

near coastal urban systems/river systems

  • particularly heavy concentration in RI
  • did work for white elites
  • Middle Colonies had large black urban pops. (moved from serving gentry to assisting tradesmen)
  • black pop. in some areas were critical to regional economy
  • blacks didn’t live in isolation from others of African descent + customs of whites didn’t dominate lives
    (PDMBB)
132
Q

What was different about slavery in New England/the Middle Colonies?

A
  • plantations never formed from north of PA
  • typical northern slave lived alone/with one to two other slaves in a dwelling owned by master
  • worked on small farms/small industry
    (PTW)
133
Q

What was different about where the early black slaves in New England/Middle Colonies came from?

A
  • pre 1740 = rare for captives to arrive in northern ports directly from Africa
  • most at first were Atlantic creoles who came from West Indies/one of southern mainland colonies
  • 1740-70 = only time of significant slave importation in the north (still never approached plantation #s)
    (PMS)
134
Q

Why was there such a considerable difference in the slavery in the northern colonies vs the Chesapeake/Low Country?

A

regional economy differences

  • New England/Middle Colony farmers never devoted most resources to staple crop production
  • no staple crop capable of production in the region
  • northerners instead became efficient in other tasks that brought them export credits for trade balance
  • tasks include grain/livestock farming + whaling/fishing + carrying trade (no mass slavery needed for these tasks)
    (NNNT)
135
Q

How did northern farmers who produced food crops make a living w/o mass slavery?

A

did so efficiently on small farms

  • most relied on their own family labor
  • tended not to gain extraordinary wealth to buy a lot of slaves/expand operations
    (MT)
136
Q

Why did northerners even engage in buying slaves all the way up to the American Revolution if they were buying such small numbers?

A

has to do largely w/ their extensive participation in the carrying trade + need for labor/its availability

  • Atlantic economy had big effect on their order of operations
137
Q

How did the New England/Middle Colonies start?

A

Dutch colonists (not English) first to import slaves north of MD

  • Dutch West India Company established posts along Hudson River in mid 1620s
  • participated in fur trade + lumber
  • company refused to put enough $$$ into creating staple crop economy
  • instead brought workers before farmers
    (DPCI)
138
Q

When did the Dutch West India Company first begin to import slaves?

A

1626 began importing them into New Amsterdam

  • most came from Curacao in Dutch West Indies/from holdings on Spanish ships
  • slaves put to work clearing land along Hudson
  • slaves had made enough land arable by 1650 to change nature of New Netherland
    (MSS)
139
Q

How did the colonizing goals of the Dutch change after 1650?

A

arrived intending to settle permanently

  • used cleared land for growing grain + keeping livestock
  • farming replaced fur trading as principal colonial activity
    (UF)
140
Q

How did the Atlantic creoles imported into the Dutch colonies take advantage of their knowledge of the Dutch culture + importance of social networking?

A
  • many gained baptism in Dutch Reformed Church
  • many established families + interacted w/ others in communities
  • accumulated property + pushed for rights
  • some obtained full/partial freedom from the company + gained title to farmland
    (MMAS)
141
Q

What was Dutch colonial society like in the 1640s?

A

found free blacks trading in New Amsterdam market + drinking in taverns w/ all races

  • resulted in melding of cultures
142
Q

What happened after the 1640s to black life in New Netherland?

A

freedoms quickly restricted

  • Dutch authorities used promise of large availability of cheap black slaves to lure more white farmers to colony
  • caused inc. in slave shipments directly from Africa to New Netherland
  • Reformed Church helped move along acceptance of slavery by stopping slave baptisms + dec. emancipation
  • by 1660s = 1/8 of citizens owned slaves + 25% of pop. made up of African descended people
    (DCRB)
143
Q

What happened after the English took over New Netherland in 1664?

A

treatment of blacks remained the same

  • English laws in NY recognized slavery at same time they restricted white servitude
  • resulted in inc. demand for slaves
    (ER)
144
Q

Where did most black slaves live in the New York colony?

A

NYC

  • made up 21% of city pop.
  • black women frequently used as domestics + outnumbered black men
    (MB)
145
Q

Why was NYC so dependent on slave importation to keep #s high enough?

A

black women had low fertility rates

  • due to overwork + malnutrition + discouragement to reproduce by masters
146
Q

Where else did the Dutch West India Company import slaves besides NY?

A

carried small #s along Delaware River to NJ + PA

147
Q

How did slavery develop in PA?

A

slaves arrived in Philly even before Quakers

  • William Penn + other settlers along Delaware River had high demand for slave labor
  • by 1700 = 1/15 PA families had slaves
  • 1726 = PA has laws governing difference between slaves + free blacks
  • slave codes not as severe as southern colonies but still created social caste system based on race
    (WBSS)
148
Q

Why were most black men/women that arrived in New England there in the first place + not in the South?

A

b/c of coastal New England’s interdependence w/ West Indies + its heavy participation in the Caribbean trade

149
Q

What were some characteristics of the Caribbean - New England trade?

A
  • many ships from Caribbean had small # of slaves transported to New England
  • often considered “bad bunch” of slaves
  • slavers sometimes used Caribbean islands as way stations on their way to New England
    (MOS)
150
Q

What was different about New England slave masters compared w/ Chesapeake/Low Country masters?

A
  • seemed to care less about receiving “bad lot” of slaves from Caribbean
  • showed less concern about place of origin Africans came from
  • believed they could train blacks individually to instill Yankee values to anyone
    (SSB)
151
Q

How did slavery in New England + the Middle Colonies change after 1740?

