Seventeenth_Century_American_Slavery

Seventeenth Century Slavery in America Rebekah L. Pongrac History 1301 Professor Rob Risko August 10, 2012 Pongrac 2 Seventeenth Century Slavery in America The idea of slavery was not unique to the colonists of seventeenth century America. “Slavery has existed for nearly the entire span of human history” (Foner 102). The intent of the colonists was not to rely on slaves for the majority of the work to be accomplished in the new world. According to history, a lack of workers necessitated the importation of a new labor force. The transatlantic slave trade was the most accessible labor force for the colonists, but was not the only form of slavery used in the new world. “By taking the views of contemporaries seriously, and through a brief foray into the global history and sociology of slavery, we can recast mid-seventeenth-century ‘indentured servitude’ in the English Atlantic as a form of slavery that existed alongside the perpetual enslavement of Native Americans and people of African heritage” (Donoghue 945). When the Pilgrims first came to the new world, they called America the land of opportunity. For the slaves of the early seventeenth century America was the land of their captivity. To them, America symbolized hard work, harsh treatment, illness, and in many cases, death. A number of the deaths occurred on the voyage to the new world thanks in part to cramped spaces, poor hygiene and a lack of proper diet. The slaves who were already ill were put into tight quarters with those who were healthy and this led to a transfer of numerous diseases such as small pox, scurvy, and the flux. During the seventeenth century, the journey from Africa to America took close to two months to complete. Seventeenth century conditions in America were harsh at best for everyone, but they were especially cruel for slaves and servants. Imagine having no control Pongrac 3 over where one was to live, what one was to eat or how much one was to have to eat. For some the question of who they would marry was taken out of their hands and placed into those of their owners. American slavery began shortly after the founding of the first colony and lasted for close to two hundred years. In the beginning, slavery was not what it is thought of today. Most people thought of as slaves at that time were actually indentured servants due to a lack of exact and well defined laws. The laws of America in the early and mid-seventeenth century did not prohibit the form of slavery that most think of as being slavery—people being treated as chattel. The people who were sold as slaves had very little if any protection or privilege under the English law. To help maintain a positive view of slavery, white servants saw many more privileges than black servants. Spanish slaves were treated with much more lenience than the British slaves. The handling of black slaves in the British portion of North America was extremely cruel and harsh. In Virginia for instance, a law was passed that distinguished that slave or free birth status was to be determined by the status of the mother of the child. If the mother was free, the child would also be free. In most instances, the mother was a slave. This led to vast sexual abuse of female slaves. In turn, the children of white women and black men who were free were deemed illegitimate so that the free interracial population would not grow at a significant pace. The population still grew at an exponential rate. “By 1700, blacks constituted more than 10 percent of Virginia’s population. Fifty years later, they made up nearly half” (Foner 108). Pongrac 4 Slaves were actually encouraged by their masters to live a monogamous lifestyle to help control temperaments. The family unit was of great importance to the slaves and was allowed to stay together in most instances. “Slave parents were primarily responsible for the rearing of their children and were able to inculcate in them feelings of affection and loyalty and values different from those of the master” (White 516). This allowed for fewer rebellions amongst the slaves and made for a much more peaceful life. No, it was not a life of ease and luxury, but it was a life of peace and harmony. African Americans were a spiritual people who held onto their traditions and passed them down to their children. They did not practice the same religions as the white men, but they held to the faith of their forefathers in the same fashion as the white settlers. Negro spirituals were often written as a means to express the frustrations of the people and release their negative emotions without becoming violent toward their masters. As with any people that is forced in laboring for another people, there were rebellions. These rebellions most likely occurred after a master had been cruel toward his slaves in cases such as beating the men or sexual abuse of the women. There were surprisingly few uprisings in the era of slavery that were of enough importance to be mentioned in the history books – further proving the slaves to be a peaceable people. Some people tried to make it appear right to have slaves through the use of biblical principles. Some of the scripture they used were Genesis 9:20-27: And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard: and he drank Ham, of the wine and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent. And the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two Pongrac 5 brethren without. And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father’s nakedness. And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him. And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. And he said blessed be the Lord God of Shem; and Canaan shall be this servant. God shall enlarge Japheth and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. It would be easy to take any scripture out of context, but especially when a person is trying to use scripture to make right and correct an issue that is morally questionable. Other passages of scripture commonly used to increase the case for slavery were Leviticus 25:44-46, Genesis 17:12-13, 27 and Exodus 21:1-6,20-21. Pro-slavery people tried to use the stories of Abraham & Joseph to support their case as well. “Slavery defenders scoured the Bible, noting every place ‘servant’ was used, the somehow working this passage into their argument” (Morrison 22). Slavery was a common proponent of life in seventeenth century America. Does that fact make it right' The answer to that question would have to be a resounding “No.” It is never right for one human being to own another no matter how socially accepted the practice may be. Every person is created equal to the next person. Some people may make more of themselves with what they are given in life, but that does not make that person better than someone whose life circumstances keep them from achieving the same status. By the mid-seventeenth century, the call for abolition had already begun. The British began to question the morality of slavery and what made them a “free Pongrac 6 people” (Donoghue 947) . This cry carried over to the new world, but would take many more years to have any significant effects upon the culture of America. Over the years slavery would change and evolve with the times and needs of the landowners. As cotton, tobacco, sugar and rice began to be major crops, the need for workers would become more and more prevalent. Thus, the need for cheap labor would increase and slavery would grow to the point of it becoming a major issue in government and politics. Eventually, it would become a large contributing factor of the Civil War between the northern and southern states. In today’s society, there are those who say the white man still owes those of African descent for the time they spent in bondage and for all the cruelties their ancestors suffered at the hands of the white man. Is this true' There is no definite answer for this question. It is a matter of personal morality and treating each person as an equal no matter what country they come from. Slavery will never rear its ugly head in this country again thanks to the laws that were put in place after the Civil War. Today, those who do the same type of labor the slaves performed in the seventeenth century earn a fair and honest wage in trade for their service. Seventeenth century slavery was not unique, but the way the colonists dealt with it was different than any other world power had previously handled slavery. It also lasted longer in the new world than it had lasted for those other countries. Thankfully, slavery has ended and America has been able to move on and become a better nation of free people. Pongrac 7 Works Cited Donoghue, John. ""Out of the Land of Bondage": The English Revolution and the Atlantic Origins of Abolition." American Historical Review 115.4 (2010): 942-974. Foner, Eric. "Give Me Liberty! An American History 3rd edition." Ed. Steve Forman. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2011: 101-108. Morrison, Larry R. "The Religious Defense of American Slavery Before 1830." Journal of Religious Thought (Fall 80/Winter 81): 22. White, John. "Inside Slavery- The Slave Community:Plantation Life in the Antebellum South by John W. Blassingame." Reviews in American History 1.4 (1973): 514-519.