Slavery and the Southern Economy Virginia / Maryland / North Carolina / South Carolina / Georgia   THE MIDDLE PASSAGE (PAGES 128-129) The slave trade involved the transport of around million Africans across the to be sold as slaves in North and South America. This terrifying and often deadly voyage was called the . The journey could last as long as months. Ship captains packed enslaved Africans as tightly as possible, them by the necks and legs where they lived in a space hardly feet high. One ship captain reported that the slaves: Slave traders fit as many slaves as possible on board to increase .Thousands of captives died during the voyage either from diseases – such as , , and – or from being thrown when they became ill.   Slave labor and the slave trade had become important parts of the colonial economy. “… had not so much room as a man in his coffin, either in length or breadth. It was impossible for them to turn or shift with any degree of ease.” The Southern Economy (Pages 130-131) The southern economy relied on and materials. The southern colonies raw materials for building , particularly , to overseas markets and to its northern neighbors. Small farms as well as large supported the southern agricultural , which benefited from a warm and long growing season. The southern colonies based their agricultural economy on the production of crops – crops grown mainly to be sold for . The primary cash crops were , rice, and . Colonists rarely grew because harvesting it was too difficult and expensive. The southern colonies’ crops required a great deal of difficult work and a large force. By the 1700s enslaved were the main labor force… enslaved Africans and their children had to work for . On some plantations, slaves did many of their tasks unsupervised. When a job was finished, slaves were sometimes allowed to do their own . Some slaves were able to earn enough money to buy their , although this became more difficult as slavery became harsher. Most of the colonies passed slave , or to control slaves. Slave codes were most extensive in colonies where there were large of such as South Carolina. This colony’s code did not permit slaves to hold or to own , because slaveholders feared that slaves would . Some colonies made it illegal for slaveholders to their slaves. Members of the Virginia assembly passed a law allowing people to a runaway slave resisting capture.