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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.
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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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
AFRICANS BROUGHT AS SLAVES TO BRITISH NORTH AMERICA, 1701–1775
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
Slave Life in Early America (cont'd) • Food staple corn, yams, salt pork • Rice important in South Carolina low country
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
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
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
This eighteenth-century painting of slaves on a South Carolina plantation
The Great Awakening • Evangelical ministers preach spirtiual equality • Africans • Africans link spiritural equality to earthly equality • General African conversion • Africans influence church services
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
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
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
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
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