Slavery in the British colonies | Period 2: 1607-1754 | AP US History | Khan Academy

Summary

This script explores the widespread presence of slavery in British colonies in the New World around 1750, debunking the myth that it was confined to the southern regions. It highlights the economic reliance on slavery across all colonies, from financing to shipping and agriculture. The script also details the harsh realities of enslaved life, the legal codification of slavery, and the resistance efforts, including the Stono Rebellion. It emphasizes slavery's central role in the colonial economy, shaping the economic prosperity of both the North and the South.

Takeaways

• 🗺️ In 1750, British colonies in the New World had varying percentages of enslaved Africans, with the highest in the south.
• 🔄 Even the northernmost colony, New Hampshire, had enslaved people, contradicting the common misconception that slavery was exclusive to the south.
• 🌐 All British colonies were involved in the institution of slavery, either directly or indirectly through financing, food production, or transportation.
• 🚢 Newport, Rhode Island, was a significant port where enslaved Africans were sold, indicating the northern colonies' participation in the slave trade.
• 🌾 The southern colonies, focused on plantation agriculture, had the largest enslaved populations, with enslaved Africans sometimes outnumbering white people.
• 📜 Colonial governments enacted laws to control enslaved people's lives and define slavery, such as the 1662 Virginia law that children of enslaved women would be enslaved.
• 🚫 Laws also prohibited interracial relationships and defined enslaved Africans as chattel slaves, devoid of legal rights.
• 📉 Over the 1600s, slavery became more racially defined and restrictive, with harsher conditions for the enslaved.
• 💔 Enslaved people faced extreme physical and emotional hardships, including the threat of violence and sexual assault.
• 🎶 Religion, music, dance, and family were crucial for enslaved people's survival and resistance, both covertly and through uprisings like the Stono Rebellion.
• 🏛️ The economic prosperity of the North American colonies was built on slavery, with the north contributing through financing, food supply, and product consumption.

Q & A

What is the main message conveyed by the chart in the script?

The main message is that slavery was not confined to the southern colonies but was present in all British colonies in the New World, with the percentage of enslaved Africans increasing as one moved southward.

Why is there a misconception that slavery only happened in the southern colonies?

There is a misconception because the largest share of enslaved people was in the southern colonies, which focused on plantation agriculture, overshadowing the fact that all colonies had some involvement in the institution of slavery.

What role did the northern colonies play in the institution of slavery?

The northern colonies participated in the institution of slavery by financing it, growing food for the slave colonies, and shipping enslaved Africans, even though they had a smaller enslaved population.

Which colony was one of the largest ports for the entry and sale of slaves in North America?

Newport, Rhode Island, was one of the largest ports where slaves entered the North American colonies and were sold at auction.

What did the law passed in Virginia in 1662 specify regarding the status of children born to enslaved women?

The law specified that the children of enslaved women would follow the condition of their mothers, meaning they would also be enslaved.

How did colonial governments respond to the growth of the enslaved population?

Colonial governments began passing more restrictions on the lives of enslaved people and codifying who was or was not a slave, including laws defining the status of children born to interracial couples.

What were some of the ways enslaved people resisted their condition?

Enslaved people resisted through covert means like breaking tools and overt means such as slave uprisings, including the Stono Rebellion in 1739.

How did the South Carolina government respond to the Stono Rebellion?

The South Carolina government responded by making slave codes even harsher, further restricting the lives and rights of enslaved people.

What was the 'peculiar institution' referred to in the 19th century?

The 'peculiar institution' referred to slavery, which was considered specific to the southern United States, although it was a fundamental part of the economy in all colonies.

How was the economic prosperity of the North American colonies connected to slavery?

The economic prosperity of the North American colonies was connected to slavery through the financing, food supply, shipping, and purchase of products made by enslaved people, which contributed to the overall colonial economy.

