Slavery In North America
By the eighteenth century, “slavery became more entrenched” (Foner, 135) in North America. In all regions, people depended on slavery in order to make an income and put food on the table. Although New England and other middle colonies did not condone plantation slavery, the colonies still made profit from African slaves by shipping them to areas such as South Carolina, Georgia, and the Caribbean, or by using slaves for other types of labor. These colonies gave slaves (usually personal servants or artisan shop workers) some rights that no slave ever experienced in southern colonies: marriage, letting family inherit land, and testifying against whites. In South Carolina, slaves were either responsible for farming on rice and indigo plantations,
or they were responsible for tending livestock. These slaves were “assigned daily jobs, the completion of which allowed them time for leisure or to cultivate crops of their own” (Foner, 141). Unlike slavery in South Carolina, slaves in the Chesapeake worked together in groups with constant supervision. Woman slaves were often cooks, personal servants, or dairy maids. A high tobacco demand caused slavery in the Chesapeake to expand and shift westward during the eighteenth century. In Georgia, a high demand of rice caused a high demand for slaves; “Georgia became a miniature version of South Carolina” (Foner, 142).
or they were responsible for tending livestock. These slaves were “assigned daily jobs, the completion of which allowed them time for leisure or to cultivate crops of their own” (Foner, 141). Unlike slavery in South Carolina, slaves in the Chesapeake worked together in groups with constant supervision. Woman slaves were often cooks, personal servants, or dairy maids. A high tobacco demand caused slavery in the Chesapeake to expand and shift westward during the eighteenth century. In Georgia, a high demand of rice caused a high demand for slaves; “Georgia became a miniature version of South Carolina” (Foner, 142).