Slavery In The 13 Colonies

Slavery is a large part of American history, however it effected more than just the 13 colonies. Islands in the Caribbean were also places where slaves were kept. However, the institution of slavery in the English colonies differs from slavery in the caribbean because of their origins, the plantations they worked on, and how and why they were treated they way they were. "Approximately 10 million Africans were ripped from their homes, in Africa, and taken to the "New World" between the 1500-1800s" ("Slavery in the Colonies"). "In the 1600s, England's Atlantic Seaboard Colonies began to purchase slaves. This started in 1619 when a Dutch ship, occupied with Africans, docked in Jamestown. Between the years of 1625-1660, the slave population
rose from 23 to around 1,000 slaves. Before slaves, indentured servants worked on plantations. Indentured servants were europeans who could not afford the trip to America, so the wealthy paid for their trip and give them accommodations for seven years.
To pay off their debt, the indentured servants would work for them. When the contracts for the indentured servants started to expire, the colonists looked for other people to work on their plantations" (When Did Slavery Begin in North America?"). "The plantation owners began to purchase africans to use as slaves. Around 400,000 african slaves were sold to North America" ("Slavery in the Colonies"). "Africans had already populated the islands of the Caribbean and lived there for their whole lives. Europeans, like the French in the 1780s, came to the islands and set up plantations. In 1797, the British took control of the islands. At the time of their conquest, there were close to 10,000 african slaves. Five years later, that increased to 20,000" ("African Slavery"). "The Atlantic
Seaboard Colonies started to by slaves from the Caribbean, because it was a shorter voyage than from Africa" ("Slavery in the Colonies"). In the Atlantic Seaboard Colonies, the need for slaves increased after the indentured servants' contracts expired. When the Europeans gained control of the Caribbean, used the the Africans that were living there, then began to purchase more. Another difference between the institutions of slavery in the colonies and the Caribbean, is the the plantations the slaves worked on. "In the Caribbean, slaves worked on sugar plantations and in sugar mills. St. Kitts, an island in the Caribbean, had a large slave population at the time. In 1640, St Kitts was introduced to an important crop, sugar. The climate and soil of this tropical island made it perfect for growing sugar cane. Sugar was rare to England, which made it very expensive and in high demand. By 1655, sugar was the most important export crop in St. Kitts. What used to be small farms, turned into large plantations owned by the wealthy. Slaves worked on the sugar plantations and in sugar mills. The mills had complicated and dangerous equipment. Many people were maimed and some were killed" ("Sugar Plantations"). A slave recalls what working in the mills was like, "If a Mill-feeder be catch'd by the finger, his whole body is drawn in, and is squees'd to pieces, If a Boyler gets any part into the scalding Sugar, it sticks like Glew, or Birdlime, and 'tis hard to save either Limb or Life" ("Bridenbaugh and Bridenbaugh, 301").
"The slaves who worked in the North American colonies worked on tobacco plantations. Merchants from England brought slaves to the southern colonies so they could work on tobacco plantations. Tobacco was in high demand all around the world, France signed agreements with England to ensure that they would be able to obtain tobacco whenever they wanted it. The plantation owners realized that they were going to need to keep the slaves healthy so they could continue growing and harvesting tobacco. They started to treat the slaves better, and made sure that they stayed long enough to reproduce"("Slavery in the Colonies"). "The death rate, for slaves in the Caribbean, was so high, and the birth rate was so low, that slave owners had to get new slaves straight from Africa so the population wouldn't die out" ("Facts About the Slave Trade an Slavery").
"By 1678, 80% of the population was African. The plantations feared that the slaves would revolt, so they were extremely harsh to the slaves in hopes of controlling them. The working conditions were brutal; it was excruciatingly hot, and the machines were unsafe. The slaves worked long hours with poor to no nourishment, resulting in death" ("Slavery in the Caribbean"). "When the tobacco demand increased, the amount of work did as well. The plantation owners from the colonies learned from the mistakes of the cruel caribbean plantation owners who worked their slaves to death. They realized that the slaves were an important part of the tobacco manufacturing process, so they began to treat them better. The owners made sure that they had food, clothes, and that they were healthy" ("Slavery in the
Colonies"). The origins of the slaves may have been the same, Africa, but the life of the slave depended greatly upon if they went to England's Atlantic Seaboard colonies or the Caribbean. The institution of slavery in the colonies and the Caribbean differ from each other greatly.