Slavery in America

French & Indian War

Distribution of slaves

400,000 of 10 million in NA Most to West Indies and South America

Rise of slavery in America Slavery too risky/expensive in pre-Bacon colonies Rising wages in England = less indentured servants Bacon’s Rebellion Royal African Company loses British monopoly of

slave trade

Colonial Slavery

The Slave Chain

The Middle Passage

Africans were often treated like cattle during the crossing. On the slave ships, people were stuffed between decks in spaces too low for standing. The heat was often unbearable, and the air nearly unbreathable. Women were often used sexually. Men were often chained in pairs, shackled wrist to wrist or ankle to ankle. People were crowded together, usually forced to lie on their backs with their heads between the legs of others. This meant they often had to lie in each other's feces, urine, and, in the case of dysentery, even blood. In such cramped quarters, diseases such as smallpox and yellow fever spread like wildfire. The diseased were sometimes thrown overboard to prevent wholesale epidemics. Because a small crew had to control so many, cruel measures such as iron muzzles and whippings were used to control slaves.

Heading for Jamaica in 1781, the ship Zong was nearing the end of its voyage. It had been twelve weeks since it had sailed from the west African coast with its cargo of 417 slaves. Water was running out. Then, compounding the problem, there was an outbreak of disease. The ship's captain, reasoning that the slaves were going to die anyway, made a decision. In order to reduce the owner's losses he would throw overboard the slaves thought to be too sick to recover. The voyage was insured, but the insurance would not pay for sick slaves or even those killed by illness. However, it would cover slaves lost through drowning.

The captain gave the order; 54 Africans were chained together, then thrown overboard. Another 78 were drowned over the next two days. By the time the ship had reached the Caribbean,132 persons had been murdered.

When the ship returned to England the owners made their claim -- they wished to be compensated the full value for each slave lost. The claim might have been honored had if it had not been for former slave Equiano, then living in England, who learned of the tragedy and alerted an abolitionist friend of his. The case went to court. At first the jury ruled in favor of the ship's owners. Since it was permissible to kill animals for the safety of the ship, they decided, it was permissible to kill slaves for the same reason. The insurance company appealed, and the case was retried. This time the court decided that the Africans on board the ship were people. It was a landmark decision.

On another voyage, on another ship, a similar incident occurred. On La Rodeur in 1812, there was an outbreak of ophthalmia, a disease that causes temporary blindness. Both slaves and crew were afflicted. The captain, fearing that the blindness was permanent and knowing that blind slaves would be difficult if not impossible to sell, sent 39 slaves over the rails to their watery death. As with the captain of the Zong, he hoped that the insurance would cover the loss.

The Slave Markets

Slave Codes Servant v. Slave Slavery based on race, heredity, and chattel

The English / Americans invented a new chapter in slavery in human history. Race had never been a defining factor in bondage

– rather it was an economic or political institution.

“Slave market in Rome” by Jean-Leon Gerome

Slave Life Deep South – rice and indigo farming w/ harsh conditions Upper South – tobacco farming Culture - Language (Gullah), music, religion, and weaving

all show blending of Africa and America

Slave Revolts New York City (1712) Stono Rebellion, SC (1739) None equaled the size of Bacon’s rebellion, so African

slaves were seen as a ‘safer’ investment

Slavery exacerbated the gap between rich and poor Hierarchy

Merchant Planters & FFVs (First Families of Virginia) Small Farmers – largest social/economic class Landless whites and indentured servants Slaves & Indians

Plantation economy prevented growth of – Cities and a transportation network Merchant and professional classes Schools and Churches

Colonial Southern Society

Southern, Middle & New England Colonies

Geography Demographics Economics

Colonial Regions

Higher standard of living than Europe Close relationship with environment -

Disease, agriculture, weather Class distinctions grew with economic

growth

Generalizations of British America

New France

Fur Trade / Beavers Befriended Huron

West Indies

Antoine Cadillac – contested English expansion

Detroit - 1701

Louisiana

New Orleans (1718) – Robert La Salle countered Spanish expansion in the Gulf of

Mexico

II. Clash of Empires (European Wars in America)

A. Three wars between 1689 & 1748B. France & Spain (Catholic) v. England (Protestant)C. Britain won Acadia (renamed Nova Scotia) – Queen Anne’s WarD. Louisburg controversy – War of Jenkin’s EarE. French Acadians moved to New Orleans

1688 - 1697 War of the League of Augsburg King William’s War, 1689 - 1697

1701 - 1713 War of Spanish Succession Queen Anne’s War, 1702 – 1713

1740 - 1748 War of Austrian Succession King George’s War, 1744 - 1748

1756 - 1763 Seven Years’ War French and Indian War, 1754 - 1763

1778 - 1783 War of the American Revolution American Revolution, 1775 - 1783

1793 - 1802 Wars of the French Revolution Undeclared French War, 1798 - 1800

1803 - 1815 Napoleonic Wars War of 1812, 1812 - 1814

1914 - 1918 World War I World War I, 1917 - 1918

1939 - 1945 World War II World War II, 1941 - 1945

Dates In Europe In America

The Nine World Wars

French & Indian WarA. Primary Cause – Conflicting land claims in the

Ohio River Valley

GW and His Mess

1. VA governor sent GW to order French out of ‘VA territory’

2. GW confronts French troops near Ft. Duquesne (Pittsburg)

Defeated at Ft.

Necessity

WTF did Georgie Start?

A world war that pitted England, Prussia & Portugal against France, Spain, Austria, and Russia.

Albany Congress

Called by Britain to unite colonial defense Benjamin Franklin & Albany Plan of Union

1st attempt at colonial unity * Plan for colonial self rule Rejected by

Colonists – not enough independence Crown – too much independence

Battle

Braddock’s Defeat – trouble on the frontier

Battle

Louisburg, Nova Scotia Battle of Quebec – 1759 William Pitt – ‘Organizer

of Victory’

North America before the

French &Indian War

1 Treaty of

Paris (1763

France out of North America (except Caribbean & fishing posts)

UK – North America to westward to Mississippi River & Canada; also gained Florida from Spain

Spain – ceded French land west of the MS River

1.

Effects of the War Friction between colonial troops &

British regulars –emergence of an ‘American’ identity

Britain now had large debt & large area to defend

Chief Pontiac’s rebellion against Ohio settlers

Proclamation of 1763 – prohibited colonists from moving beyond the Appalachian Mountains