Colonies and the Evolution of
American Slavery
What were the distinguishing characteristics of the
American colonies?
How did these define the evolution of slavery?
Why did some colonies begin to rely on slave labor?
How did economics define slavery and class?
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THREE DIVERSE ECONOMIC SYSTEMS
DEVELOPED IN THE COLONIES
 WEATHER AND CLIMATE WAS DIFFERENT IN THE
NORTHERN, MIDDLE, AND SOUTHERN COLONIES; THIS MEANT
DIFFERENT GROWING SEASONS AND ENCOURAGED DIFFERENT
TYPES OF CROPS
 THE COLDER TEMPERATURES IN THE NORTHERN COLONIES
MEANT AN EXTREMELY SHORT GROWING SEASON WHICH LED
THOSE COLONIES TO SPECIALIZE IN FISHING
 TYPES OF SOILS ALLOWED FOR DIFFERENT TYPES OF
FARMING, WITH THE MIDDLE COLONIES BECOMING THE
“BREAD BASKET” AND THE SOUTHERN COLONIES
SPECIALIZING IN TOBACCO
 EACH GROUP OF COLONIES ALSO HAD A FRONTIER REGION,
AND THE FRONTIERS SHARED THE SAME CHARACTERISTICS
RELIGION WAS THE DRIVING FORCE BEHIND
THE CREATION OF THE NEW ENGLAND
COLONIES
NEW ENGLAND COLONIES
COLONY
NAME
YEAR
FOUNDED
NAME OF
FOUNDER
MASSACHUSETTS
1620
PURITANS
NEW HAMPSHIRE
1623
JOHN
WHEELWRIGHT
CONNECTICUT
1635
THOMAS HOOKER
RHODE ISLAND
1636
ROGER WILLIAMS
OVERVIEW OF THE NEW ENGLAND COLONIES
NEW HAMPSHIRE, MASSACHUSETTS,
RHODE ISLAND, CONNECTICUT
LONG AND COLD WINTERS AS WELL AS
MOUNTAINS DID NOT ALLOW FOR LARGE-SCALE
FARMING
MOST SETTLERS CAME FROM ENGLAND
MAIN INDUSTRIES WERE LUMBERING,
SHIPBUILDING, FISHING, IRON WORKS, AND WOOL
PRODUCTION
MOST VILLAGES AND TOWNS WERE NEAR
HARBORS
IN THE EARLY YEARS LIFE WAS REGULATED BY
STRICT RELIGIOUS BELIEFS
NEW ENGLAND ECONOMY
 SOIL WAS INFERTILE
WHICH LED MANY TO THE SEA
TO MAKE THEIR LIVING
 CODFISH FISHERIES SOON
BECAME THE “GOLDMINE” OF
NEW ENGLAND
 WHALE HUNTING BECAME
PROFITABLE
 RUM FROM NEW ENGLAND
USED IN TRIANGULAR TRADE
ROUTES
 SMALL FACTORY
MANUFACTURING BECAME
COMMON
 BRITISH GOVERNMENT PAID
BOUNTIES FOR MARITIME
PRODUCTS SUCH AS PITCH,
TAR, AND ROSIN
KING CHARLES II GAVE AWAY THE MIDDLE
COLONIES TO FAMILY AND FRIENDS
MIDDLE COLONIES
COLONY
NAME
YEAR
FOUNDED
NAME OF
FOUNDER
PENNSYLVANIA
1682
WILLIAM PENN
DELAWARE
1638
PETER MINUET (NEW
SWEDEN)
NEW JERSEY
1664
LORD BERKELEY &
SIR GEORGE
CARTERET
NEW YORK
1664
DUKE OF YORK
OVERVIEW OF THE MIDDLE COLONIES
NEW YORK, NEW JERSEY, PENNSYLVANIA,
DELAWARE
