After a period of famine in 1609 and 1610, a new group of immigrants joined the people of Virginia. They worked hard to provide enough food to survive. These immigrants learned how to grow tobacco from the Indians; in a large amount enough to send the first shipment of tobacco to England in 1617. Although some considered it a sin to smoke it, farmers did not allow such thoughts to prevent them from earning a high income by supplying tobacco to the UK. As the export of this product expanded, immigrants needed labor but could not force the Indians to work. Thus began the importation of slaves into Virginia; A path that began much earlier in other American colonies. By 1619, one million blacks were enslaved in the plantations of the Spanish and Portuguese colonies in South America and the Caribbean.
It’s worth mentioning that the slave trade began fifty years before Columbus, when ten African slaves were brought to Portugal and sold there. Europeans, who were beginning to become developed countries, traveled to “Africa” in the 16th century, and were influenced by the Timbuktu, Mali country. At that time, African countries were stable and organized, and slavery was being practiced there. Sometimes Europeans used this fact to justify their trade. Although African slaves lived a hard life, they also had rights that “American” slaves were Being deprived of. American slavery was the most oppressive form of slavery in history, mainly because of these two reasons: first. American slavery arose from a madness of endless profit. Second, this slavery was based on a racial hatred that considered whites as masters and blacks as slaves; For this reason, slaves were treated as inferior beings to humans.
This Inhumane treatment began in Africa; Where slaves were chained together and forced to move to shores; in a long distance sometimes reached thousands of miles, Two out of five captive blacks lost their lives along the way. Survivors who reached the shore were imprisoned in cages until they were sold. They were then placed on slave trade ships. At this point, they were all chained together in a dark place and lying somewhere like a coffin. With this situation, some people died due to overcrowding and lack of oxygen. During the voyage, one-third of all Africans aboard the ship lost their lives. Others jumped into the sea to end this suffering. Nevertheless, the slave trade was profitable; enough to make merchants fill every single gap in their ships with slaves.
In the beginning, the Dutch were the main slave traders. The British later took over it. Some New England Americans also entered the business. The first slave ship Moved from Massachusetts in 1637 and about 10 to 15 million blacks were entered America by 1800. Interestingly, all these events took place over the centuries, which is called the beginning of the formation of modern civilization.
By 1700, Virginia had Six thousand slaves, one-twelfth of the population of the colony, and by 1763. The number of slaves reached one hundred and seventy thousand, half of the colony population. Black men and women fought their slavery from the beginning, and with this perseverance, they showed their greatness and dignity as human beings; by working with laziness or secretly destroying white property. Another way to express opposition was to flee. Slaves who had just arrived from Africa and were still committed to the legacy of rural life fled in masses and formed communities in the jungles, but American-born slaves were more likely to experience escape and freedom alone.
Of course, runaway slaves risked death and torture. Even if they were found plotting to escape, they were severely punished. Slaves were burned, paralyzed, and killed. Whites believed that severe punishment was necessary to prevent the disobedience of others. The white colonists were terrified of the mass black revolt. There have been at least 250 cases of riots in which ten or more slaves have joined forces to conspire or plot, but not all of the riots were led by blacks. From time to time, whites joined them in resisting slaves. Early 1663. Virginia’s white servants and black slaves conspired to revolt and achieve freedom. Due to the betrayal of some, the plot was revealed and ended with the trial of the perpetrators. In 1741. New York had ten thousand whites and two thousand black slaves. Mysterious fires broke out after a hard and miserable winter that afflicted the poor of both races. Blacks and whites were accused of conspiring against each other. Some confessed under torture. Eventually, two white men and two women were tried, eight slaves were executed, and thirteen slaves were burned alive.
Due to the possibility of cooperation between whites and blacks, the leaders of the colonies took steps to prevent such an occurrence. They gave poor white people little wages and superiority. For example, in 1705, the Colony of Virginia passed a law requiring lords to give white servants some money and grain at the end of their service. Freelancers also received some land; This allowed whites to share strings which’s warp and weft had been gradually woven throughout history and enslaved blacks in American slavery. These were the misery of the hungry colonies, misfortune of Africans alienated from their homeland, the lucrative trade of slaves and tobacco trading, and the laws and customs that allowed lords to punish rebellious slaves. These events marked the beginning of a tragic history of African immigrants on the American continent that continues to this day.
References:
- Zinn, H. (2015). Drawing the color line. In A people’s history of the United States: 1492-present. London: Routledge.
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