The Development of the “Peculiar Institution”

Slavery in British Colonies Middle Passage Portuguese=32% Dutch=7& Spanish=13% British

Caribbean=24% French Car. =17% British Colonies

=4%

Royal African Company 1672-1689 = 90 to

100,000 slaves traded

Monopoly on slave trade

1689 British Parliament opened slave trade

Slave trade increased from 5,000 to 20,000/year

The Goods Sugar, Rice,

Tobacco, Coffee, Indigo were labor intensive

Atlantic transactions consisted of raw material to Europe, manufactured good to Americas and Africa, and slaves to N. America

Chesapeake Bay Slavery Tobacco based Late 1600s Virginia & Maryland

slavery laws Slaves were nearly

half of the population by 1770

Fulfilled a variety of labor demands

Mercantilism Strong social

hierarchies

South Carolina and Georgia

Initial Indian slave trade w/ Caribbean

Even a few African born black slaves were armed for defense against Indian attacks

However, by 1730 2/3 of S. Carolina’s pop. was black

S. Carolina and Georgia Rice and Indigo

• Ironically, rice was introduced by Africans

• Rice plantations demanded more slaves that tobacco

• “task system” = daily jobs and leisure time

• Self-administering due to malaria

• By 1770 there were 100,000 black slaves in S. Carolina

S. Carolina and Georgia Originally banned

alcohol and slaves 1751 shift from

proprietary colony to royal colony

By 1770 moving same direction as S. Carolina

Northern Slavery

Unusual to own more than one slave

Laws were less harsh• Could own property

and pass it on• File suits against

whites• Physical brutality

was illegal• Why?

Northern Slavery NYC exception Originated with

Dutch 1/5 total population Due to high

involvement in slave trade

Becoming African American

Approx 300,000 from diverse cultures

Only ‘bond’ or similarity was slavery

1700s most were African by birth and spoke their own langauge

By 1800s identity became A.A. rather than Ibo, Ashanti, Yoruba, etc…)

Becoming African American

3 systems = distinct cultures

Chesapeake: • family-centered,

maintained slave population via reproduction

• Small farms = exposure to white culture/religion

Becoming African American

South: • Rice plantations=

extremely harsh • Dependent on slave

trade due to low birthrate.

• Less contact w/ whites and more autonomy

• Maintained African traditions

South: • Savannah &

Charleston• Servants and skilled

workers mixed with white population quickly

• Mulattos

Becoming African American

Northern Colonies • Few and far between • More mobility and

access to European life

• Gathered holidays