ETHNICALLY DIVERSE, ESPECIALLY ALONG THE
HUDSON RIVER
BUSY SHIPPING PORTS
LUSH FARMLAND LED TO GRAIN AND LIVESTOCK
PRODUCTION LIKE WHEAT AND RYE, BEEF AND PORK
COTTAGE INDUSTRIES WERE WEAVING,
SHOEMAKING, CABINET MAKING AND OTHER ARTISAN
CRAFTS
ADDITIONAL WORKERS WERE RECRUITED FROM
EUROPE AS INDENTURED SERVANTS
MIDDLE COLONIES ECONOMY
• CALLED THE
BREADBASKET OF THE
COLONIES BECAUSE OF THE
LARGE AMOUNT OF GRAIN
THEY PRODUCED
• FORESTS PROVIDED RAW
MATERIALS FOR SHIP
BUILDING AND LUMBER
INDUSTRIES
• MANUFACTURERS ALSO
PRODUCED IRON, GLASS,
AND POTTERY PRODUCTS
• SOME ESTATES WERE
SIMILAR TO SOUTHERN
PLANTATIONS BUT RELIED
ON FREE LABOR AND
INDENTURED SERVANTS
RATHER THAN SLAVES
THE “COLONIAL BREADBASKET”
• BECAUSE OF THE
FERTILE SOILS OF THE
MIDDLE COLONIES A
GREAT AMOUNT OF
VARIED TYPES OF GRAIN
WAS PRODUCED THERE
• THE MIDDLE COLONIES
NOT ONLY PROVIDED
GRAIN FOR THEIR OWN
USE BUT EXPORTED TONS
OF IT TO OTHER
COLONIES AND BRITAIN.
LARGE SCALE FARMING DOMINATED THE
SOUTHERN COLONIES
SOUTHERN COLONIES
COLONY
NAME
YEAR
FOUNDED
NAME OF
FOUNDER
VIRGINIA
1607
VIRGINIA
COMPANY
MARYLAND
1634
LORD BALTIMORE
NORTH CAROLINA
1653
VIRGINIANS
SOUTH CAROLINA
1663
EIGHT NOBLES
(CHARTER FROM
CHARLES II)
GEORGIA
1732
EDWARD JAMES
OGLETHORPE
OVERVIEW OF THE SOUTHERN COLONIES
MARYLAND, VIRGINIA, NORTH CAROLINA,
SOUTH CAROLINA, GEORGIA
THE ECONOMY WAS BASED ON THE CASH CROPS
OF TOBACCO, RICE, AND INDIGO
CLASS DIVISION BETWEEN VERY WEALTHY AND
POOR
RELIANT ON SLAVE LABOR
SOME RELIGIOUS TOLERATION AS THE FOCUS OF
THE REGION WAS TO MAKE MONEY
THE ATLANTIC OCEAN SERVED AS THE MIDDLE
PASSAGE FOR THE SLAVE TRADE
MOSTLY RURAL AREAS WITH LESS URBAN
GROWTH
SOUTHERN ECONOMY
 TWO DISTINCT REGIONS: THE
TIDEWATER (CLOSE TO WATER
TRANSPORTATION) AND THE
PIEDMONT
 CHIEF PRODUCTS OF THE
TIDEWATER AREA INCLUDED
RICE, INDIGO, AND TOBACCO
 CHIEF PRODUCTS IN THE
PIEDMONT INCLUDED FARMING
ON A SMALLER SCALE, TRAPPING
GAME, AND HUNTING
 TIDEWATER RESIDENTS AND
PIEDMONT RESIDENTS
FREQUENTLY CLASHED (BACON’S
REBELLION) AS PIEDMONT
RESIDENTS FELT THEIR
CONCERNS WERE IGNORED BY
COLONIAL LEGISLATURES
THE PIEDMONT
THE PIEDMONT AREA TENDED TO BE LESS AFFLUENT
THAN THE TIDEWATER AND MOST LIVED ON SMALL
FARMS, TRAPPED, AND HUNTED GAME
THE TIDEWATER
THIS DRAWING OF A TIDEWATER PLANTATION
HIGHLIGHTS ITS CLOSENESS TO WATER AND ITS SIZE
THE PLANTATION SYSTEM
