The British and Jamestown

1. The British and Jamestown • Jamestown first permanent British colony in North America • Located in Chesapeake region, called Virginia • No gold, climate unsuitable for crops • Tobacco became mainstay of Virginia • White laborers produced most tobacco in Chesapeake colonies

2. Africans Arrive in the Chesapeake • 1619, 32 people of African descent at Jamestown • Dutch bring 20 Angolans to Jamestown • New arrivals regarded as unfree not slaves • England had no slave laws • Some Angolans Christian, Christians could not be enslaved

3. Africans Arrive in the Chesapeake (cont'd) • First black person born in English America • Parents baptized in Church of England • Born free • Africans remained small minority in expanding Virginia colony

4. Black Servitude in the Chesapeake • Demand for tobacco expanded, indentured servitude grew • Blacks, whites sold freedom for set time • Could expect to live as free people • Free black men became landowners • British assumed Africans were alien • British make slaves property of masters

5. Race and the Origins of Black Slavery • Economic, demographic developments led to enslavement of Africans • Precedent set for enslaving Africans • Less poor white laborers available • African slaves become less costly • British assumed Africans were inferior • Status of black servants different than whites • Black servants would serve masters for life

6. The Emergence of Chattel Slavery • Children of black female servants, slaves for life • Counter to English law, where status derives from father • Enslaved Africans, African Americans had status of domestic animals • Masters who killed slaves exempted from felony charges • Slaves held accountable for transgressions

7. The Emergence of Chattel Slavery (cont'd) • Slave codes • Colonial and state laws that defined the status of slaves and the prerogatives of masters • Manumission • The act of freeing a slave by the slave’s master

8. Bacon’s Rebellion andAmerican Slavery • Black slaves, white indentured servants unite against elite • Bacon dies before rebellion can occur • Elite realize danger of freed, white indentured servants • Planters switch to enslaved black labor force • Whites freedom, prosperity rest on denying blacks freedom

9. Plantation Slavery1700–1750

10. Tobacco Colonies • Tobacco, rice colonies’ economies dependent on black slaves • Black laborers’ living conditions varied • Some masters worked together with slaves • Some masters divided slaves among many holdings • Before mid-eighteenth century nearly all slaves were fieldworkers

11. Tobacco Colonies (cont'd) • Masters wanted slaves to work harder, faster • After 1750 some black men had skilled occupations • Black women worked in fields, homes

12. AFRICANS BROUGHT AS SLAVES TO BRITISH NORTH AMERICA, 1701–1775

13. Plantation Technology • Africans learned crop technology, trades • Slaves prepared tobacco leaves for market • Slaves turned indigo plants into blue dye • Slaves served as carpenters, blacksmiths • Slaves tanned leather, slave artisans made boots, garments

14. Slave Life in Early America

15. Slave Life in Early America (cont'd) • Food staple corn, yams, salt pork • Rice important in South Carolina low country

16. Miscegenation and Creolization

17. Miscegenation and Creolization • Interracial sexual contacts between blacks, whites, Indians • White assemblies feared creation of mixed-race class • Creolization led African parents to produce African-American children • Miscegenation, creolization together caused physical, cultural change

18. The Origins ofAfrican-American Culture • Retained West African heritage • Extended families as reaction to slavery • Families helped others adapt, sheltered escapees • Families influenced African American naming practices • African religions persisted in America • Even when converted to Christianity indigenous practices remained

19. The Origins of African-American Culture (cont'd) • Incest taboos • Customary rules against sexual relations and marriage within family and kinship groups • Spirit possession • A belief rooted in West African religions that spirits may possess human souls • Divination • A form of magic aimed at telling the future by interpreting a variety of signs

20. This eighteenth-century painting of slaves on a South Carolina plantation

21. The Great Awakening • Evangelical ministers preach spirtiual equality • Africans • Africans link spiritural equality to earthly equality • General African conversion • Africans influence church services

22. The Great Awakening (cont'd) • Development of distinct African-American church • Blacks segregated in white churches • Masters used church to teach obedience • African-American Christianity blended West African, European elements

23. The African-American Impact on Colonial Culture (cont'd) • African-American imprint on southern diction • Black women raised white children • White children acquired African-American specch patterns • Blacks influenced white notions of remedies, cooking

24. Slavery in the Northern Colonies • Slavery less extensive in north than south • Small numbers, close to masters, isolation • Northern slaves had fewer opportunities to preserve African heritage • In Middle colonies curfews kept slaves isolated

25. Black Women in Colonial America • Black men valued higher than black women • Worked in fields until giving birth • Suffered complications giving birth • Changed from fieldworkers to house servants • Subjected to sexual exploitation

26. Black Resistance and Rebellion • Slavery in America relied on physical force • African Americans responded by resisting • Some escaped, established maroon communities • Rebellious slaves in Charleston, steal ammuntion, plunder plantations • White southerners never lost fear of slave revolt