Enslavement of Africans
Introduction… Hi! I’m Miss Holly. Welcome to Level 5 Social Studies! Today you will learn about: the slave trade in the Southern Colonies. its economic impact and the differences between indentured servants and slaves. the voyage known as the Middle Passage and its conditions for captured Africans.
The economic impact of slave trade in the Southern colonies.
Slavery became the heart of southern colonial society and the economy at the turn of the 18th century.
British merchants began carrying thousands of slaves from Africa and the Caribbean to the southern colonies to work in the tobacco fields.
The English and French forced an astounding six million Africans into slavery.
Most went to the West Indies and Brazil, but large numbers did go to the Chesapeake region: Virginia, Maryland, perhaps as many as 100,000 in the 1700s. Cruel and harsh treatment was often used against slaves.
Tobacco markets grew stronger after 1730 and England signed contracts with France to sell the French as much tobacco as they demanded.
The southern colonies growing tobacco increased production to take advantage of the rising prices.
By the 1750s, American-born slaves outnumbered African slaves in the North American colonies to increase the demands for cheap labor for greater profit.
The differences between indentured servants and slaves as property…
There was a differences between indentured servants and slaves.
Slaves were slaves for as long as they lived.
As such, they literally became the property of their master and had no rights. They were not seen as human and many were treated worse than animals.
Indentured servants differ because they could be granted freedom after a specified period of time.
The Middle Passage voyage and its conditions for captured Africans.
The Middle Passage was the middle leg of a three-part voyage.
The first leg of the voyage carried a cargo from Europe that often included iron, cloth, brandy, firearms, and gunpowder.
Upon landing on Africa's "slave coast," the cargo was exchanged for Africans.
Fully loaded with its human cargo, the ship set sail for the Americas, where the slaves were exchanged for sugar, tobacco, or some other product.
The final leg brought the ship back to Europe.
The African slave boarding the ship had no idea what lay ahead.
The slaves were branded with hot irons and restrained with shackles.
Their "living quarters" was often a deck within the ship that had less than five feet to stand. The conditions were horrific.
There were 300 to 400 people packed in a tiny area with little ventilation and, in some cases, not even enough space to place buckets for human waste -- disease was prevalent (common).
Middle Passage mortality rates were high.
Although it's difficult to determine how many Africans died en route to the new world, it is now believed that between ten and twenty percent of those transported lost their lives!
Colonial Slave Plantations: R9fXG4 R9fXG4 Let’s watch a short Youtube video about Colonial slave plantations. Listen closely for the names of the colonies: Virginia, Carolina, & Georgia. Also, listen for the crops: tobacco, rice, indigo, cotton.
In conclusion… Today we have learned about slave trade in the Southern Colonies and its economic impact, the differences between indentured servants and slaves as property. Also, we discussed the voyage known as the Middle Passage and its conditions for captured Africans.
Extension activities.. From The Transatlantic Slave Trade: Study the Map of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Then answer the questions. Second, read The Triangular Trade worksheet and complete the activity.
See you next time! Good bye.
References Black peoples of America. (2012). Retrieved from htm Difference between slaves and indentured servants. (2012). Retrieved from miscellaneous/difference-between-slaves-and-indentured-servants/ Slavery in the colonies. (n.d.) Retrieved from dspace/bitstream/handle/2249.3/663/05_slavery_colonies.htm The middle passage. (2012). Retrieved from