Colonial Labor Essay
Changes and Continuities in the Need for Colonial Labor
The trans-atlantic systems from from 1600 to 173 maintained continuity in need for heavy labor due to an agricultural economy, but hunger for profits changed in the race and origins of the laborers. Planters needed subservient labor to maintain plantations, but over time they increasingly relied on black slaves. This racial shift due to transatlantic slavery would in the long term spark dramatic changes that are still felt in Southern society.
During the early 1600s, the development of transatlantic labor systems created a colonial economy that depended primarily on agriculture. Northern and New England States largely did not participate in the transatlantic labor systems to the extent …show more content…
For example, before the cotton gin, it would take hours for a worker to pick seeds out of a piece of cotton. In South Carolina and Georgia, growing indigo and rice was heavy, tiring work that required a constant supply of new labor. The availability of huge tracts or land for growing crops made New World planters hungry for the profits that came from growing cash crops, which necessitated the importation of thousands of workers into the colonies. The very existence of large agricultural plantations depended on an easily controllable workforce that would accept inevitable strenuous labor and bad conditions of the plantations.This labor came either from the enslavement of Native Americans, or importation of workers from Europe and Africa. Colonists depended on these workers existing in a state of servitude with no means of rebellion that might threaten crop-growing. A independent work force going on strike could jeopardize a crop that required constant attention. Colonists also maintained forced labor, because it was cheaper for them in long run, although in initially costs of importing a worker might be high. Regardless of the workers origins, planters tried to limit their freedom as much as possible. Servants and slaves alike faced harsh punishment for trying to run away. Throughout the 17th and 18th century, these workers continued to be viewed as
The trans-atlantic systems from from 1600 to 173 maintained continuity in need for heavy labor due to an agricultural economy, but hunger for profits changed in the race and origins of the laborers. Planters needed subservient labor to maintain plantations, but over time they increasingly relied on black slaves. This racial shift due to transatlantic slavery would in the long term spark dramatic changes that are still felt in Southern society.
During the early 1600s, the development of transatlantic labor systems created a colonial economy that depended primarily on agriculture. Northern and New England States largely did not participate in the transatlantic labor systems to the extent …show more content…
For example, before the cotton gin, it would take hours for a worker to pick seeds out of a piece of cotton. In South Carolina and Georgia, growing indigo and rice was heavy, tiring work that required a constant supply of new labor. The availability of huge tracts or land for growing crops made New World planters hungry for the profits that came from growing cash crops, which necessitated the importation of thousands of workers into the colonies. The very existence of large agricultural plantations depended on an easily controllable workforce that would accept inevitable strenuous labor and bad conditions of the plantations.This labor came either from the enslavement of Native Americans, or importation of workers from Europe and Africa. Colonists depended on these workers existing in a state of servitude with no means of rebellion that might threaten crop-growing. A independent work force going on strike could jeopardize a crop that required constant attention. Colonists also maintained forced labor, because it was cheaper for them in long run, although in initially costs of importing a worker might be high. Regardless of the workers origins, planters tried to limit their freedom as much as possible. Servants and slaves alike faced harsh punishment for trying to run away. Throughout the 17th and 18th century, these workers continued to be viewed as