 LESS CITIES DEVELOPED
IN THE SOUTH THAN IN THE
NORTH WHICH MEANT THAT
PEOPLE NEEDED TO BE MORE
SELF-SUFFICIENT IN THEIR
HOMES AND IT ALSO MEANT
FEWER ROADS AND
HIGHWAYS WERE NEEDED
 PLANTATIONS TENDED TO
SPRING UP ALONG RIVERS
AND STREAMS
BUILT IN 1732 THE SHIRLEY
PLANTATION LOCATED IN VIRGINIA
IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF A TYPICAL
PLANTATION HOME
 THE SOUTHERN ECONOMY
WAS RELIANT ON
INDENTURED SERVANTS
AND THEN SLAVES
“CASH CROPS” IN THE
SOUTH INCLUDED
(CLOCKWISE FROM
TOP RIGHT), INDIGO,
RICE, AND TOBACCO
FRONTIER ECONOMY
 EACH COLONY HAD A FRONTIER REGION WHICH IS
DEFINED AS THE WESTERN-MOST BOUNDARY OF THE
COLONY
 MOST FRONTIER FARMS WERE SELF-SUFFICIENT (NO
WAY TO GET SURPLUS CROPS TO MARKET)
 SOME FRONTIER FARMERS CONVERTED THEIR SURPLUS
CROPS TO WHISKEY
 MANY FRONTIER FARMERS LIVED IN REMOTE AREAS
WITH THEIR FAMILIES AND LIVESTOCK AND WERE IN
CONSTANT DANGER OF INDIAN ATTACK
ENTREPRENEURS
• SOME TROPICAL PRODUCTS,
SUCH AS SUGARCANE, DYEWOOD,
AND MOLASSES COULDN’T BE
GROWN IN THE THIRTEEN
COLONIES
SUGARCANE
• SOME COLONISTS WERE ABLE TO
MAKE A PROFIT BY IMPORTING
THESE GOODS, THEN EXPORTING
THEM TO OTHER EUROPEAN
NATIONS AT A HIGHER PRICE
• OTHER COLONISTS WERE ABLE
TO MAKE A GREAT DEAL OF MONEY
THROUGH LAND SPECULATION.
THESE COLONISTS BOUGHT LARGE
TRACTS OF LAND ON THE
FRONTIER AND SOLD IT FOR A
PROFIT
MOLASSES
BEGINNINGS OF SLAVERY IN THE BRITISH COLONIES
• IN 1612 A DUTCH SHIP SOLD 20 AFRICAN SLAVES TO
COLONISTS AT JAMESTOWN THIS WAS THE BEGINNING
OF SLAVERY IN THE AMERICAN COLONIES
• WHILE MANY OF THESE BLACKS WERE EVENTUALLY
GRANTED THEIR FREEDOM OTHER AFRICAN SLAVES
WERE LATER BROUGHT IN
• IT TOOK SOME TIME FOR AFRICANS TO BE USED ON A
LARGE SCALE AS SLAVE LABOR
• THE PRICE OF A SLAVE WAS EXTREMELY HIGH WHILE
INDENTURED SERVANTS WERE LESS EXPENSIVE
• AS THE WEALTH OF THE COLONY INCREASED AND THE
NUMBER OF AVAILABLE INDENTURED SERVANTS
DECLINED OWNING SLAVES BECAME MORE
ECONOMICALLY DESIRABLE
RELIANCE ON SLAVE LABOR
ATTEMPTS TO ENSLAVE NATIVE
AMERICANS FAILED FOR BOTH SPANISH
AND BRITISH
INDENTURED SERVANTS WERE
CHEAPER BUT NOT COST EFFECTIVE IN
THE LONG RUN
SLAVES MORE EXPENSIVE INITIALLY
BUT BECAUSE THEY WERE NOT PAID OR
GRANTED THEIR FREEDOM IT WAS MORE
COST EFFECTIVE OVER TIME
MANY SAW AFRICANS’ BLACK SKIN AS
A SIGN OF INFERIORITY
WHY ENSLAVE AFRICANS?
