Origin and Development of Slavery in Britain's North American Colonies in the Period 1607-1776

Origin and Development of Slavery in Britain's North American Colonies in the period 1607-1776

African slaves who were brought to the Americas in the time period 1607-1776 were treated with great cruelty and lived and worked in very harsh conditions and were treated inhumanely within society. They were stripped of their rights and were treated like pieces of property. The first Africans brought to the New World after 1607 were in Jamestown after whom million more Africans would follow to be enslaved. Life in the wilderness of the New World was very harsh, nasty and short for the settlers in James Town because they were only used to the city life and adapting to the wilderness was very tough for them. They came in search of gold but were unsuccessful in finding any. The settlers were in great trouble because they had to send some kind of income back to their sponsor the Virginia company who were looking to make great profit from the resources of the New world. As more settlers came in the situation kept on becoming worse, until 1612 when John Rolfe began the planting of tobacco, which was soon known as the cash crop for the colonies. As time passed tobacco plantations were starting up every where and there was a great need for more labor. In the beginning white indentured servants were used, but soon they became too costly and in 1619 Dutch traders brought the first Africans in Jamestown and formed the Dutch West Indies Company in 1621 which supplied black slaves and established the first slave trade.

The Africans in Jamestown in the beginning were considered to be like indentured servants and worked on the tobacco farms and were granted freedom after they finished their time of servitude. But in the 1640's Virginia established slavery which was the practice of enslaving blacks for life and heredity. This was caused due the rapid growth of tobacco plantations in the colonies which led to need for more labor. Labor which was mostly white indentured servants and free men was becoming more and more costly. Compared to the indentured servants, slaves were cheaper and more effective to work on the fields.