A

took on a greater African cast

  • inc. opportunities in Europe + occasional blocking of Euro shipping lines by war cut white labor immigration
  • prompted large scale purchase of slaves
  • new slaves not Atlantic creoles like before (most directly from African continent)
    (IPN)
152
Q

How would the switch from the majority Atlantic creole slaves to directly from Africa slaves change the northern colonies?

A
  • would change ability of blacks to build families/wealth of their own
  • would see incorporation of African + northern African American culture
  • saw waning of free black pop. in the region
    (WWS)
153
Q

What was the distribution of slaves in the northern colonies like?

A

uneven

  • slaves mostly concentrated in the major parts due to colonial shipping roots of the region
154
Q

How was slavery in the northern colony big urban cities from Salem to Philly different?

A

slave ownership seen as status symbol there

  • 1/6 Philly families had slaves by 1767 (merchants + shopkeepers owned 1/3 of slaves)
  • nearly all slaves owned by widows/”gentlemen” were household slaves
  • artisans + craftsmen + men involved in maritime ventures owned half the slaves
  • some slaves had special skills that were broadcast in the newspapers
  • most slaves still worked in the countryside like other colonies though
    (OMASM)
155
Q

What was the work life for black slaves in the northern colonies like?

A

still very countryside/agriculture focused

  • most part of small/medium sized farms
  • largest concentrations in CT + NJ + Long Island + RI
  • farms raised provisions + draft animals primarily for export to West Indies
  • white laborers made up good portion of seasonal crop workers
  • owning slave still seen as mark of status like in the big cities
    (MLFWO)
156
Q

What did the smaller pop. of slaves in north relative to the South mean?

A

slave pop. easier to control

  • very lax enforcement of existing slave codes
157
Q

What were the slave codes in New England/Middle Colonies like?

A

least stringent

  • walked fine line between person/property
  • resulted in ambivalence in colonial statutes
  • MA = taxed slaves like property
  • CT + RI = taxed slaves like livestock
  • slaves could own/transfer/inherit property at same time masters could sell/bequeath them
    (WRMCS)
158
Q

What was different about MA Puritan slave masters in New England?

A

regarded slaves like family almost

  • thought they had every right God had given whites
  • puritans also regarded blacks in biblical terms as well (meant harsh opinions on miscegenation)
  • MA law = banished blacks who fornicated w/ whites to West Indies (harshest miscegenation law in any colony)
    (TPM)
159
Q

What stoked fear among New Englanders starting in the mid 18th century?

A

large # of slaves directly from Africa coming in

  • prompted some colonies to tighten laws regarding manumission + slave control
  • Middle Colonies = blacks tended to congregate big cities (made it harder for authorities to control)
  • curfew + laws forbidding selling alcohol to blacks became common
  • NY = had most difficult time controlling blacks
    (PMCN)
160
Q

How were the restrictions on northern blacks different than southern blacks?

A

not as proscribed as southern slaves

  • difficult for authorities in cities to restrain slaves that worked as deliverymen + errand runners + artisans
  • slaves just as hard to control in countryside where slaves found time to work for themselves
  • urban authorities grew tolerant of curfew violations + gatherings of blacks not appearing to cause trouble
    (DSU)
161
Q

How did the free black pop. in the North compare w/ the South?

A

smaller pop. in the North

  • lives not considerably better than northern slaves
  • very presence of slaves somewhat hindered free blacks
    (LV)
162
Q

How did the presence of slaves hinder advancement of free blacks in the North?

A

slaves that rose to prominent positions under their masters didn’t threaten whites

  • free blacks who achieved important positions did threaten whites
  • whites made sure free blacks could only work menial jobs
  • free blacks had difficulty getting credit + free black artisans not always welcome in shipyards/building sites
  • destitute free blacks had it worse than even slaves
  • free blacks punished for trying to advance themselves in ways that could threaten white society
    (FWFDF)
163
Q

What was the difference between the labor needed for rice vs tobacco?

A

rice a much more labor intensive crop than tobacco

  • tobacco much easier to tend but the work is consistent while rice has peaks/valleys
  • indigo + wheat considered the least intensive of the major crops
    (TI)
164
Q

What was unique about the Low Country plantation system?

A

slaves broken into task system for rice production

  • gave slaves greater autonomy in their work
  • slaves not under constant supervision + their duties were easier to measure
  • once one was completed w/ tasks their time was their own to grow their own food on the land/hunt/fish
  • common standard of what was considered reasonable amount of work adopted throughout region
    (GSOC)
165
Q

What was the labor system like for tobacco production?

A

slaves under close supervision (tobacco very touchy crop that needed constant attention)

  • supervised gang system spread quickly through the Chesapeake
  • sunup-to-sundown style of work that didn’t incentivize slaves to get work done quickly
  • slaves had less free time + ability to work land to grow their own food
    (SSS)
166
Q

What was the difference in working rate between slaves on small farms vs large plantations?

A

worked more steadily on small farms

  • tended to manipulate the working time to their advantage on large plantations
167
Q

What was the black labor force like in the North?

A

slave men were normally skilled to some extent (some jack of all trades)

  • more diversified northern economy required broader range of skills
  • whites thus felt less threatened when blacks performed skilled work in the region
  • many blacks worked as sailors + shipbuilders in New England
    (MW)
168
Q

Why were opportunities for skilled slaves in the Chesapeake + Low Country earlier/more widely available?

A

large plantation system lended itself to needing a multitude of skilled laborers to function

  • plantations became self contained production units by the mid 18th century
  • woodworking most common skill on plantations but blacksmithing + butchering + sowing also common
    (PW)