Outlines

00:00

🗺️ Slavery in British Colonies in 1750

The script discusses a chart depicting the estimated population in British colonies around 1750, highlighting the prevalence of slavery across all colonies, not just the southern ones. It emphasizes that even the northernmost colony, New Hampshire, had enslaved people. The script notes the economic involvement of all colonies in slavery, including financing, food production for slave colonies, and transportation of enslaved Africans. Newport, Rhode Island, is mentioned as a significant port for slave auctions. The southern colonies, with a focus on plantation agriculture, had the largest enslaved populations, sometimes outnumbering white people. Laws were passed to restrict the lives of enslaved people and to define slavery by race, with children of enslaved women being born into slavery. Slavery became stricter and more racially defined over the 1600s. The script also touches on the harsh realities of enslaved life, including physical and emotional abuse, and the development of both covert and overt resistance methods, such as the Stono Rebellion in 1739. The economic prosperity of the colonies was built on slavery, affecting not only the south but also the northern industries that contributed to it.

05:00

🌱 Economic Prosperity Built on Slavery

This paragraph reinforces the central role of slavery in the economy of the North American colonies, challenging the misconception that slavery was peculiar only to the southern United States. It clarifies that slavery was a foundational economic institution that extended to all industries, including those in the north that financed, fed, shipped, and profited from the products made by enslaved people. The economic success of the colonies was deeply intertwined with the institution of slavery.

Keywords

💡Enslaved Africans

Enslaved Africans refers to the people of African descent who were captured and forced into slavery, primarily in the Americas. In the context of the video, it highlights the widespread presence of slavery across British colonies, not just in the South but also in the North, where even the smallest percentage in New Hampshire indicates the involvement of all colonies in the institution of slavery.

💡British Colonies

British Colonies refers to the territories under the control of Britain in the New World, which included parts of North America and the Caribbean. The video emphasizes that all these colonies had some form of slavery, indicating the systemic nature of the institution across what is now the United States and its economic ties.

💡Plantation Agriculture

Plantation Agriculture is a large-scale farming system that relies heavily on manual labor, often provided by enslaved workers. The video points out that the Southern colonies, which focused on this type of agriculture, had a higher percentage of enslaved people, illustrating the economic dependence on slave labor for cash crops like sugar.

💡Middle Passage

The Middle Passage was the segment of the triangular trade route in which enslaved Africans were transported to the Americas. The video mentions that Newport, Rhode Island, was one of the largest ports for the sale of enslaved people, highlighting the North's involvement in the transatlantic slave trade.

💡Chattel Slaves

Chattel Slaves refers to individuals who were considered personal property under the law, with no legal rights. The video explains that enslaved Africans were defined as chattel, which meant they could be bought, sold, and treated as commodities, emphasizing the dehumanization inherent in the institution of slavery.

💡Slave Codes

Slave Codes were laws designed to control the lives of enslaved people and reinforce the institution of slavery. The video discusses how colonial governments passed increasingly restrictive slave codes, such as laws determining the status of children born to enslaved women, which further entrenched slavery in colonial society.

💡Stono Rebellion

The Stono Rebellion of 1739 was a significant slave uprising in South Carolina. The video uses this event to illustrate the resistance of enslaved people to their conditions and the harsh response from the colonial government, which further tightened slave codes.

💡Peculiar Institution

The term 'peculiar institution' was used in the 19th century to refer to slavery, suggesting its uniqueness to the southern United States. The video corrects this misconception by arguing that slavery was foundational to the entire colonial economy, not just the South.

💡Economic Prosperity

Economic Prosperity refers to the wealth and economic success of a region or group. The video argues that the economic prosperity of the North American colonies was built on the institution of slavery, including the financial, agricultural, and shipping industries that supported it.

💡Resistance

Resistance in the context of the video refers to the actions taken by enslaved people to oppose their conditions, ranging from covert means like breaking tools to overt acts like participating in uprisings. This keyword highlights the agency and struggle of enslaved individuals against the oppressive system.

💡Legal Protections

Legal Protections are the rights and safeguards provided by law to individuals. The video notes that enslaved people lacked legal protections, which left them vulnerable to abuse and violence without legal recourse, underscoring the severity of their oppression.

Highlights

In 1750, all British colonies in the New World had enslaved populations, disproving the misconception that slavery was exclusive to the southern colonies.

Even the northernmost colony, New Hampshire, had enslaved individuals before the American Revolution.

All British colonies were involved in the institution of slavery, either directly or indirectly.

Slavery was not only present in the southern colonies but was a widespread practice throughout all British colonies.

Newport, Rhode Island, was one of the largest ports for the entry and auction of enslaved people in North America.