 DIFFICULT IF NOT IMPOSSIBLE TO
ENSLAVE NATIVE AMERICANS
 WHITES TENDED TO FEEL CULTURALLY
SUPERIOR TO AFRICANS
 DISTANCE OF AFRICA TO “NEW WORLD”
TENDED TO MAKE AFRICANS FEEL
DISCONNECTED AND MADE IT MORE
DIFFICULT FOR THEM TO TRY TO GET HOME
AND THEY WERE UNFAMILIAR WITH THE
TERRAIN IF THEY DID ESCAPE
 WHITES, AS CHRISTIANS, FELT AN
“OBLIGATION” TO CONVERT BLACKS TO
CHRISTIANITY
SLAVE SHIP
•THIS DIAGRAM SHOWS THE
TYPICAL LAYOUT OF HOW
SLAVES WERE PACKED IN THE
HOLD OF A SLAVING VESSEL
•COMFORT AND SAFETY TOOK A
DISTANT SECOND TO ENSURING
THAT A SUFFICIENT NUMBER OF
SLAVES WOULD SURVIVE THE
VOYAGE PROVIDING THE
SLAVERS A PROFIT FOR THEIR
WORK
BRUTAL CONDITIONS IN THE MIDDLE
PASSAGE
• THIS DRAWING OF SLAVES ON
DECK OF A SLAVE SHIP HIDES
THE UNBELIEVABLY HARSH
CONDITIONS THAT THE SLAVES
ENDURED DURING THE MIDDLE
PASSAGE BETWEEN AFRICA AND
THE CARIBBEAN
• SLAVES WERE FREQUENTLY
BRUTALIZED, MISTREATED AND
FORCED TO LIVE FOR WEEKS ON
END IN INDIVIDUAL SPACES NO
LARGER THAN A GRAVE WITH
LITTLE FOOD AND WATER
• THE TOLL OF THESE
CONDITIONS WAS HORRENDOUS
AND A VOYAGE WHICH RESULTED
IN LESS THAN ONE-QUARTER OF
THE CARGO DYING WAS
CONSIDERED SUCCESSFUL.
SLAVE AUCTIONS
 SLAVES WERE BETTER
FED AS THEY APPROACHED
THE NEW WORLD IN
ORDER TO MAKE THEM
MORE “SALEABLE”
 THEIR BODIES WERE
OILED DOWN TO MAKE
THEIR SKIN LOOK MORE
HEALTHY AND HOT TAR
WOULD BE USED TO FILL
“IMPERFECTIONS” SUCH
AS SCARS FROM BEATINGS
AND WHIPPINGS ON
BOARD SLAVE SHIPS
 SLAVES WOULD THEN BE
SOLD TO THE HIGHEST
BIDDER
BLACKS WEREN’T ALWAYS SLAVES
• ANTHONY JOHNSON A WEST AFRICAN
WAS AN EXAMPLE OF THE AMBIGUOUS
STATUS OF EARLY BLACK SETTLERS.
• “ANTONIO A NEGRO," AS HE WAS CALLED
IN EARLY RECORDS ARRIVED IN VIRGINIA
IN 1621 AND WORKED ON A TOBACCO
PLANTATION
• IT IS NOT CLEAR WHETHER HE WAS AN
INDENTURED SERVANT OR A SLAVE
• IN ADDITION TO HIS PLANTATION WORK
ANTHONY WAS ABLE TO TEND HIS OWN
CROPS INCLUDING TOBACCO AND KEEP
LIVESTOCK
• HE MARRIED ANOTHER WEST AFRICAN
AND THEY HAD CHILDREN
• EVENTUALLY THEY WERE ABLE TO BUY
THEIR FREEDOM AND THEIR OWN LAND
• HE TOOK THE NAME JOHNSON AND HIS
WIFE WAS NAMED MARY.
• BY 1650 THEY OWNED 250 ACRES
IN VIRGINIA AND IN 1665, THEY
MOVED TO MARYLAND, WHERE THEY
LEASED A 300-ACRE TRACT OF LAND
• ANTHONY DIED FIVE YEARS LATER
AND MARY RENEGOTIATED THE
LEASE FOR ANOTHER 99 YEARS.
