The Lives of African Slaves in Early America

The life of the African slave in early America was a harsh and dehumanizing existence. African slaves had virtually no rights. They were viewed as inferior beings by the white colonists even during the time of the American Revolution where the words, "freedom,""basic human rights," and "liberty" were on the lips of virtually all in America. Even after the American colonists had won "freedom" and independence from the British in 1783, most Africans in The United States were suffering under the bondage of slavery.
Shortly after settlements began appearing on the east coast, it became apparent that making a living in America would take a lot of manpower. There were forests to be cleared and crops to be tended to. In 1619,  "A Dutch ship brings the first permanent African settlers to Jamestown. These Africans soon are put to work on tobacco plantations." (PBS.org) However, the number of slaves in America remained relatively low until the 18th century when the slave population (mostly in the rice and tobacco growing south) exploded. This increase in slaves largely came about as a result of the slave trade across the Atlantic on what is now known as the Middle Passage. This trip was long, deadly, and miserable. The African slaves would be quartered below deck with few rations, and would lie side by side in cramped quarters. There was usually an area in the center of the deck for the purpose of holding human excrement, but many were too sick or cramped to move to this space when they needed to. This environment caused disease to flourish and resulted in many deaths. "On average, about 15 percent of the slaves died, but sometimes half or more perished." (Roark 137)

From Africans in America, pbs.org

These slaves experienced little relief when they arrived in the American colonies where they were viewed as property of their owners. "Southern planters expected slaves to work from sunup to sundown and beyond." (139) These harsh expectations caused many slaves to resist their owners. This resistance took many forms. It could be dramatic such as violent rebellion, or a more passive approach such as, working slower, or retaining part of their African culture. Some examples of this are slaves building their homes like their African homes, giving their children family names, worshiping African deities, making and playing traditional African instruments, growing and eating African food, and preforming traditional African funerals. Some of this cultural preservation has survived to this day. The Gullah people who live in South Carolina and Georgia are perhaps the best example of this. "They speak a creole language similar to Sierra Leone Krio, use African names, tell African folktales, make African-style handicrafts such as baskets and carved walking sticks, and enjoy a rich cuisine based primarily on rice." (Opala)
Unfortunately, this resistance coupled with the large amount of slaves in the southern colonies made the white colonists very paranoid about open rebellion. This caused harsh penalties to be allotted to slaves who would not fall neatly into line. Disobedient slaves were whipped, branded, castrated, executed, and maimed on a regular basis. Most times, the punishment was a result of a minor offense. Thus, the slaves were utterly trapped in this dehumanizing position of being someone's property, merely existing to make their owner more money. They were completely disposable if they became a liability.
Viewing African slaves as property, and treating them as such did not happen over night. It was the result of ever tightening laws that few opposed. For example, in 1640 a Virginia court ruled that an African run away servant serve his master for life. In 1662, a Virginia court ruled that any slave woman's child would be a slave to her master, because she herself is a slave at the time of delivery. In 1667, Virginia ruled that conversion to Christianity could not free a slave from their bondage. In 1669, Virginia ruled that if a slave should die while being punished, the owner is not guilty of any crime. These laws continued to get more and more strict as the fear of rebellion increased.

From Africans in America, pbs.org

All in all, we can see that the life of a slave in Colonial America was miserable. However, even in the midst of all of this suffering, many slaves managed to save aspects of their African culture that remain to this day. When the American Revolution came about, many of these slaves defected to the British in hopes of being freed. When the British were defeated, a few loyal slaves were taken by the British out of the United States. (With the purpose of damaging the American's economy any way possible. Not because the British felt morally obligated.) However, most slaves were disappointed and remained in slavery until the American Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation.

Sources:
 "Africans in America: A Terrible Transformation" pbs.org. Part 1, PBS, Accessed Feb 15, 2013.

Opala, Joseph. "The Gulla: Rice, Slavery, and the Sierra Leone-American Connection" yale.edu. Yale University, Accessed Feb 15, 2013.

