Africans in the Colonies

Essential Questions What was the Middle Passage? How did the experience of slavery differ from colony to colony? What restrictions did free blacks face? How did laws attempt to control slaves and prevent revolts?

Setting the Scene One in Five of people in colonies (excluding Native Americans) are of African descent. Much like Europeans, the experiences of Africans differed greatly based on where they lived.

The Middle Passage One leg of the Triangular Trade between Africa, Americas and Europe. Slaves were chained to either each other or the walls or both Forced to endure heat, disease and lack of sanitation Lack of fresh air

Africans were brought to the colonies in cramped spaces.

On Deck

Dangers of the Passage Not only did the slaves face dangers, but so did the crews of the ships Crews faced the possibility of Mutiny These happened on average once every two years, but were often successful even though the crews were heavily armed

Slavery in the Colonies South Carolina and Georgia Lowlands: best places to grow rice and indigo Hot temperatures and poor sanitation caused disease to spread quickly Slaves made over half the population in S.C. and one third of that in Georgia

Isolated Slave Cities Owners of estates rarely left their homes to check in on the slaves allowing the slaves some semblance of freedom to continue African traditions. Kept the memory of their homeland to be passed on to future generations on pottery and other crafts.

Virginia and Maryland Both colonies settled decades before those to its south Africans made up minority of population Few came from Africa, most were born in colonies Slaves did not work strictly in the fields as tobacco did not take up as much time as more southern crops

New England and Middle Colonies 50k Africans lived in NE as opposed to 400k in South With a much more diverse economy in north, Africans had a greater choice of occupation Due to such small farms in NE, Africans/Slaves generally found work as cooks, housekeepers or possibly as artisans. Many found work as dockworkers.

Gullah A combination of African and English languages Gullah storytelling, music, folk beliefs, crafts, farming and fishing traditions, etc. all exhibit strong influences from West and Central African cultures.

Free Blacks Small population before American Revolution, and even then it was sometimes difficult for owners to free their slaves. Freed slaves may have been worse off economically than their enslaved counterparts. Why?

Free Blacks (II) Poorer living conditions More discrimination (why?) Could not vote, testify against whites, marry whites

Urban Jobs What would slaves do in the winter (slow months)? What did many of their owners do?

Law and Revolts Each colony passed its own laws when it came to slavery Most laws would continue restrict slave freedoms. Examples: Slaves could not travel on their own (especially by boat) without a written pass. Slaves could not congregate together

African Rebellions 50 Documented rebellions between One of the best known is the Stono Rebellion 20 Whites killed, the rebels tried to escape to Florida but were hunted down and killed.