The English in the Chesapeake

Initial English Motivations and Early Settlement Challenges

• Colonization Goals: The first English settlers in the Chesapeake were primarily motivated by the search for riches, not religious freedom. Their instructions included:

  • 1) Finding gold or another source of revenue.

  • 2) Discovering a passage to the Pacific Ocean.

  • 3) Locating the lost Roanoke colonists.

• Freedom and its Contradictions: Curiously, while some early colonizers enjoyed freedom, the majority of the non-Native population in Virginia initially lacked it.

• The Rights of Englishmen: Each English colony operated under a charter that guaranteed colonists the same rights and liberties as those born in England. These rights were often invoked by settlers but frequently contradicted by the realities of colonial life and labor systems.

Early Virginia: Jamestown and its Struggles

• Founding of Jamestown (1607): Established by the Virginia Company of London, a joint-stock company.

  • Early years were marked by high mortality rates due to disease (malaria, dysentery), starvation, and conflicts with the Powhatan Confederacy.

  • The Powhatan Confederacy was a group of Native American tribes in the Chesapeake region.

  • Conflicts with the Powhatan Confederacy contributed to high mortality rates in Jamestown's early years.

  • Settlers were often unprepared for agricultural labor and focused on finding gold instead of cultivating food.

• "Starving Time" (1609-1610): A period of severe famine where only about 60 of Jamestown's 500 inhabitants survived.

  • Harsh winters significantly worsened conditions, with lack of food, disease, and the cold contributing to the drastic population decline.

  • Settlers' unpreparedness for agricultural demands further exacerbated the challenges during winter.

Key Developments in 1619:

• First General Assembly (House of Burgesses): Established in Jamestown, marking the first representative assembly in colonial America. It allowed for limited self-governance in Virginia.

  • Representatives, known as burgesses, were elected by qualified male colonists to make local laws and levy taxes.

The Rise of Tobacco and Economic Transformation

• John Rolfe and Tobacco Cultivation: The introduction of West Indian tobacco by John Rolfe around 1612 transformed Virginia's economy.

  • Tobacco became a highly profitable cash crop in England.

  • Required intensive labor and large tracts of land, leading to rapid expansion and westward encroachment on Native American lands.

• Impact of Tobacco:

  • Economic Boom: Created significant wealth for planters and the Virginia Company.

  • Land Expansion: Drove demand for more land, leading to conflicts with indigenous populations.

  • Labor Demand: Fueled the need for a substantial workforce, initially met by indentured servants.

The Evolution of Unfree Labor

• Indentured Servitude: The primary labor source in the Chesapeake during the 17^{th} century.

  • Mechanism: Poor Europeans (primarily English) would agree to work for a master for a fixed term (typically 4-7 years) in exchange for passage to America, food, shelter, and sometimes land or "freedom dues" upon completion of their service.

• Arrival of Enslaved Africans (1619): A Dutch ship brought the first enslaved Africans to Virginia. This marked a pivotal moment in the colony's history, initially existing alongside indentured servitude.

• Transition to Chattel Slavery: Over time, the status of Africans in Virginia shifted from a condition similar to indentured servitude to one of hereditary, lifelong chattel slavery.

  • 1640s - 1660s: Evidence of Lifelong Enslavement: During this period, court records show instances where enslaved individuals were increasingly held for life, and some children of enslaved mothers were also subjected to perpetual bondage, indicating a hardening of slave status even before formal codification.

  • After 1660: Slavery Defined as a Lifelong Status: Virginia began to enact laws explicitly defining slavery as a lifelong condition. The Virginia Slave Codes solidified this by declaring that children born to an enslaved mother would follow her status (partus sequitur ventrem), making slavery hereditary. These codes legally solidified the concept of enslaved Africans as property, ensured their permanent subjugation, and established a racial hierarchy that justified the institution of slavery, progressively stripping away any rights or pathways to freedom for enslaved individuals.

  • Early on, some Africans were able to eventually gain freedom, own land, and even own servants themselves.

  • However, colonial laws gradually stripped away these rights, imposing stricter legal distinctions based on race.

  • Factors Driving Slavery's Expansion:

    • Economic Demand: The labor-intensive nature of tobacco cultivation created an insatiable demand for a permanent, controllable workforce.

    • Declining Indentured Servant Supply: As economic conditions improved in England, fewer English citizens were willing to become indentured servants, leading planters to seek alternative labor sources.

    • Legal Codification: Virginia began to enact slave codes in the mid-17^{th} century that defined enslaved Africans as property, making their status hereditary (following the mother's status, partus sequitur ventrem), and legalizing their permanent subjugation. These laws created a racial hierarchy that justified slavery.

  • The institution of slavery became deeply entrenched in the economic and social fabric of the Chesapeake colonies, fundamentally shaping their development and contributing to vast wealth for slaveholders while denying basic human rights to enslaved people.