How Did Slavery Start

Slavery, where did it all begin? In 1619 a Dutch ship escorted 20 African slaves to Jamestown, Virginia know as the British Colony. During the 17th and 18th centuries, European settlers in North America were seeking out labor sourced servants. Europeans were mostly poor so they needed cheap labor sources which lead them to African slaves. There is not an exact number of how many slaves were brought to America but the number is close to 6 to 7 million during the 18th century. African slaves worked for cheap labor in the plantations of tobacco, rice and indigo around the Southern Coast of America. Slavery traveled all the way up to Maryland and back down all the way to Georgia. During the late 18th century, plantation lands filled with mostly tobacco almost disappeared causing an economic crisis, doubting slavery in America. Around the same time as the economic crisis, merchandise in England led to a huge demand for cotton in America. Cotton was not easy to pick. Cotton is filled with seeds that need to be removed by hand, making it difficult to finish. By 1793, Eli Whitney a schoolteacher invented the cotton gin. The cotton gin was a device used to remove the seeds from cotton easily and more efficiently.
Slaves took up about 1/3 of the southern population. The average slave owner known as “masters” never owned more than 50 African slaves. Slaves were very dependent on their masters. When one of them got sick, they would be forced to stop working and get the proper treatment. Slaves were fed good food and clean water by their masters. Slaves were well taken care of by feeding them and giving them water when needed. None of them knew how to read or write, their behavior and movement were