Mercantilism Slavery Plantations in Order to Understand

Mercantilism Slavery Plantations

In order to understand what was taking place throughout history in the Chesapeake region, it is very important to be aware of what slavery was like there. The nature of slavery in the Chesapeake region was such that black people made up a very large segment of the population (Norton & Katzman, 2005). It all began in 1619 (Lewis, 1974). A Dutch vessel arrived in that year, and it carried 20 men from Africa. It docked in Jamestown, Virginia and the slave trade began there (Carr, 1991; Ciment, 2005). During the years following that "delivery" of slaves, more and more were brought to the Chesapeake region. In the 70 years between 1700 and 1770, for example, the population of slaves in that area went from 13,000 to more than 250,000 (Norton & Katzman, 2005). In 1775, the Revolutionary War began. By that time, one-third of the population of the Chesapeake region was black (Lewis, 1974). Little was done about any of the treatment of slaves, however, because slavery was still mostly accepted. Eventually, some states started freeing their slaves. When others did not, friction ensued.

The 1800s were a time of strife for the Chesapeake region, because there were free, slave, and border states that the region encompassed. Since that was the case, the region had no stability and was not "on the same page" from state to state. That position of spanning states with dissenting opinions on slavery was unique to the Chesapeake region. All throughout the 19th Century, that region was in turmoil until slavery was eventually abolished (Carr, 1991). But what of slavery before the American Revolution? How were slaves treated, and what was the nature of slavery during that time? In short, it was a brutal, difficult time for slaves (Lewis, 1974). Many of them attempted to escape from their masters, but they were often caught and brought back. They were punished with castration, and some were whipped literally hundreds of times (Lewis, 1974). It was believed this would break their spirits and they would not try to escape again. In most cases, the slaves who were punished in these ways did not try to get away again, because they feared even worse punishment the next time.

The Chesapeake region grew tobacco, which was highly profitable (Lewis, 1974). In Europe there was a lot of demand for tobacco, so the American colonies grew excessive amounts of it and sold it to the Europeans. Slaves were brought in from Africa to spend all day processing the tobacco leaves for shipment (Lewis, 1974). Indentured servants were used before slaves were brought in, but many of the servants had been promised land grants that eventually were not available any longer. Without the promise of a land grant, not too many people wanted to come to America and work the tobacco fields. As soon as that became the case, slaves were brought in. They were not promised land or anything else. They had no freedom. Their entire lives consisted of working long days and nearly impossible hours for very little food and only the minimum accommodations (Lewis, 1974). Many slaves still found reasons to be happy, such as religion and song, but their lives were difficult.