Order from us for quality, customized work in due time of your choice.
Introduction: The Institution of Slavery Established in the American Colonies
Notably, people of the American colonies established new universes, whether they arrived as slaves, forced workers, or free peasants. Native Americans witnessed tiny settlements develop into unstoppable beachheads of massive new communities that gradually dominated resources and reshaped the environment (The American Yawp). Nevertheless, as colonial societies grew in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, flexible labor arrangements and racial classifications consolidated into race-based slavery. Thus, the paper presents findings on the institution of slavery in the American colonies and the impact of the American Revolution.
Important to note that the first slaves appeared in the American colonies in the 17th century. In 1619, “20 and odd Negroes” came in the Virginia Colony, according to John Rolfe, secretary of the Virginia Colony (Browne-Marshall 655). Essentially, these African men, women, and children were abducted from Angola by force. They had survived the Atlantic trip in the hold of a tiny ship, as well as an attack on the high seas by English pirates.
The newcomers learned the language, culture, and regulations. In response, colonial laws were devised to govern and, if necessary, execute any Africans who opposed a legalized slavery founded on individual selfishness and imperial expansion (Browne-Marshall 656). By 1750, there were approximately 100,000 enslaved Africans in Virginia, accounting for at least 40 percent of the colony’s overall population (The American Yawp). Additionally, the majority of these enslaved individuals were employed on huge estates under the gang system of labor, working in groups from morning to night beneath tight supervision by an overseer who might use physical violence to force them. Notably, the existence of Africans posed a challenge to European dominance, and criminal laws were introduced to artificially sustain that domination (Browne-Marshall 656). According to the American Yawp, the 1660s were a watershed moment for African-American men and women in English colonies such as Virginia in North America and Barbados in the West Indies. The new legislation made the slavery of persons of African origin for life permissible (The American Yawp). Consequently, enslaved Africans’ constant loss of rights and different legal status aided in the establishment of tight racial boundaries.
It is crucial to discuss the prerequisites that impacted the institution of slavery establishment in the American colonies. Bacon’s Rebellion (1676) was a significant event in American history. Virginia landowner Nathaniel Bacon led 136 armed supporters toward Jamestown, Virginia, where William Berkeley, Governor of Virginia, and his army of loyal allies awaited the rebels in September 1976 (Inverson 271). Moreover, to discourage deserters and possibly recruit additional troops while moving, Bacon declared liberty to all enslaved Black people and White indentured servants who would join him in his war against Berkeley (Iverson 271). The statement appeared to be effective as the rebels proceeded to move toward the capital, enlisting hundreds of recruits. Berkeley ultimately raised an army to stop the colonists’ uprising.
The English and Native feelings of grief and horror fueled racial differences, influencing how the English began to racialize Black chattel slavery in Virginia. Therefore, Bacon’s Rebellion was a result of the change rather than a result of it (Iverson 272). Meanwhile, enslaving Native Americans was crucial to Bacon’s Rebellion, and the Native American slave trade expanded during and after the battle in 1675 and 1676 (Iverson 272). The seventeenth century demonstrates the establishment and development of Britain’s North American colonies. Colonists battled against harsh conditions, governmental politics, and Native Americans (The American Yawp). Moreover, they fought Native Americans and participated in a hugely profitable transatlantic economy built on slavery. To summarize, the growth of slavery occurred as a consequence of the British slave trade monopoly and Bacon’s Rebellion.
The Impact of the American Revolution on Slavery
Essentially, slavery was a transatlantic institution, but it evolved uniquely in British North America. Slavery was legal in all of North America’s colonies by 1750, but local economic imperatives, population trends, and cultural traditions led to various colonial varieties of slavery (The American Yawp). Additionally, slavery was also a prominent institution in the colonies of the mid-Atlantic. While plantation economies did not emerge in New York, New Jersey, or Pennsylvania, enslaved workers were frequently employed on bigger farms cultivating cereal crops (The American Yawp). The first signs of the American Revolution appeared in the spring of 1775 between British and American militias (Slavery and Remembrance). The “founding fathers” started and battled a revolution to gain independence from Britain, but not to build a democracy (The American Yawp). For instance, a revolution in the name of liberty permitted slavery to continue. Hence, concerns over the destiny of slavery and enslaved people during and after the war were among the numerous issues that the American side confronted.
The Revolution had a tremendous influence on black Americans, both enslaved and free. As early as Dunmore’s Proclamation of 1775 in Virginia, which offered freedom to any enslaved person who would escape their enslavers and join the British cause, the British were the first to enlist Black (Ethiopian) troops. Though only approximately 500 to 1,000 enslaved individuals joined Lord Dunmore’s “Ethiopian Regiment,” many more later in the conflict rushed to the British, risking arrest and imprisonment for an opportunity at liberty (The American Yawp). Washington, an enslaver himself, first resisted permitting Black soldiers to join the Continental Army, but he ultimately yielded (The American Yawp). Although the British intentions for providing freedom were more practical than altruistic, the declaration was the first mass liberation of enslaved individuals in American history (The American Yawp). Important to note that the struggle for liberty inspired many Americans.
Consequently, they were willing to free their enslaved workers, and most of the new northern states quickly enacted gradual emancipation legislation. A few manumissions happened in the Upper South as well, but in the Lower South, some enslavers rescinded their promises of liberty in exchange for work, forcing other former slaves back into enslavement (The American Yawp). Nonetheless, during the Revolution, the language of equality spawned a “revolutionary generation” of enslaved and free Black Americans who would later fuel the antislavery fight (The American Yawp). Hence, slave resistance grew to include liberation demands founded on revolutionary principles.
Conclusion
To conclude, the institution of slavery was established because of the British slave trade monopoly and Bacon’s Rebellion. Moreover, in 1619, Virginia, the oldest English mainland colony, acquired its first enslaved laborers. Slavery was legal in all of North America’s colonies by 1750, but regional disparities resulted in numerous colonial types of slavery. Furthermore, slavery was a dominant institution throughout the mid-Atlantic colonies. Significantly, slavery was affected by the American Revolution. William Drummond persuaded slaves to join the Revolution by promising them liberty in exchange for military service. As a result, white servants and enslaved Black people fought in both armies to gain their freedom. Moreover, the American Revolution sparked the antislavery movement.
Works Cited
Browne-Marshall, Gloria J. “The Africans of 1619: Making Black Lives Matter in the Virginia Colony.” The Journal of African American History, vol. 105, no. 4, 2020, pp. 655-662. Web.
Iverson, Justin. “Enslaved Rebels Fight for Freedom: Nathaniel Bacon’s 1676 Slave Rebellion.” Atlantic Studies, vol. 18, no. 2, 2021, pp. 271-288. Web.
Slavery and Remembrance. “American Revolution.” UNESCO, Web.
The American Yawp. “The American Yawp: A Massively Collaborative Open U.S. History Textbook.” Stanford University Press, 2021-2022, Web.
Order from us for quality, customized work in due time of your choice.