• THAT SAME YEAR, A COURT IN
VIRGINIA RULED THAT, BECAUSE
"HE WAS A NEGRO AND BY
CONSEQUENCE AN ALIEN," THE LAND
OWNED BY JOHNSON (IN VIRGINIA)
RIGHTFULLY BELONGED TO THE
CROWN
• IT IS INTERESTING TO NOTE
THAT JOHNSON OWNED AT
LEAST ONE SLAVE
• THERE IS A COURT RECORD IN
WHICH A NEIGHBOR TRIED TO
TAKE THE SLAVE AWAY BY
ARGUING THAT JOHNSON
HIMSELF WAS BLACK BUT THE
COURT SIDED WITH JOHNSON
TOBACCO FIELD
• THE JOHNSON FAMILY STORY SHOWS
THAT RACE WAS NOT INITIALLY THE
MAJOR FACTOR FOR DETERMINING SLAVE
STATUS UNDER THE LAW
• IN FACT RACIAL LINES WERE NOT
CLEARLY DEFINED UNTIL THE LATE 1600s
WHEN INTERRACIAL MARRIAGE BECAME
A CRIME
• LAWS WERE ALSO PASSED THAT MADE
IT A CRIME FOR MINISTERS TO MARRY
INTERRACIAL COUPLES
• SUBSEQUENT LAWS DEFINED PEOPLE
AS BLACK IF AT LEAST ONE
GRANDPARENT WAS BLACK
• BY THE TIME THE REVOLUTION BEGAN
INTERRACIAL MARRIAGE WAS ILLEGAL
THROUGHOUT THE COLONIES AND THIS
CEMENTED RACE-BASED SLAVERY IN
AMERICA.
VIRGINIA REGULATED SLAVERY
1662
LAW ALLOWING LIFE SERVITUDE FOR BLACKS. MULATTO CHILDREN
INHERIT THE CONDITION OF THEIR MOTHER, EITHER SLAVE OR FREE.
1667
LAW DECLARES THAT BAPTISM DOES NOT BRING FREEDOM TO BLACKS
1669
LAW PERMITTING THE MURDER OF SLAVES: "IF ANY SLAVE RESIST HIS
MASTER AND BY THE EXTREMITY OF THE CORRECTION SHOULD CHANCE TO
DIE, THAT HIS DEATH NOT BE ACCOMPTED FELONY."
1670
LAW FORBIDS FREE BLACKS AND NATIVE AMERICANS, "THOUGH
BAPTISED," TO OWN CHRISTIAN SERVANTS.
1680s
VIRGINIA SLAVE CODES
• PRESCRIPTION OF THIRTY LASHES ON THE BARE BACK "IF ANY
NEGROE OR OTHER SLAVE SHALL PRESUME TO LIFT UP HIS HAND
AGAINST ANY CHRISTIAN."
• DEVELOPMENT OF A SEPARATE LEGAL CODE PROVIDING DISTINCT
TRIAL PROCEDURES AND HARSHER PUNISHMENTS FOR NEGROES.
• SEVERE PUNISHMENT FOR SLAVES WHO LEAVE THEIR MASTER'S
PROPERTY OR WHO HIDE OR RESIST CAPTURE.
1691
BANISHMENT FOR ANY WHITE PERSON MARRIED TO A “NEGROE” OR
MULATTO; SYSTEMATIC PLAN TO CAPTURE "OUTLYING SLAVES.”
1705
“ALL NEGROE, MULATTO, AND INDIAN SLAVES SHALL BE HELD, TAKEN, AND
ADJUDGED TO BE REAL ESTATE.” DISMEMBERMENT OF UNRULY SLAVES
MADE LEGAL.
