c ³In 1619 John Rolfe purchased Virginia¶s first blacks«more Africans soon followed, but

for decades Africans and black Caribbean¶s introduced into Virginia and Maryland had an

ambiguous status.´ (A&Epg61) ³Slavery has been known in vast ancient empires and small

agricultural kingdoms«reasons people have been forced into slavery have also varied, from the

need for labor to a desire for specialized artisans, warriors, concubines, artists, or victims for

sacrifice.´(A&Epg#23) As time progressed in the early English settlements slavery became more

and more practical or common for a number of reasons. One of the reasons was because of

primogeniture and the movement of nobles to the America¶s in order to make some money

another was for legal punishment. Next and finally the reason slavery became popular in the

early settlements was that indentured servants were a less reliable source of labor.

In the beginning of the early English settlements, slavery was not a common practice and

many white men worked the land themselves. Working the land themselves helped save money

or being of noble decent some men had indentured servants. This proved to be bad practice

because those who were of noble decent were not used to working and somewhat lazy and with

the indentured servants serving their time they soon could get off and work elsewhere gaining

land. The laziness of the colonists is proved by the experienced military commander John Smith

when he said, ³He that will not work«shall not eat.´ (A&Epg#53) Saying that I mean to the

nobles and even colonists who were in search to make money and not wanting to get their hands

dirty the choice or best deal for the money would be slavery.
 The next reason slavery became a staple means of labor in America was because of

people who were found guilty of a crime. ³Force and violence, absolute rights to a person¶s

contracted labor, and harsh legal punishments for infractions of laws were familiar to settlers´.

(A&Epg#61) Also people who looked different and had different religions were frowned upon

by most Europeans. ³England¶s repression of the Irish had demonstrated clearly that language,

customs, and religions were sufficient reasons for sustained acts of violent

prejudice.´(A&Epg#61)

Another reason slavery became popular in the early settlements as stated before was

partly because of the unreliability of indentured servant, those who were put into slavery to work

off a debt or serve time as a punishment for a crime. The reason indentured servants were

unreliable was because when their debt was paid or their time was up they were free to go,

leaving the plantation owner needing more help. After the planter¶s victory over the Bacon¶s

rebellion in, ³1676 enabled planters to consolidate their control over Chesapeake¶s society. In

quick order, they elaborated a slave code that singled out people of African descent as slaves and

made their status hereditary.´ (SFpg#22) After all of that had taken place slaves began to

steadily replace white indentured servants, but still black people remained a minority on most

plantations it wasn¶t until the mid 1700¶s that slaves outnumbered the white servants.
 So now you see how ³Slavery has been known in vast ancient empires and small

agricultural kingdoms«reasons people have been forced into slavery have also varied, from the

need for labor to a desire for specialized artisans, warriors, concubines, artists, or victims for

sacrifice.´(A&Epg#23) As time progressed in the early English settlements slavery became more

and more practical or common for a number of reasons. One of the reasons was because of

primogeniture and the movement of nobles to the America¶s in order to make some money

another was for legal punishment. Next and finally the reason slavery became popular in the

early settlements was that indentured servants were a less reliable source of labor.

February 15, 2009

History 121