Roark, Johnson, Cohen, Stage, and Susan Hartmann. The American Promise. Boston: Bedford/St.       Martin's, 2012. Print

"Slave Law in Colonial Virginia: A Timeline" studythepast.com. Sam Houston State University, accessed Feb 15, 2013

The Three Colonial Regions of Early America

Colonial America had three major cultural regions. The northern colonies, (Massachusetts, Main, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire) the middle colonies, (Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware, New Jersey) and the southern colonies (Georgia, Carolina, Maryland, and Virginia). All of these regions had much in common, which is why they eventually united in the war for independence in 1776. They were all British colonies, they were relatively wealthy compared to other nations of the world during this time,  Christianity had a major influence in their communities, they all had strong economic drives, and they all used slaves and indentured servants in their economies. However, these three regions were very much different from each other in areas such as their ethnic makeup, their Christian denominations, and economic strategies. These differences led to the long deliberation that occurred leading up to the war for independence.

(From http://www.histarch.uiuc.edu)

The northern colonies had the largest population of any of the colonial regions and were the most similar in regarding to religion. Religiously, New England was dominated by Calvinism. Both the Puritans and Pilgrims were strictly Calvinist.  This led to a lifestyle that was shaped by biblical principals and laws. New England laws were developed on a biblical foundation as seen by Calvinists. This strict view of Calvinism discouraged other religious groups from settling in New England because they would be persecuted by the Puritans. However, this religious zeal began to give way before a growing economy in the early to mid eighteenth century. Rich merchants began to have more influence than puritan preachers. "New Englanders made thier fortunes at sea, as they had since the seventeenth century." (Roark, Johnson, Cohen, Stage, Hartmann 127) Fish was New England's major export, but livestock and timber also were major exports in the New England economy which was tied to the Atlantic trade routs. This connection with the Atlantic trade route led to New England having more specialized workers than the southern and middle regions.

However, the Middle Colonies had their own unique characteristics. According to Dr. Holden, people know the least about the Middle Colonies. The Middle Colonies were made up of immigrants from several different western European countries (Scotland, Ireland, Germany, and The Netherlands). This meant that the Middle Colonies were more diverse than either the Northern or Southern colonies. This led to a "greater emphasis on religious toleration and cultural diversity." (radford.edu) Many of these immigrants came to America as redemptioners or indentured servants. Economically, the Middle Colonies focused mainly on being self sustaining. They lived on family farms where they grew enough to live on. They did not focus on growing large amounts of cash crops like the Southern Colonies. However, the Middle Colonies did export a significant amount of wheat, which made many colonists in this region very wealthy. 

                                                            (From http://www.history.org)

(From http://www.history.org)

The Southern Colonies also had their own unique traits. The major Christian denomonation in the southern colonies was Anglicanism. The major export in the Southern Colonies was tobacco, which was grown in very large quantities on large plantations. The tobacco business was a very labor intensive process. The tobacco cultivation required labor for 9 months out of the year and the soil would only produce tobacco for five years before exhausting. (umass.edu) To obtain the labor needed to grow this tobacco, the plantation owners bought large quantities of African slaves. "Slave ships brought almost 300,000 Africans to British North America between 1619 and 1780. Of these Africans, 95 percent arrived in the South and 96 percent arrived during the eighteenth century. (Roark, Johnson, Cohen, Stage, Hartmann 136) This large import of slaves meant that the population of Africans rivaled that of the White population. In some places such as Carolina, the African population exceeded that of the White population. This made the idea of a rebellion among the slaves a very great fear in the southern colonies.  In addition to tobacco, the south exported mass amounts of rice, and indigo. "The southern colonies supplied 90 percent of all North American exports to Britain." (140) This slave based economy was very successful for the slave owners. The southern colonies quickly became the most wealthy region of the British colonies. The wealthiest southerners dominated southern politics and created an oligarchy.
As we can see, the three major regions of British North America (Northern, Middle, and Southern) had many differences. These differences caused some political disagreements between the colonies about how to respond to British authority in the years leading up to the American Revolution. (New England was ready to openly rebel long before the Middle and Southern colonies.) However, they contained enough similarities that they united in rebellion and eventually became the United States of America.


Sources:

Comparing Settlement Patterns: New Spain, New France, New England. http://people.umass.edu. University of Massachusetts. Electronic. Accessed 2/10/13.

The Middle Colonies. http://www.radford.edu. Radford University. Electronic. Accessed 2/10/13.

