3.

Black People in Colonial America Economic dependence in America depended on slave labor which provided a rationale for racial oppression British and Jamestown o o o o o Jamestown founded in 1607 British for looking for gold, trade, lumber, rice, silk John Rolfe looked to grow tobacco Main labor source were indentured servants and undesirables Indentured servants died the same way as slaves

Black Servitude in the Chesapeake o o o o Blacks were a small part of labor force in Chesapeake colonies Blacks were unfree indentured servants from 1620s-1670s Men seemed to enjoy a status similar to whites here and there Brits looked at blacks as inferior and alien

Race and the Origins of Black Slavery o o o o o By 1700, 20% of Virginias population were slaves Caribbean sugar colonies set precedent for enslaving Africans Few poor whites came to tobacco colonies Blacks start losing more legal rights and start becoming legal property Laws designed for African Americans to serve master for life over set term

The Emergence of Chattel Slavery o o o Children of black females were born into slavery Whites assumed servitude was natural condition of black people Slave codes were enacted to define slavery as a system to control blacks to exploit their labor

Bacons Rebellion and American Slavery o o Bacon gave blacks an idea to unite against the master class White indentured servitude begins to phase out in favor of blacks who would never become free or control firearms o Planters hoped to avoid class conflict this way

Lack of class conflict and American prosperity depended on denying freedoms to blacks

Plantation Slavery, 1700-1750 o Tobacco Colonies Chesapeake (Virginia & Maryland) By 1750, 61% of all slaves in N. America lived in Virginia and Maryland Blacks were a major in the tobacco colonies and a minority in rice colonies Few white indentured servants

Blacks worked from sunup to sundown with breaks for food and rest Worked in gangs

Slaves tried to conserve energy instead of working themselves to death Men regarded fieldwork as womens work and tried to avoid it Black men also held skilled occupations (carpenters, smiths, tanners, shoemakes, etc.) Planters saved money and exploited their skills to make money

Black women were domestic servants

Low-country Slavery Georgia & S. Carolina West Indian plantation system was more prevalent here Rice was the staple crop

Rice was staple because it was grown in W. Africa for thousands of years Africans had the skills required to cultivate it

Slave population didnt grow by natural reproduction High mortality rate from diseases, overwork, and poor treatment

Population grew through continued arrivals from Africa

Slaves had more autonomy, doing what they want when work was done Worked in task system

Charleston, S.C. became major port for N. Africans High African presence preserved in S. Carolina

No black indentured servants

Slave Life in Early America o o o o Little records of slaves because they are poor and illiterate Houses built with tabbylime, oyster shells and sand, or mud Slave dress was minimal during the summers Homespun fabrics began to replace English clothes African Americans retained a personal style similar to W. African culture

The Origins of African-American Culture o 2nd generation African Americans retained W. African heritage and passed it on Included family structure, notion of kinship, religion, music, cooking, and folk arts o o Fictive kin relationships developed for mutual support Africans named male children after close relatives Having ones fathers name preserved ones family identity