Indentured Servitude and Slavery in Early America

Indentured Servitude

A temporary contract, usually lasting 5 to 7 years (though sometimes as short as 3), after which the servant would be released and could potentially receive land, tools, or trade training.

Slavery

A permanent condition, with slaves and their children considered the property of their owners for life.

Transition to African Slavery

Factors contributing to this shift included the defeat of the Dutch in 1664, the establishment of the Royal Africa Company in 1672, and Bacon's Rebellion in 1676.

Royal Africa Company

Established in 1672, it facilitated and reduced the cost of the slave trade.

Bacon's Rebellion

A 1676 uprising involving discontented indentured servants that led the colonial elite to view indentured servitude as a source of social unrest.

Middle Passage

The transatlantic route used to transport enslaved Africans from Africa to the Americas, characterized by brutal and inhumane conditions.

Mortality Rate on Middle Passage

An estimated 12-15% of enslaved Africans died on the journey.

Northern Colonies Slavery

Slavery was less prevalent with harsher laws, fewer slaves, and some rights afforded to slaves, including legal marriages and property ownership.

Upper South Slavery

Characterized by a milder climate, a decrease in the flow of enslaved Africans by the 1740s, and the growth of family life and African-American culture.

Lower South Slavery

Had two different systems: rice plantations used a task system, while cotton and indigo plantations employed a gang system forcing continuous labor.

Task System

A system used on rice plantations where slaves had some autonomy after completing their daily tasks.

Gang System

A system used on cotton and indigo plantations that forced slaves into continuous labor from dawn till dusk.

Forms of Resistance

Enslaved people employed various forms of resistance including feigning ignorance, slowing down work, breaking tools, malingering, and faking illness or pregnancy.

Differences in Slavery

American slavery was primarily race-based, hereditary, and characterized by extremely harsh conditions, unlike historical forms of slavery in Rome or Africa.

Roman Slavery

Not based on race, with slaves able to hold various positions, and children of Roman slaves not necessarily born into slavery.

African Slavery

Not solely about forced labor, but could function as a display of wealth, with slaves often performing lighter duties.

Isolation of Northern Slaves

Northern slaves were often isolated and lacked strong community bonds despite some rights.

Family Life in Upper South

Slave populations began to reproduce naturally leading to the growth of family life, though still under threat of being sold apart.

Cultural Impact of Middle Passage

Separated people from their families, cultures, and homelands, making them more susceptible to exploitation in the New World.

Social Unrest and Indentured Servitude

The colonial elite viewed indentured servitude as a source of social unrest due to events like Bacon's Rebellion.

Feigned ignorance

A subtle act of resistance where individuals pretend not to understand or know something to avoid work or punishment.

Slowing down work

A method of resistance where enslaved individuals deliberately reduce their work pace to protest their conditions.

Breaking tools

An act of sabotage by enslaved individuals to hinder productivity and resist their labor demands.

Malingering

The act of pretending to be ill or injured to avoid work or responsibilities.

Faking illness or pregnancy

A form of resistance where enslaved individuals claim to be unwell or pregnant to escape labor.

Escape

The act of fleeing from captivity, which carried severe risks such as torture or death.

Community creation

The process by which enslaved individuals formed social groups to support each other and preserve cultural traditions.

Cultural preservation

The effort to maintain cultural practices and traditions despite oppressive conditions.

Defiance

Acts of resistance that express opposition to authority and assert personal agency.

Cotton gin

An invention by Eli Whitney in 1793 that significantly increased the profitability of cotton production by making seed removal easier and faster.

Cash crop

A crop produced for commercial value rather than for use by the grower, with cotton becoming a major cash crop for the South.

Slave uprisings

Rebellions by enslaved individuals against their oppressors, which were often met with brutal suppression.

Stono Rebellion

A significant slave uprising in 1739 in South Carolina that caused alarm among white populations.

Germantown Quaker protest

An early protest against slavery by Quakers in 1688, indicating moral opposition to the institution of slavery.

Indentured servitude

A temporary labor system where individuals worked for a set number of years (usually 5-7) in exchange for passage to America and eventual freedom.

African slavery

A permanent condition where enslaved individuals and their descendants were considered property, primarily based on race.

Royal Africa Company

Established in 1672, it lowered costs for the English access to African slave trade routes.