SLAVERY IN THE NORTHERN COLONIES
NONE OF THE ORIGINAL 13 COLONIES WERE FREE OF SLAVERY;
HOWEVER, UNLIKE THAT OF THE SOUTH, THE ECONOMY OF THE
NORTH WAS NOT BASED ON SLAVE LABOR
SLAVE MARKET
IN NEW YORK
HARBOR
• IN NEW YORK’S FERTILE HUDSON RIVER VALLEY PLANTATION
AGRICULTURE WAS WORKED BY INDENTURED SERVANTS AND SLAVES
• IN FACT NEW YORK HAD THE HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF SLAVES - 11%
OF THE POPULATION AND THE BUSY PORT OF NEW YORK HAD MORE
WORKING SLAVES DURING THE COLONIAL PERIOD THAN ANY CITY
EXCEPT CHARLESTOWN IN SOUTH CAROLINA
IN THE NORTH IT WAS COMMON FOR SLAVES TO BE HOUSE
SERVANTS, CRAFTSMEN, AND LABORERS OFTEN WORKING
ALONGSIDE FREE LABOR UNDER SIMILAR CONDITIONS
BLACKS AS A PERCENTAGE OF THE ENTIRE
POPULATION 1770
70.0
60.0
50.0
40.0
30.0
20.0
10.0
0.0
% BLACK
New Hampshire
Massachusetts
Rhode Island
Connecticut
New York
New Jersey
Pennsylvania
Delaware
Maryland
Virginia
North Carolina
South Carolina
Georgia
SLAVERY IN THE 18TH CENTURY
• SLAVERY INCREASED RAPIDLY AT THE END OF THE 17TH
CENTURY ESPECIALLY IN THE SOUTH WHERE PLANTATION
AGRICULTURE WAS DOMINANT
• BRITAIN DOMINATED THE TRANSATLANTIC SLAVE
TRADE AFTER 1713 WHEN THE BRITISH WERE AWARDED
A CONTRACT TO IMPORT SLAVES TO THE SPANISH WEST
INDIES GIVING AN IMPORTANT BOOST TO THE TRADE
• SHIPS SAILED FROM ENGLAND OR THE NEW ENGLAND
COLONIES WITH MANUFACTURED GOODS TO TRADE IN
AFRICA FOR SLAVES
• EVEN WITH A 10-30% MORTALITY RATE THE TRADE
WAS VERY PROFITABLE
• FORTUNES WERE MADE IN BOTH THE COLONIES AND
ENGLAND WHERE THE SLAVE TRADE WAS AN IMPORTANT
PART OF THE ECONOMY
SLAVE REVOLTS
• MAJOR SLAVE REBELLIONS OCCURRED FROM THE BEGINNING OF
EUROPEAN COLONIZATION THROUGH THE ABOLITION OF SLAVERY IN THE
AMERICAS AT THE END OF THE 19TH CENTURY
• BY CONTRAST DOCUMENTED SLAVE REVOLTS IN THE 13 COLONIES AND
LATER IN THE UNITED STATES WERE RARE AND SMALL-SCALE BUT WHEN
THEY OCCURRED THEY PROMPTED HYSTERIA, VIOLENCE AND REPRESSION
FROM SLAVEHOLDERS
MAJOR SLAVE REVOLTS COLONIAL PERIOD
1663 GLOUCESTER
COUNTY, VIRGINIA
BLACK SLAVES AND WHITE INDENTURED SERVANTS PLOTTED A
REBELLION BUT WERE BETRAYED TO THE AUTHORITIES AND
SEVERAL PLOTTERS WERE BEHEADED
1712 - NEW YORK
CITY
TWENTY-FIVE ARMED SLAVES BURNED DOWN HOUSES ON THE
NORTHERN EDGE OF NEW YORK CITY AND KILLED NINE WHITES
AND SOME REBELS WERE KILLED BY SOLDIERS WHILE OTHERS
WERE TORTURED AND EXECUTED.
1739 – STONO,
SOUTH CAROLINA
EIGHTY SLAVES SECURED ARMS AND MARCHED TOWARD FLORIDA.
THEY WERE ATTACKED BY THE MILITIA AND IN THE ENSUING
BATTLE 44 BLACKS AND 21 WHITES WERE KILLED.
1741 – NEW YORK
CITY
THIRTY-ONE SLAVES AND FOUR WHITES WERE EXECUTED AFTER
RUMORS (NEVER SUBSTANTIATED) OF A MAJOR SLAVE REBELLION
SWEPT THROUGH NEW YORK CITY.