Chapter 4
 The development of the slavery system
 The history of the slave trade and the Middle Passage
 Community development among Africans Americans
in the 18th century
 The connections between the institution of slavery &
the imperial system of the 18th century
 The early history of racism in America
 Sugar & Slavery-
 West Africans-
 Spain and
 Hundreds of different
Portugal used African
slaves to work their sugar
plantations. Sugar and
slaves were the
centerpiece of the
European colonial
system.
peoples lived on the
coast of West Africa
 They were sophisticated
farmers
 Local communities were
organized by kinship
 Movement of Africans across the Atlantic was the
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largest forced migration in world history.
Africans outnumbered Europeans immigrants 6 to
1before the 19th century.
Started 15th century and ended around 1807
12 million Africans transported to America
Peak period- 1701- 1810
Twice as many men as women were enslaved
Ages 15 to 30
 The 2nd leg of the
Triangular Trade….from
Africa to America. 1 in 6
Africans died during the
passage across the
Atlantic.
Top Deck
Ship Blueprint
Society with Slaves
Slave Society
 Chesapeake- slavery was
Chesapeake after 1675slavery was the dominant
form of labor
one of one form of labor
 The tobacco colonies- In
the Chesapeake region
(18th century), tobacco
was the single most
important crop. The
increase in tobacco
demand corresponded
with the increased
demand for more slaves.
 The lower south-
generally states were
slaves states from their
beginnings.
 Families- the most
 Culture- 18th century
important institution for
the development of the
African American
community and culture.
 Kinship was formed by
slaves living and working
together…..fictive
kinship.
important to
development due to high
birthrate of country born
African Americans.
 Religion- The Great
Awakening
 Music and dance
 Language- Gullah and
Geechee
Africanization of
the south
Acculturation
worked both ways.
Many English in the
colonies were being
Africanized as well.
 Food
 Religious leadership
 Medical magic
 Woodcarving,
metalworks
 Child rearing
 Resistance to slavery
 Malingered
 Mistreated tools and
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animals
Destroyed property
Ran away in maroons
Established fugitive
communities & networks
Revolted- NY 1741
 Contributed to the economic development in 3 ways:
 Profits from slavery generated a source of capital
investments…banks, insurance companies, canals,
harbors.
 Supplied the raw cotton needed for the Industrial
Revolution…led to the formation of many jobs
 Created a huge market for exports.
 Definition- An economic system in which the
government intervenes in the economy for the purpose
of increasing national wealth.
 Political control of the economy by the mother
country.
 Views the economy as a
“zero-sum game” where
total economic gains were
at least equal to total
losses.
 The goal was to acquire &
hoard the fixed amount of
wealth in the world.
 The nation with the most
wealth, would be the most
powerful.
Navigation Acts
 Laws that defined the
colonies as supplier of
raw materials and
market for English
goods.
 Other nations were
forbidden to trade in the
colonies and goods could
be shipped in English
ships only
Enumerated
Commodities
 Goods that could only be
shipped to England:
sugar, molasses, rum,
tobacco, rice, indigo,
furs, skins, tar,
turpentine. These were
often called enumerated
commodities.
Salutary Neglect
The idea that any laws or
regulations that was
contrary to good business
were ignored or not
enforced.
Both the colonies and
Britain made huge profits.
 The colonial society benefitted planters, merchants
and white colonists.
 Northern port cities were had a tight commercial
relationship with the South. The North provided
shipping, banking and insurance services. The
institution of slavery contributed to the growth of the
North.
 Colonial exports:
 Chesapeake colonies:
tobacco
 South Carolina: rice and
indigo
 Middle Colonies: wheat
 In what ways did colonial policies encourage the
growth of slavery?
 Southern Social
Structure: Small elite of
wealthy planters.
 ½ of all white adult
makes were small
planters & farmers.
 A substantial portion of
colonists owned no land
or slaves.
Upper class- slaveowning elite
 Had large plantations
with over 100 slaves.
 Influenced the politics,
economy and social rules
of the South.
 Had a very distant
relationship with slaves.
Middle class land
owners
 Whites used legalities to create distinctions between
them and slaves:
 1670- Free Africans couldn’t own Christian slaves
 1680- Slaves couldn’t a white person
 1691- Slaves & whites couldn’t have interracial sexual
relationships