History Of Slavery During Colonial Virginia - 1360 Words

Morgan Hicks November 18, 2015 Introduction to Colonial Slavery HIST 2210 â€Å"Slavery in Colonial Virginia† The purpose of this paper is to explain the history of slavery in Colonial Virginia. Between 1670 to 1775, slaves from Africa were transported to Colonial Virginia from three main points on the Atlantic route; Africa, the West Indies, and other British colonies. Most of the slaves were expected to already know how to perform hard labor, speak English, and have the skills valued by the Europeans. Virginia and South Carolina were the two most receiving states in America. They only had a few slave trades during this time period.This paper discusses 17th century history of slavery and the impact of the slave trade in Virginia. The†¦show more content†¦In many ways the two were very similar such as having most of their slaves imported from Africa, and arriving to the port with a substantial amount of slaves. Even though the African Virginia route required slaves to carry cargo, the slaves only had one part of the cargo coming to the same colony. Shipping from West Indies could have been easier to carry double the amount of slaves, but it did not do that. Although the African and West Indies routes produced more than 90 percent of slaves, it changed the pattern in delivering cargo. One major formation that occurred in Virginia was having slave laborers produce tobacco which boosted the economy, gained power and wealth, and increased the social status of slavery and exportation of tobacco. Tobacco was the most successful crop in the British Colony and took over commerce in the Atlantic through the colonial period. By the eighteenth century, the production of tobacco had been taken over by wealthy pla nters and merchants of the Chesapeake region. The Chesapeake region took an interests in the economy of the British. This interests worked well with the planters. The use of enslaved laborers in Virginia expanded slowly into the seventeenth century. Slaves only made up about 20 percent of taxable labor. The evidence reflects the population and statistics, and it is known that over 30 years of historians have recognized half of the seventeenth century when slavery occurred. This concludes that timing eventually led to a