The southern colonies, focused on plantation agriculture, had the largest share of enslaved people.

In some southern colonies, enslaved Africans outnumbered white people significantly.

Colonial governments began to pass more restrictions on enslaved people and codified slavery laws.

In Virginia in 1662, a law was passed stating that children of enslaved women would follow the condition of their mothers.

Slavery laws prevented interracial relationships and defined enslaved Africans as chattel slaves, or personal property.

Enslaved people had little to no legal rights, leaving them vulnerable to abuse and violence.

Slavery became stricter and more racially defined over the course of the 1600s.

Enslaved people used religion, dance, music, and family as coping mechanisms against the harsh realities of their lives.

Enslaved individuals developed both covert and overt means of resisting slavery, including breaking tools and participating in uprisings.

The Stono Rebellion in 1739 was a significant slave uprising in South Carolina, resulting in many deaths on both sides.

The South Carolina government responded to the rebellion by further harshening slave codes.

Slavery was central to the economy of all English colonies, not just the south, and was the bedrock of colonial prosperity.

The economic prosperity of North American colonies was built on the institution of slavery, involving all industries, including those in the north.

Transcripts

- [Narrator] This is a chart

showing estimated population around the year 1750

in the British colonies in the New World.

I've arranged this more or less from north to south

and you can see that as you go farther south,

the percentage of the population

that was enslaved and African grew greater and greater,

but one thing to note here is that

not any one of these colonies

had zero enslaved people at all,

even New Hampshire, the farthest north

with the smallest percentage of enslaved Africans

had some enslaved people there

before the American Revolution.

We frequently have the misconception

that slavery only happened in the south.

In fact, all British colonies had some amount of slavery

and all British colonies had some involvement

in the institution of slavery,

whether that was bankrolling it as a financier,

growing food that was intended for the slave colonies

in the West Indies that didn't want to spare

even an acre of land to grow something

other than sugar, or shipping enslaved Africans

by either owning or captaining the boats

of the middle passage.

In fact, one of the largest ports

where slaves entered the North American colonies

and were sold at auction was at Newport, Rhode Island.

But despite this, the largest share of enslaved people

were in the southern colonies,

which focused on plantation agriculture.

So, Maryland, Virginia, and then even farther south

into the British colonies in the Caribbean.

In some of these southernmost colonies,

you can see that enslaved Africans

outnumbered white people by sometimes

quite a considerable amount.

As the enslaved population in the colonies grew,

colonial governments began passing more and more

restrictions on the lives of enslaved people

and began codifying who was or was not a slave.

For example, if a white man and an enslaved woman

had a child together, would that child be free

like her father or enslaved like her mother?

What about the opposite case?

In Virginia in 1662, the government passed a law

specifying that the children of enslaved women

would follow the condition of their mothers.

Other laws prevented interracial relationships

and defined enslaved Africans as chattel slaves,

which means personal property,

and as the personal property of slave owners,

enslaved people had little to no legal rights.

So, over the course of the 1600s,

slavery became stricter

and more exclusively defined by race.

The experience of being enslaved was unimaginably

physically and emotionally taxing.

Since enslaved people had no legal protections,

owners could maim or even kill enslaved people

with little to no repercussion.

For women, life in slavery also meant

the constant threat and frequent reality

of rape at the hands of slave owners.

Religion, dance, music, and family

helped enslaved people deal with

the harsh realities of everyday life

and enslaved people also developed

both covert means of resisting slavery,

like, for example, breaking tools,

which made it more difficult to work,

or overt means of resisting slavery,

particularly in slave uprisings.

One of these, the Stono Rebellion in 1739

in South Carolina resulted in the deaths

of about 42 whites and about 44 blacks.

The South Carolina government responded to the rebellion

by making slave codes even harsher.

I wanna finish by just reiterating how central

the institution of slavery was

to not just some, but all of the English colonies.

In the 19th century, Americans would refer to slavery

as the peculiar institution, meaning not so much

that it was strange, but that it was specific

to the south part of the United States.

But slavery really wasn't specific to the south part,

it was the bedrock of the colonial economy,

not just in the south, but in all the industries

that contributed to slavery in the north as well,

those who financed, fed, shipped,

and even bought the products made by enslaved people

created the economic prosperity

of the North American colonies.