- Published: October 1, 2022
- Updated: October 1, 2022
- University / College: University of Kent
- Level: Intermediate School
- Language: English
- Downloads: 41
New England, Chesapeake and Middle Colonies Slavery in Chesapeake took preeminence a century after the slavery statute was legalized by law makers. The enslaved, who comprised of women, men and children, toiled to produce grains and tobacco that ultimately led to elegant lifestyle of the gentry. Culture of the native born with main reference to slaves was mainly inclined on both Anglo and African culture. The people enslaved had a good working knowledge on English and this helped them in laborer negotiations with their masters and also to articulate issues of benefits both for them and the families that they emanated from (Berlin 34-35).
Puritans and the Pilgrims were the initial settlers of New England. The economy was majorly based on lumbering, subsistence farming and manufacturing. Fishing, trade and fish building was also practiced. The pilgrims at around 1920 established a church that they wanted to be free from government interference and free from the Church of England. This ambition neccesited their movement to New England resulting to the establishment of the colony of Massachusetts Bay. The New Netherlands was the main trading partner of New England during this period.
Moreover, the New England City was more prosperous and independent than Chesapeake colonies with major emphasis laid to slave labor because services were readily available due to influx of slavery. In addition, the economic base of mid colonies majorly depended on both wage and family labor. Both the male and the female slaves worked as domestics. Majority of the poor enslaved men were wagoners, artisans and carters (Jefferson 51-53).
In conclusion, slavery was legalized in all thirteen American colonies prior to the American Revolution. However, slavery played different economic and social roles in each of the regions and this mainly depended on slavery management and the size of slaves enslaved. The most common factor among them all without doubt is that they all legalized slavery until the American Revolution changed this.
Works Cited
Berlin, