Africans were in North and South America while
these continents were being explored and expropriated as European colonies
(1500s–1700s). However, their roles and status varied from Mexico to Brazil, to
the Carolinas and to New Amsterdam. Bonded labor—common both in Europe and
Africa—declined in Europe, while it became more important in Africa after trade
with Europe had been established. At the end of the 14th century,
Europeans—primarily the Portuguese and the Spanish—were exploring the west
coast of Africa, looking both for trade opportunities and trade routes to the
East. In their interaction with African merchants, they began to export small
numbers of slaves to their European homelands. Once the Europeans had explored
and began to settle the New World, however, the trade in African slaves
increased rapidly.
Initially, Europeans brought only small numbers of
Africans to the New World. Yet, as the need for labor grew with increased
agricultural, mining, mercantile, and other business interests, so too did the
number of black slaves, the vast majority of whom were male. Brazil and the
Caribbean had the largest number of imports for the longest period of time:
until the 1880s. Although most of the figures for the Atlantic slave trade
system are imprecise, it is possible to estimate that Brazil received at least
four million slaves and the islands of the Caribbean—which were colonized by
the French, Dutch, English, Danish, and Spanish—as well as Spain’s mainland
possessions, received at least 5.5 million. The mainland United States—as
colonies and then as a nation—imported about 450,000 Africans over a 250-year
period. Slavery in this country began, then, as one part of a long history of
international trade in goods and people, both in Europe and in Africa.
Europeans divided the slave trade into three
geographic regions: Upper Guinea, Lower Guinea, and Angola. More than three-fifths
of the slaves brought to the Chesapeake were from the Gold Coast or the Bight
of Biafra. While many of the Sierra Leonians went to Carolina, they were
outnumbered there by Angolans. Senegambians were prominent in both the
Carolinas and Louisiana. The presence of these and other enslaved African
groups in North America was due primarily to wars and thievery. Rivalries
between ethnic and tribal groups, raids by North Africans and local soldiers,
and piracy conducted up the many rivers of the African coast provided the
majority of captured Africans.
Traditionally, the entry of Africans into British
North America is dated from the 1619 sale of some twenty men and women from a
Dutch ship in Virginia. Although there were undoubtedly other Africans in those
regions that would later become part of the United States, slavery as it
developed in British North America and was continued in the American republic
can be traced to what happened in the Chesapeake in the 1600s.
For the first few decades, the status of Africans
was uncertain. Some were treated as indentured servants and freed after a term
of service, often after fourteen years. Others were kept on in servitude
because their labor was needed. It was too tempting for aspiring planters not
to take advantage of the vulnerable black laborers. By the 1640s, court
decisions began to reflect a different standard for Africans than for white
servants and to accept the concept of lifetime black servitude. In the 1660s,
Virginia decreed that a child followed the status of its mother, thus making
lifetime servitude inheritable. A series of court decisions dating from the
1660s locked slavery into place in the Chesapeake and its existence was not questioned in the
later development of the Carolinas. Georgia resisted briefly and then accepted
the institution. Slave law to the north of the Chesapeake did not differ
significantly.
Many Africans who arrived in the New World were
familiar with bonded labor. Slavery in Africa, as elsewhere, was not a static
institution. European trade rivalries and the European view of North and South
America as a site for aggrandizing their power through mineral extraction and
staple crop production caused great escalation in the numbers of Africans
enslaved and brought to the Americas. Trade rivalries also caused tremendous
changes in the status and functions of the enslaved. The desire and eventual
need of West Africans to trade with Europeans in order to gain access to
weapons and other prized goods escalated their involvement in the slave trade
to such an extent that they could no longer draw on the reserve of slaves that
they traditionally had in their societies.
While there was a general protocol in place in
which representatives of trading companies negotiated with African rulers through
middlemen, the actual methods of the traders varied greatly. As the trade
became more lucrative with greater demand from the New World, more and more
slaves were stolen through armed raids. The slave trade also had an immense
impact on the developing economies of the New World and the changing economies
of western Europe. It was the foundation for European mercantilism and industry
in the 17th and 18th centuries, the labor force for colonial agriculture, and a
prime force in the growth of the shipbuilding industry.
By the time a body of law regarding slavery had
been put firmly into place, a number of free Africans who had escaped permanent
bondage through indenture lived throughout the colonies. They married other
free blacks, slaves, Native Americans, and occasionally European servant women,
and raised families. These groups, in addition to African sailors and free
blacks arriving from the West Indies, constituted the core of the free black
class in the colonies.
Lifetime bondage, or slavery, was firmly and
legally established in the British North American colonies by the late 1600s
and continued to exist in every colony in some form until the era of the
American Revolution. The period of the greatest importation of slaves into the
land that became the present-day United States was from approximately 1680 to
the Revolutionary War (1776). There was a scattering of bondspeople in New
England and, moving southward, the number of slaves increased from New York
through Virginia, while a system of plantation slavery similar to that of the
Caribbean developed in the eastern part of South Carolina and Georgia. In the
Carolinas and Georgia, importation began about 1720 and continued until the
slave trade became illegal in 1808. There slaves were acquired through the
lowcountry ports of Charleston, South Carolina, and Savannah, Georgia, or in
the other major slave market: the Gulf Coast port of New Orleans, Louisiana.
New Orleans—controlled by the French and the Spanish during this
period—imported most heavily while the American colonials were at war. This
activity continued through the early 1800s as the area became an import market
for the rising “Cotton Kingdom.”
By the seventeenth century, the African slave trade
was booming in the Americas. The slave dealers made so much money from their
human cargoes that Africans soon came to be known as “black gold.” Slaves could
be secured in Africa for about $25 a head, or the equivalent in merchandise,
and sold in the Americas for about $150. Later when the slave trade was declared
illegal, Africans brought much higher prices. Many slave-ship captains could
not resist cramming their black cargo into every foot of space, even though
they might lose between fifteen to twenty percent of the lot on the way across
the ocean. It is estimated that seven million Africans were abducted during the
eighteenth century alone, when the slave trade became one of the world’s great
businesses.
Since England had no laws that defined the status
of a slave, the colonies made up their own. These “slave codes” protected the
property rights of the master. The codes also made sure that the white society was guarded against what was considered a
strange and savage race of people. Slaves had almost no rights of their own.
Some masters tried to treat slaves well. For example, George Washington freed
his slaves in his will. Thomas Jefferson’s slaves lived in brick cottages.
Jefferson Davis’s slaves governed themselves with slave-run trial courts.
However, the extreme opposite also existed. Harsh slave owners would
half-starve their slaves, working them hard, whipping them often, treating them
worse than cattle, and making their lives miserable for their own amusement.
When a master was cruel, the slaves had no legal protection from his brutal
treatment.
Enforcement of the slave codes varied from one area
to another and even from one plantation to another. Slaves who lived in cities
and towns were less restricted than slaves who lived in the country. Slaves on
small farms enjoyed more freedom than those on huge plantations. Even in the
best of circumstances, slaves were property and could be bought, sold, lent, or
rented out. Their opportunities to learn and achieve were very limited. The
slaves had little personal incentive to work hard. Slavery offered little room
for promotions.
Plantation slaves often had little contact with
their masters. Their supervisors were drivers and overseers. Drivers were slaves who had been made
into bosses by their masters, so they were in a bad situation. If a driver took
it easy on the workers and the work was not done, he would be flogged. If he
was too hard on the workers, then the driver made enemies among his fellow
slaves. Overseers were whites
who took orders from the master. A few were made managers, but most were not.
In the south, most slaves helped plant and harvest
crops. The typical slave worked on a small farm with one or two other Africans,
alongside the master and his family. Other slaves worked in and around the
master’s house instead of out in the fields. In southern towns and cities,
blacks served as messengers, house servants, and craftsmen.
In the north, farming was not as important to the
economy as it was in the south. Therefore, black slaves worked in a wider
variety of jobs. They provided skilled and unskilled labor in homes, ships,
factories, and shipyards.
While British North America received few slaves, it
was deeply involved in the slave trade, which was dominated after the 1680s by
the British Royal African Company. For much of the eighteenth century,
Britain’s prosperity was involved with the purchase, capture, and export of
slaves from western Africa to the European colonies of the western hemisphere.
Some colonial legislatures (Massachusetts, Virginia, South Carolina) attempted
to tax slave imports, fearing slave insurrection and hoping to encourage
European immigration, but found their laws ignored by traders or overturned by
royal representatives. By the mid-1700s, voices began to be raised against
slavery on moral grounds. Primarily, these were the voices of religious
societies. In England and British North America in the 1750s, the Society of
Friends (Quakers) began to rid themselves of slaves.
In many ways, the colonial era presented enslaved
Africans with more opportunities to abscond than did the more settled and
legally-restrictive American society of the nineteenth century. Large sections
of all the colonies were uninhabited by Europeans, and Native Americans were
sometimes, although not always, willing to assist fugitives from slavery. In addition,
vast tracts of forests and swamps, not yet claimed and settled, offered deep
cover for runaways. The colonies were just beginning to organize their legal
and law enforcement systems to protect slaveholding. Colonial slaves had often
recently arrived from Africa or the Caribbean; they had no reason to believe
that they could not escape from the system of slavery and start their own
communities. Since the northern states were not yet “free” states, the slaves’
only recourse was to cross an international border, pass themselves as free in
a new region, or live outside society.
More runaways before the American Revolution than
afterward may have tried—as they did in the Caribbean and South America—to form
maroon societies. Maroon societies (also
called “marron” or “cimarron”) were bands or communities of fugitive slaves who
had succeeded in establishing a society of their own in some geographic area,
usually difficult to penetrate, where they could not easily be surprised by
soldiers, slave catchers, or their previous owners. Africans enslaved in
Spanish New World territories were most likely to run away and form such
communities. Maroon societies were of several degrees of stability. At the
least stable end were the gangs of runaway men who wandered within a region and
hid together. They sustained themselves by raids or by prevailing upon their
friends and relatives for food. Other more stable maroon societies included
both men and women who might have developed a trade relationship with
outsiders. Some maroon societies felt themselves safe enough to plant crops and
attempt at least a semi-permanent settlement. The threat of maroons emerging
from their hiding places to gather with slaves in revolt was another concept
that troubled slave owners.
However, by the time of the American republic, such
refuges were fewer. Further, the North American backcountry was already
inhabited by Native Americans, who sometimes accepted Africans into their
communities, sometimes kept them in slavery, and sometimes returned them to
their masters. Even the colonial-era maroon societies were neither as large nor
as long-lasting as those in the West Indies or Brazil. Maroon societies in
North America were most likely to flourish on the borders between
English/American and Spanish territories. Thus, Florida and the Texas- Mexico
border had several active communities, as did Louisiana before its acquisition
by the United States. The Great Dismal Swamp, Okefenokee, and other sites were
also briefly home to bands of runaways, some of whom left after a period and
others who planned to stay on and stay out of sight. Their success was modest,
but—given the constraints—admirable.
Escapes into Spanish Florida were among the
earliest successful attempts at freedom and community, beginning near the end
of the 1600s and concluding only with Andrew Jackson’s march into Florida to
eradicate the “Negro forts.” In 1738, the Spanish governor of Florida offered
freedom to British colonial slaves who escaped to St. Augustine. While Spain
had long been part of the international slave trade and had used slave labor
throughout its colonies, that nation disputed British claims to Georgia and
South Carolina. It wanted to keep those colonies as disrupted as possible.
Encouraging runaways was a good way to do it. After the edict, slaves ran away
both in groups and singly to Saint Augustine and nearby Florida villages. Many
of these villages consisted of the remnants of southeastern Native American
tribes, gathered together for survival, who became known as Seminoles. Georgia
advised its citizens to keep a sharp lookout for runaways from South Carolina
on their way to Florida and scout boats patrolled the water routes near the
Georgia-Florida border.
The southern colonies had much larger slave
populations and began to develop the slave patrols and punitive legislation
that came to characterize the slave south. All blacks were required to carry a
pass or ticket if they left their plantation or work place. Punishments for
runaway slaves were severe; they included whipping, mutilation, branding with
an R, sale to the West Indies,
and sometimes death. If a group of slaves ran away together, as was common in
the colonial era, several of the group would be put to death upon recapture.
Those who aided or encouraged runaways were also punished with fines,
imprisonment and, occasionally, death. South Carolina fined anyone who
apprehended a runaway and neglected to inflict a whipping.
The organization and function of southern militias
was closely tied to preventing slave rebellions and runaways. Slave patrols
usually had a militia officer as their leader. Even during the American
Revolution, scarce military resources had to be expended in patrolling roads,
rivers, and seaports to prevent slaves from escaping to the British army and
navy. From the beginning of American slavery, runaways were the most
troublesome, expensive, and legally vexing aspect of that economic system.
Colonial fugitives from slavery came from varied backgrounds and had a wide
range of experiences.
The following descriptions of 18th-century runaways
and of a rumored insurrection suggest some of the complexities of colonial
slavery. (This rumor of insurrection came some fifty years after the actual
Stono Rebellion and indicates how very long and lingering were the effects of
armed slave resistance.)
Charleston, 8th August 1787 Colonel Arnaldus
Vanderhorst, Berkley County Militia
Sir,
Having received information that a party of
runaway negro men, many of whom are armed, are become very troublesome and
dangerous to the plantations in the vicinity of Stono, and it being represented
that they are too numerous to be quelled by the usual parties of patrol, you
will be pleased to order a command from your regiment of such part of the
militia of the neighborhood as you may judge sufficient effectually to
apprehend or disperse such slaves as fall within the above description.
***
BROUGHT to the WORKHOUSE, IN CHARLES-TOWN
May 14, 1754 A new negro man, speaks no English, a
little scarified on the temples, with smooth skin and thick beard, has a white
cloth jacket and breeches.
***
STOLEN, Stray’d, or Run-away, on the 12th from Dr.
John Finney in New-Castle, a Negro Woman, named Betty, aged about 18 years, of
small Stature, round Face, has been about a Month in this country, speaks veryd
little English, has had one Child; Had on, the Body of an old Gingham Gown, and
an ozenbrigs Petticoat. She is supposed to have been taken from hence by an
Oyster-Shallop, Benj. Taylor Master, bound for Philadelphia, and may be sold on
some Part of the River.
Whoever brings her to the Subscriber in New-Castle,
and discovers the Person who carried her off, shall have Forty Shillings
Reward, and reasonable Charges, paid by
***
Kingstown, Queen Ann’s County, September 10, 1759
RUN away the 8th of this Instant, a Negroe Man,
named Caesar, he has both his Legs cut off, and walks on his Knees, may pretend
that he was Cook of a Vessel, as he has been much used on board of Ships; he
was seen by New-Castle on Saturday last. Whoever secures the said Negroe in any
Goal or Work-house, shall receive Twenty Shillings Reward, paid by me,
SARAH MASSEY.
N.B. He has been a Ferry man at
Chester Town, Queen Ann’s County, for many years.
Thomas Pinckney
John Finney New-Castle, Sept. 15, 1740
Throughout the colonial period and until 1819,
slaves escaped from the lower south into eastern and western Florida. While the
famous “Negro Fort,” once the British Fort Gadsden, was taken by American
troops in 1816, it was not until 1819 that the United States made a bold play
to take all of eastern Florida. In that year, Congress attempted to put a stop to
slave runaways and Native American raids across the Florida border by sending
Andrew Jackson to make war on the encampments and communities of Africans and
Native Americans. Jackson went further and claimed all of Florida for the
United States. Spain was not strong enough to reclaim Florida and the
descendants of many fugitives moved on to Cuba or retreated into the swamps.
1. What were
the Portuguese initially doing in western Africa?
a.
They were there to export Africans to the New
World.
b.
They were exploring the region to colonize it.
c.
They
were looking for trade opportunities and routes.
d.
They were looking to increase the numbers of
Africans who were moving to Brazil.
2. What
brought more African slaves to the New World?
a.
promises of freedom
b.
business
c.
a desire for more land
d.
a treaty
3. Which of
the following countries is the homeland of the Senegambians?
a.
Louisiana
b.
North America
c.
Sierra Leone
d.
Senegal
4. Where do
historians trace the origins of African slavery in the United States?
a.
a ship that arrived in Louisiana
b.
imports from Brazil
c.
a
ship that came to Virginia
d.
imports from France
5. What does
the author mean in this sentence?
In
the 1660s, Virginia decreed that a child followed the status of its mother,
thus making lifetime servitude inheritable.
a.
A child born in the colonies to a slave mother was
freed after his mother was freed.
b.
If a mother was a slave all her life, then it was
possible that she would inherit a child.
c.
In
Virginia, a child born to a mother enslaved for life would also be a slave for
life.
d.
A slave child had to do anything its mother did
throughout his or her lifetime.
7. At this
time in history, what were many European countries most hoping to get out of
North and South America?
a.
slaves
b.
trade
c.
court systems
d.
power
8. How would
15–20 percent of a ship’s cargo of Africans be lost on the journey between
Africa and the colonies?
a. With so
many people on board, it was difficult for the ship’s crew to keep track of
everyone. Therefore, some Africans were able to escape.
b. The conditions on board the ship were so horrible
that many of the Africans died en route.
c. The ship
would have met other ships along the way and would have sold some of the
Africans to them before they even reached the colonies.
d. The
ship’s crew couldn’t manage the number of Africans on board, so they sent many
of them back.
9. A “maroon
society” was
a.
founded by white slaveholders.
b.
a
collection of fugitive slaves.
c.
very often stable.
d.
welcoming to all races.
10.
Why did the Spanish encourage runaway slaves to
flee from South Carolina and Georgia into Florida?
a.
They sympathized with the slaves’ plight.
b.
They had always contested the British colonization
of North America.
c.
They were trying to boost Florida’s population so
that they could lead a revolt against the
British colonists.
d.
They
wanted South Carolina and Georgia to be in turmoil because they believed the
Spanish should own them.
11.
In South Carolina, what would happen if someone
found a runaway slave, but did not whip him or her?
a.
That
person would be fined.
b.
That person would be whipped instead.
c.
That person would be branded.
d.
That person would be killed.
12. How were Africans mainly captured to be sold
into slavery?
13. In the 1600s, how did slavery begin to affect
the economies of the New World and Europe?
14. What does the author’s mention of George
Washington, Jefferson Davis, and Thomas Jefferson tell us about “slave codes”?
Use examples to support your response.
15. Do you think slaves had better opportunities in
the north or in the south? Explain.
16. Why do you think some Native Americans were
willing to help runaway slaves hide? Why would others have sold them or
returned them to their owners instead?
