From Servitude to Slavery

Summary

In Virginia, the transition from indentured servitude to race-based slavery took shape in the 17th century. African slaves became preferred over white servants due to their resilience to European diseases and difficulty in escaping. Laws known as slave codes institutionalized lifelong slavery, ensuring children of enslaved mothers would also remain enslaved. By the late 1600s, the transatlantic slave trade surged, making African labor central to the colonial economy. From just 4,500 black residents in 1680, the African population in the Chesapeake region skyrocketed to nearly 30,000 within two decades, cementing slavery as a permanent, race-based institution in the colonies.

Takeaways

• Key takeaways generation😀 In the 1650s, only a small number of African slaves lived in Virginia.
• 😀 Virginia planters increasingly preferred African slaves over white servants due to reliability and resistance to escape.
• 😀 Africans were less susceptible to European diseases compared to Native American laborers because of prior exposure in Africa.
• 😀 By the late 17th century, slavery became the predominant labor system in Virginia and other English colonies.
• 😀 Slave codes were created to legally enforce permanent, hereditary slavery and deny Africans protections under English law.
• 😀 The 1660 law ensured that children of slave mothers would also be enslaved, providing a constant labor supply.
• 😀 American slavery transitioned from a temporary labor system to a lifelong, race-based institution.
• 😀 The transatlantic slave trade greatly accelerated the availability of enslaved Africans in the colonies.
• 😀 By 1680, about 4,500 black people lived in the Chesapeake region, making up just over 5% of the population.
• 😀 By 1700, the African slave population in the English colonies grew to nearly 30,000, showing rapid expansion.

Q & A

Why did Virginia planters start preferring African slaves over white indentured servants?

African slaves were seen as a better investment because their skin color made it harder to escape into nearby villages, and they had developed resistance to European diseases, unlike Native American laborers.

When did slavery become the predominant labor system in Virginia?

Slavery became the predominant labor system in the last two decades of the 17th century.

What were 'slave codes' and why were they created?

Slave codes were laws established to regulate slavery, making it permanent, denying Africans protections under English common law, and ensuring that the children of enslaved mothers were also slaves.

How did the status of children of enslaved mothers impact Virginia planters?

It provided planters with a constant source of labor because the condition of slavery was inherited from the mother, creating a self-perpetuating system of enslaved labor.

How did the transatlantic slave trade influence the labor system in the colonies?

The transatlantic slave trade accelerated the shift from temporary servitude to permanent, race-based slavery and became a crucial part of the colonial economy.

What role did English merchants play in the expansion of slavery?

English merchants became heavily involved in the slave trade, making it a significant and profitable business that supplied a steady flow of enslaved Africans to the colonies.

How did the African slave population change in the Chesapeake region between 1680 and 1700?

In 1680, there were about 4,500 African slaves (around 5% of the population), and by 1700, the number had increased to nearly 30,000.

Why was race a central factor in the development of American slavery?

Slavery became race-based because laws and social practices assumed that people of African descent would be slaves, institutionalizing lifelong bondage based on skin color.

How did slavery in Virginia differ from earlier forms of labor?

Unlike earlier temporary systems like indentured servitude, slavery became permanent, hereditary, and legally sanctioned, creating a lifelong and generational labor system.

What long-term effect did the legalization of slavery have on American society?

It established an institutional, race-based system of labor that became deeply embedded in the economy and society, eventually requiring a Civil War to dismantle.