Ch. 5, Sec. 4
The Beginnings of Slavery in the Americas
The Origins of American Slavery
• Slavery- The practice of holding a person in bondage for labor.
• By the 1600’s, slavery was firmly established on the American
continent.
• The institution of slavery, however, was nothing new as its
roots went back for thousands of years.
• Nearly every civilization dating back to nearly every time period
has had slaves or practiced slavery. Africans were not the only
form of involuntary labor, however. Indentured servants of
Scottish and Irish descent were a large part of the population of
early America.
Why Africans?
1. Africans were immune to
most diseases.
2. They had no friends or
relatives in America to help
them in escaping or
rebelling.
3. They provided a permanent
source of cheap labor.
4. Many were familiar with
agriculture and farming.
The Slave Trade
•
At first, the slave trade grew
slowly and began to increase
when the sugar plantations
began to grow and profit.
•
The rulers of West Africa
profited from the slave trade as
well.
•
Local African kings or leaders
would often capture and sell
their enemies to the Spanish
and Portuguese slave traders.
African Sources of Slavery
The vast majority of Africans came from the west coast of Africa. With little
exception, slaves never came from more than 300 miles in the continents
interior. As time progressed, the buying and selling of African slaves, first by
the Dutch and Portuguese and then by the Spanish, French, and English
became a very profitable trade and business for buyers and sellers.
The Middle Passage
Before the end of the slave trade in
1810, approximately 12 million
slaves had been enslaved and
imported into the Western
Hemisphere.
This removal of people from Africa
against their will is known today as
the African Diaspora.
Middle Passage- The horrible
voyage from Africa across the
Atlantic Ocean to the American
continent.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIGklwssl
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Slavery in the Americas
Arriving in the colonies, the African slaves were sold at human auctions.
Families, mothers, fathers, and children were often separated, never to be seen or
heard from again.
To regulate the treatment and behavior
of slaves, the Spanish and Portuguese
governments would pass slave codes,
which were harsh laws that were
designed to prevent any rebellions or
uprisings.
As the institution of slavery and the
slave trade increased, so did the idea of
racism, of the belief that some people
are better or inferior to others because
of the race or skin color.
The Slaves That Time Forgot
“They came as slaves and indentured servants; vast human cargo transported on
tall British ships bound for the colonies in the American Colonies. They were
shipped by the hundreds of thousands and included men, women, and even the
youngest of children.” These were the Irish.
Ireland quickly became the biggest source of human livestock for English
merchants during the 1600’s. During the Colonial era, the majority of the early
slaves and Indentured Servants coming into North America were white.
The North, during this same period, was setting the stage for the industrial
revolution that would transform the nation the next hundred years. Just as in the
South, a large workforce was needed to work in the factories and textile mills of
the North. These immigrants worked long hours for little pay in what can be
argued as “legal slavery.”
1. In 3 – 5 sentences, explain why there is nothing new about the practice and
institution of slavery.
2. When and where were African slaves first used in North America?
3. List at least two reasons why Africans were used as slaves in North America.
4. _______________ is the name given to the horrible journey from Africa to the
Americas.
5. The vast majority of African slaves were taken from the EAST or WEST coast of
Africa?
6. What was the name given to a series of harsh laws which governed treatment
of slaves?
7. Which other group of people were used as slaves besides Africans?
8. __________ is the belief that people are better or inferior because of skin color.
Bibliography
www.wikipedia.com
www.unitedstreaming.com