Middle Passage

The brutal transatlantic journey of enslaved Africans, characterized by overcrowding, shackling, and high mortality rates.

Task system

A labor system primarily practiced in rice cultivation where enslaved individuals were assigned specific tasks to complete each day.

Differences between slavery in North and South

Slavery in the North was often less harsh and involved different labor systems compared to the more brutal and labor-intensive slavery in the South.

Reasons for African slaves in Brazil and Caribbean

Brazil and the Caribbean had ideal conditions for sugar cultivation, leading to a higher demand for African slaves compared to North America.

Abolition Movement

A social and political movement dedicated to ending slavery.

Bacon's Rebellion

A 1676 uprising in Virginia led by Nathaniel Bacon that involved poor whites and indentured servants against Native Americans and the colonial elite, which helped accelerate the switch to African slave labor.

Cotton Gin

A machine invented by Eli Whitney in 1793 that quickly separated cotton seeds from cotton fibers, greatly increasing the profitability of cotton and the demand for slaves.

Gang System

A system of labor on plantations, primarily in the Lower South, in which enslaved people worked in large groups from sunrise to sunset with little autonomy or free time.

Indentured Servitude

A system in which individuals contract to work for a set period of time in exchange for passage to the New World, training, and sometimes land at the end of the term.

Middle Passage

The brutal transatlantic journey of enslaved Africans from Africa to the Americas, marked by high mortality rates due to disease and inhumane conditions.

Olaudah Equiano

A former enslaved African who wrote an autobiography about his experiences, giving a first-hand account of the horrors of slavery and contributing to the growing anti-slavery movement.

Royal Africa Company

An English trading company chartered in 1672 that had a monopoly on the slave trade to the English colonies, contributing to the growth of slavery in the Americas.

Stono Rebellion

A major slave rebellion in South Carolina in 1739 led by recently arrived Africans, which resulted in harsher laws and intensified fear among white colonists.

Task System

A system practiced mainly on rice plantations in South Carolina that allowed enslaved people to control the time after their daily tasks were completed.

Resistance Methods

Ways in which enslaved people resisted their bondage, including feigning ignorance, malingering, slowing or stopping work, breaking tools, doing poor work, and feigning pregnancy.

Economic Importance of Slavery

The role of slavery in the economic landscape of the South, particularly due to the increased demand for cotton and enslaved labor following the invention of the cotton gin.

Regional Differences in Slavery

Variations in the system of slavery across different regions of the American colonies, impacting enslaved people's experiences.

Cultural Impact of Slavery

The influence of different forms of slavery on the development of culture in respective societies before and after the colonization of the Americas.

Transition from Indentured Servitude to African Slavery

The shift in labor systems in the English colonies influenced by economic, social, and political factors, leading to long-term consequences.

Impact of the Cotton Gin

The transformation of the economic and social landscape of the South due to the cotton gin, with long-term consequences for the nation.

Fear of Punishments

The deterrent effect of harsh punishments, including torture and death, on the resistance of enslaved people.

Rights of Enslaved People in the North

In the North, enslaved people had fewer restrictions, with recognized marriages, prohibited physical punishment, and the ability to own property and bring cases to court.

Rights of Enslaved People in the South

In the South, enslaved people had few, if any, rights due to the large slave populations.

Task System

A system of labor on plantations, primarily on rice plantations in South Carolina, in which enslaved people were assigned specific daily tasks, after which they could have free time and autonomy.

Indentured Servitude

Indentured servants worked for a set period (typically 3-7 years) based on a contract. Upon completion of their service, they could receive training in a trade, land, and tools.

Economic and Practical Advantages of Slavery

With slaves you get to keep them forever and you get to keep their children as well. This was the major economic incentive for switching to slavery.

Defeat of the Dutch (1664)

This provided access to established African slave trade routes, making slaves cheaper for English colonies.

The Royal Africa Company (1672)

Facilitated and further reduced the cost of transporting slaves.

Bacon's Rebellion (1676)

The rebellion, involving poor whites and indentured servants, made elites wary of the potentially destabilizing nature of these groups.

Ancient Slavery

Slavery was a ubiquitous practice with a long history, but notes a distinction in its expression in different eras.

