Slavery in Colonial America - Research Paper Example

SLAVERY IN COLONIAL AMERICA Word count (1255) New York was part of the territory that was under British protectorate in the 17th century. This region created conflict between The British and Dutch colonialist over who had the legal mandate to occupy and control the territory. In 1621 Dutch West India Company was granted exclusive rights over the territory that included settling and exploiting the resources therein (Leslie, 2004, p. 8-9). The company embarked on attracting potential European settlers to occupy the region so as to protect it from being grabbed by the British colonialist who had also showed interest in it. In that light, the company offered two elite Dutchmen patrons over great tracks of land in the territory in return of attracting additional settlers to the colony, which finally led to a steady demand for labour force because of the various business that emerged. Thus, slavery in NY was no different from the South Colonies slavery even though the African slaves made substantial efforts resisting it, which proved futile due to strong resistance from the whites who considered slavery as a system of labor. However, the colony remained unattractive to the people back in Netherlands as they preferred to stay in their indigenous country rather than come to a new land that was quite unpredictable. That notwithstanding the settlers who managed to habit the colony was faced with myriad problems as they would come into conflict with the people and also the regulation policies set by the colony administrative were not favouring their business as they were imposed with exorbitant taxes which made their business hard to survive. Thus, they decided to close business and return home as the colony was proving hard to settle. Some years later the company of Dutch West India lessened their policies concerning conducting business and settling in the colony, this was a positive sign as European settlers began habiting the colony (Leslie, 2004, p. 14). New York City was mainly an industrial-based colony, since the settlers had set up their economic activities a steady demand for labour force emerged as a result of the various business that were running. The indentured servants were the main source of labour to the industries however with exploration of the new world the Dutch found an influx of African slaves in the Caribbean countries were they had a colony (Jones, 2009). This prompted them to adopt African slave at the expense of indentured slaves who were a bit more expensive to maintain. S Owing to the massive demand for slave that was looming in colonial America the Dutch company wanted to establish Manhattan as the prime port for the slave trade. Thus, they would attack ships across the Atlantic that had slaves and trade them to European settlers. The influx of African and African American slaves in New York City grew exponentially until a point the ratio of white to blacks was almost equal. The African slave were racially discriminated as uncivilized creatures in the early stages of slavery however with pressure from rights organization they began to treat with human dignity, however, they were never free people. They were supposed to serve their masters unconditionally. “Good Father do not forget me, but have mercy & pity my miserable case”. Richard Frethorne lamented (Norton, et al., 2014). All was not well with black people. As the industries grew there was an increased the need for skilled personnel, thus the settlers had the option of training African slaves on skilled labour to assist to perform the jobs. This was not received well by the indentured slaves who claimed the Africans were not fit for the skilled labour since they posed a danger to them for the skilled jobs available. This forced a group of indentured slaves to migrate to neighbouring colonies where African were only limited to manual labour (Leslie, 2004, p. 27). The 18th century was characterized with massive championing for the dignity and rights of the African slaves. The African would occasionally resist duty and engage protesting to ensure a free state was established in the New York colony. Others faked illness as an attempt of opposing slavery. This indeed revolutionized the slave system in New York as the pressure mounted on the slave master was intense, and thus, they had to surrender some privileges to the African slaves. This saw the introduction of Dutch missionaries in New York who came to convert the heathen slaves to Christianity. Initially, the European settlers did not prefer indigenous African slaves who had no prior knowledge to Christianity as they thought they behaved more beastly than human. “Christianity acted as a black anchor. The end is to improve our lives to do more service to the Lord the comfort and…increase of the body of Christ whereof we are members that ourselves and posterity may be better preserved from the Common corruptions of this evil world,” John Winthrop stated (Norton, et al., 2014). Christianity was slowly introducing hope to the slavery victims. The group in the process was able to convert a number of slaves some were even married as the settler had allowed for slave families to be initiated. However the issue of slave family later received opposition has they termed it a hindrance to effective provision of labour and thus female and males who were presumed to be married were segregated to avoid them forming families which would burden their masters. In 1827 after the declaration of emancipation slave thronged the streets of New York with banners chanting as they were finally free. This did not mean total freedom as they would still be under their master, but this time round they had rights and privileges. For instance, they would own property; they would marry and also they would engage their masters in a legal suit if they infringed their rights (Leslie, 2004, p. 56-57). In the South, the situation of slavery was a bit different as it was practised in New York. The southern colony’s economy was mainly dependent on agricultural activities. This involved plantation farming of coffee, tobacco and cotton. The colony did not embrace mechanization as it was in the case of New York and thus they depended on indentured slaves to provide labor for tilling and maintaining the fields. Since indentured slaves would only work for seven years and be freed for payment, they proved to be expensive for the settlers in the south who decided to find cheap means of labour. This prompted the British colony to acquire African slave who had been harboured in other countries to provide labour force in the fields. The Native Americans were also incorporated to provide labour services in the construction industry as they were regarded more artistry than their African and African American counterparts. Slowly but steadily the south grew to be the hub for foreign slaves mainly of African origin. States like New Orleans and Maryland had the highest population of African and African American slaves in the entire region (Russell, 2000). Unlike New York, the southern colonies embraced brutal slave practices where slavery was legalised, and thus a slave was not regarded as a person, but a property that would be owned and transferred to another party at will. The slaves had no human rights accorded to them; they were regarded less of human beings. Despite efforts by elite African American groups to stage for equal rights for the black people, these were meant with stiff resistance from the colonial masters who maintained a black man was not supposed to enjoy any human right. Even after the declaration of emancipation in 1827, the states were not free yet, and the slaves would still undergo the normal humiliation, racial discrimination and being segregated from the rest of humanity. The practice continued for over a decade before relevant legislation was passed that made the states free and illegalized any form of slavery. Wood stated, “We are formed for labour; and it is not only an injunction laid upon, but an honour to us, to be found earning our bread through the sweat of our brows” (Leslie, 2004). It is worth noting the southern colonies were very adamant to recall slavery has their economy, which was based on agriculture, depended entirely on slave labor to ensure production of farm produce. The demand for tobacco and cotton in overseas markets also influenced the desire to retain the ready labour force for continued production to sustain their economy. In a nutshell the slavery practice in the south was largely different as it was practiced in New York because of a range of factors and particularly because the south was mainly a countryside colony and thus the inhabitants were uneducated as opposed to New York were a breed of black men embraced education and later came to champion for the end of slavery in New York (Leslie, 2004, p. 3-4). Griffen stated, “This man, is true, is poor and humble, but in this happy country, the law respects the rights of the lowest as well as the highest; and whatever man can feel, or be concerned for, is at stake with him. He has a right to your humanity” (Leslie, 2004). For the first time, African black culture was emerging in New York. References Harris, Leslie M. In the Shadow of Slavery: African Americans in New York City, 1626-1863. University of Chicago Press, 2004. Jones, Jacqueline. Labor of love, labor of sorrow: Black women, work, and the family, from slavery to the present. Basic Books, 2009. Norton, M. B., Kamensky, J., Sheriff, C., Blight, D. W., Chudacoff, H., Logevall, F., … Michals, D. A People and a Nation, Volume I: To 1877, Brief Edition, 10th Edition. Cengage Learning, 2014. Russell, David Lee. The American Revolution in the Southern Colonies. McFarland, 2000. Read More