Roark, Johnson, Cohen, Stage, and Susan Hartmann. The American Promise. Boston: Bedford/St.       Martin's, 2012. Print

Columbian Exchange

The devastating progression of Smallpox. (From http://public.gettysburg.edu)

The American Promise by J. Roark, M. Johnson, P. Cohen, S. Stage, and S. Hartmann, defines the Columbian Exchange as, "the transatlantic exchange of goods, peoples, and ideas that began when Columbus arrived in the Caribbean in 1492, ending the age-old separation of the hemispheres." (Roark, Johnson, Cohen, Stage, Hartmann G-2) This exchange would change European, and Native American life forever. Over all, the appearance of European colonists destroyed Native American cultures, and Native American cultures helped Europeans to become more wealthy and powerful. While there was much that crossed the Atlantic during this exchange, disease and technology had the largest effect on the Native Americans. It is obvious that the Native Americans were impacted the most by this exchange. Clearly, what impacted the Native Americans the most in this exchange was disease. This was not an intentional exchange between the Europeans and Native Americans, but it was certainly devastating to the Native Americans. The Europeans exposed the Native Americans to "Smallpox, Measles, Chicken Pox, Malaria, Yellow Fever, Influenza, and the Common Cold." (Tallant) These diseases devastated the Native American population. "Native Americans suffered 80-90% population losses in most of America with influenza, typhoid, measles, and smallpox taking the greatest toll in devastating epidemics that were compounded by the significant loss of leadership."( S.J. Crouthamel) These diseases had such a great impact on the Native Americans because they had not been exposed to these diseases before. Their immune systems were completely unprepared for these diseases that had been running rampant in Europe.
Another aspect of the Colombian exchange that changed Native American culture was the European technology. One piece of technology that impacted Native American culture was the plow. The plow coupled with an ox, horse, or other beast of burden could allow greater areas of land to be cultivated for farming with less effort. If a Native American people group could get a plow and a beast of burden (a horse or ox) they could grow more crops and would be able to shift from a hunter and gatherer society to an agricultural society. A second technological invention that changed Native American culture were the European weapons. European steel/iron knives and swords could be used many times, but Native American knives could only be used a few times before they would become brittle. Guns were also revolutionary to Native American culture. Guns were much more powerful than any of the Native American weapons. If a Native American group could get European knives and guns then they would have greater military power to protect themselves or defeat rival tribes. This new military might would have been especially appealing to warlike tribes such as the Mexica, who Dr. Tresa Holden describes as being "brutal". They also could hunt more efficiently. Guns would allow Native Americans to hunt larger animals and larger groups of animals when coupled with horses. (http://public.gettysburg.edu) These are just a couple of examples of how Native American culture was greatly changed by European technology. 

From http://www2.palomar.edu

On the other hand Native American culture had a positive impact on European wealth and power (even if it was not to the degree that the monarchs in Europe had hoped) There were two major aspects of Native American civilization that greatly helped the expanding European powers. One aspect was the crops that came from the New World to the Old World. Europe was introduced to "Corn, Potatoes, beans, tobacco, peanuts, squash, peppers, tomatoes, pumpkins, pineapples, cacao, chicle, papayas, manioc, guavas, and avocados." (Tallant) Two of these crops were especially important for Europe, potatoes and tobacco. Potatoes became very popular in Europe because they were resilient and could survive the cold climate in Europe, and could grow in less fertile soil.  This allowed many poor people in Europe access to potatoes, which kept many people from starvation. Tobacco on the other hand did not provide any nutritional value, but it did help the Europeans economically. Europeans were surprised at the Native American practice of smoking, but it caught on very quickly, and continues to this day. The Chesapeake Colonies took advantage of this new fad and began growing large quantities of tobacco. This was very profitable for the Chesapeake Colonies and for England, who would export the surplus tobacco to other European nations. The crops that Native Americans had been growing for centuries proved to be very profitable for the Europeans.
Lastly, the Native Americans were themselves very profitable for Europeans. Europeans (mainly the Spanish) would conquer Native American Civilizations and use them in forced labor. The system of encomienda, and later repartimiento allowed the Spanish to exploit Native American people to meet their financial gains. While these practices were cruel, they helped the European colonies, and nations thrive economically. These are just a few examples of how the Colombian Exchange caused great destruction to Native American culture, and helped European nations become more powerful and wealthy.

Bibliography:

Crouthamel, Steven. www2.palomar.edu. Palomar College, 2003. Feb 2, 2013
Malone, Gray, Ross, and Ryan. public.gettysburg.edu. Getsburg College, Accessed Feb 2, 2013

Roark, Johnson, Cohen, Stage, and Susan Hartmann. The American Promise. Boston: Bedford/St.       Martin's, 2012. Print

Tallant, Harold. spider.georgetowncollege.edu. Georgetown College, Dec 12, 1998. Feb 2, 2013