African Slavery

The existence of slavery in Africa was often used as a means of displaying wealth, and it pre-dated European involvement in the slave trade.

The Transatlantic Slave Trade

Approximately 12 million Africans were forcibly transported across the Atlantic between 1450 and 1880.

Mortality during the Middle Passage

Mortality was extremely high on the way across the sea: about 12 to 15 percent would die.

Primary destinations of enslaved people

Brazil and the Caribbean were the primary destinations for these enslaved people, driven by the sugar and rum industries.

Slavery in the British North American Colonies

The lecture clearly demarcates three distinct systems of slavery.

Northern Slavery

Characterized by a smaller number of slaves, less harsh legal codes, recognition of slave marriages, and the ability for slaves to bring legal suits and own property.

Upper South Slavery

In the Chesapeake region, where a milder climate allowed for the natural reproduction of enslaved people, family life began to emerge, and the early elements of what would become African-American culture began to develop.

Lower South Slavery

Rice Plantations (Task System): Enslaved individuals on rice plantations were given specific tasks and had the remainder of the day for their own purposes, creating the opportunity for limited self-sufficiency.

Task System

A system where enslaved individuals on rice plantations had specific tasks to complete, after which they had free time for their own purposes.

Gang System

Cotton & Indigo Plantations: Enslaved people labored from sun up to sun down with less autonomy and control over their time.

Middle Passage

The horrific journey where slaves were packed into ships and often chained in place to prevent rebellion or suicide.

Disruption and Adaptation

Upon arrival, enslaved people faced profound changes in language, religion, and culture.

Rebuilding Community and Culture

Enslaved people found ways to rebuild their own communities and maintain elements of their African heritage despite efforts to separate them.

Everyday Resistance

Subtle acts of resistance by enslaved people such as feigning ignorance, malingering, slowing down work, breaking tools, and faking pregnancy.

Runaways

Escape was a significant form of resistance, with the understanding that the punishment for running away could be torture and/or death.

Slave Uprisings

Significant uprisings like the Stono Rebellion in South Carolina (1739), which was impactful because it involved enslaved individuals who had recently arrived from the Congo.

Stono Rebellion

An uprising caused by a group of slaves who'd recently come from the Congo, notable for their ability to communicate with each other.

Cooperation

Enslaved people sometimes informed on others to receive their own freedom or the freedom of family members, highlighting the complex dynamic of survival within the system of slavery.

The Cotton Gin

Eli Whitney's invention in 1793, identified as a major turning point leading to the rapid expansion of cotton production and a dramatic increase in the demand for enslaved labor.

Expansion of Slavery

As cotton becomes king in the South, southerners raced to get more slaves to start new and harvest new cotton fields.

Germantown Protest (1688)

The first white protest against slavery in the colonies, although it was not impactful at the time.

Quakers and Abolition

The Quaker church would eventually play a significant role in the growing abolitionist movement.

Indentured Servitude

The early practice in the colonies before the establishment of the entrenched system of African chattel slavery.

African Chattel Slavery

The brutal and entrenched system of slavery that developed in the American colonies.

Indentured servitude

A primary form of labor in the American colonies prior to 1664, typically a finite contract of 5-7 years with the possibility of land or trade skills upon completion.

Slavery in Africa

Exists in various forms prior to the New World, often a sign of wealth with varied roles for the enslaved, distinct from the later system in the Americas.

Royal Africa Company

Created in 1672 to facilitate and cheapen the transportation of African slaves.

Bacon's Rebellion

A 1676 rebellion in Virginia led by Nathaniel Bacon involving poor whites and indentured servants, ultimately unsuccessful but leading to a preference for African slaves.

Surge in African slaves

Approximately 19,000 African slaves were transported to the Caribbean colonies from 1640 to 1650.

Slave transportation (1700-1800)

Over half of the 7.7 million Africans transported to the New World arrived during this period, driven by increased demand for sugar, tobacco, rice, and coffee.

Stono Rebellion

A significant slave uprising in South Carolina in 1739, led by recent arrivals from the Congo.

Slave revolt in New York City (1741)

A feared slave revolt leading to mass arrests and executions.

Germantown protest

The first white protest against slavery in 1688 by Quakers in Pennsylvania, arguing that slavery is incompatible with Christianity.