From: Thomas Lynch
Date: 2/9/00
Time: 10:04:47 PM
Remote Name: 207.103.93.20
Thomas E. Lynch III History of the U.S., 1600-1870 Week 4 Assignment
Slavery in North America Slavery was introduced into British North America in Virginia in the year 1619. It was initiated because of the great need for physical labor in the colonies. The supply of indentured servants coming from Europe was drying up and an alternative source of manpower was required. In the early part of the seventeenth century African slavery was not guaranteed. The legal status of many African workers was uncertain. Their populations were small and the colonists felt little need to draw up extensive legislation concerning them. Some blacks, like Anthony Johnson, were able to buy their freedom and become successful planters. By the end of the century, the situation had changed dramatically. Due to the massive increase in the slave population, slave codes came into being. Africans were deemed slaves simply because they were black. Depending on the location in North America, African culture either blended with was obliterated by English culture. In the southern colonies, with their large African slave populations, saw an interesting blend of the two cultures. Laboring on large and isolated plantations, these Africans had little contact with whites. They combined their native languages with that of their new masters to form a hybrid language called creole languages. In the north, however, slave populations were considerably smaller and their culture was swallowed up by that of the Europeans. Their frequent contact with white settlers and the few opportunities to interact with other Africans made it impossible for them to develop a mixed culture like their southern counterparts. Both northern and southern slaves adopted Christianity in a unique way. They accepted its basic principles, but added unique African elements to it. Blacks in the colonies were no longer true Africans, nor were they true Europeans. They were now African Americans.