The slave-trade to North America developed slowly at first, then increased very quickly. The reason for this change was the development of farms and plantations growing tobacco, rice, sugar-cane and later cotton.

An increasing number of farm labourers were needed, and the colonists found it difficult to make enough Indians work for them. Importing slaves from Africa was both easier and cheaper.

Though it was mainly the South, with its farms and huge plantations, that wanted slave workers, people in the North also made money out of the salves. For example, it was people in the North who built a lot of the slave-ships, and the slaves were usually “unloaded” in the ports of Boston, Mass, and Newport. R.I.

The white colonists did not think of their slaves as human beings. They bought and sold black people in the same way as they bought and sold animals. Sometimes a whole family was sold together at an auction – and not split up. But often a mother or father or child was sold separately.

Some slave-holders justified slavery by saying that, because Africans were not Christians, they were no different from cows, horses or sheep. A lot of whites, who had never seen blacks as free people in Africa, but only as slaves, considered blacks inferior because of their colour.

The Real Value of Slave

Slaves were quite cheap to buy. But they were worth a fortune. They played an important role, for example, in Europe. Because of the work of the increasing number of slaves, America’s production of cotton went up from 1.5 million pounds in 1790 to 1000 million pounds in 1860. by 1860, cotton alone was responsible for 570% of all U.S. exports.

Slaves were not cheap to buy. They were also cheap to replace because, unlike machines, they had children. Before they were too old to work, these children could take their place.

After 1808 it was illegal to import slaves into the U.S.A., but the plantation owners made sure that the number of slaves kept increasing. This was achieved partly by smuggling, and partly by encouraging the slaves to have children.

Why Africans?


Blacks and Whites and people of all other colours have been forced to live as slaves. Why was it African who were referred as slaves in North America?

Some experts point to the achievements of the early African Kingdoms, e.g. Ghana. Mali, Benin, Songhay. They emphasize that a lot of African tribes had developed the kind of skills that were most needed in the American colonies – farming skills.

Other experts point to the colour of the Africans’ skin. Black slaves in a white society could not escape as white slaves could have done. A white runaway could have gone to a different area to start new life under a new name. Blacks, on the other hand could be spotted and re-captured easily.

Split up?

In his autobiography, ex-slave Moses Grandy describes how his wife was sold. He was only allowed to speak to her for a very short time before she was taken away “My heart was so full.” He remembers “that I could say very little”.

Josiah Henson describes how, when he was 5, his whole family was split up. “My brothers and sisters were bid off first, one by one, while my mother, paralyzed by grief, held me by the hand”.

Slaves were not allowed to speak their native languages, play drums or hold secret meetings – because their “owners” were afraid they would use the opportunity to plan a revolt or discuss how to escape – and they were not allowed to practice the religions they had known in African (where, for example, many of them had been Moslems).

Instead, they were forced to give up all religion totally or on some plantations, become Christians. They could not keep their names, either. Slaves were given names by their “owners”, e.g. a slave-holder called Carter might call a slave “sambo Carter”.

Both male and female slaves had to work 15-20 hours a day, six or seven days a week and they were whipped if they didn’t work hard enough. They were even whipped for crying over a fellow-slave who had been killed while trying to escape. Sometimes a slave had to whip his own wife or mother.

Slaves were not allowed to have guns or other weapons. When they were away from their owner’s land, or wanted to cross bridges or use ferries, they had to carry written permission with them. Selling alcoholic drinks to slaves was illegal. In fact, slaves were not allowed to buy or sell anything at all without their owner’s permission.

Some slave-holders were not as cruel as others. Then the slaves, perhaps, hated the slave-holder less. But no slave could be sure, even for one day, that he would not be sold to a new owner.

Every slave dreamed of being freed, and most practiced some kind of resistance or secret opposition. Some slaves pretended to be ill or week or lazy of stupid – and unable to work hard. House slaves stole food and other goods. Field slaves broke farms tools or “lost” them. And farm buildings “suddenly” stared to burn. Whenever possible, slaves ran away.

Some example of slaves laws in Virginia

. 1642 A slave who runs away for a second time will be branded in the face with the letter “R”.

. 1699 For stealing a pig, the punishment is 30 lashes. If it is the second time, the slave will stand in the pillory and both ears will be called to it. At the end of 2 hours, the ears will be cut off, near the nails

. 1705 Negroes, mulattoes, Indians or other non-Christians cannot be witness in any court.

. 1785 Any person with one-forth or more Negro blood will be treated as a white in any angry or dangerous way, the punishment is 39 lashes.

. 1848 For going to – teaching at – a meeting at which slaves learn how to read or write, the punishment is 39 lashes


Source: Black Peoples of the Americas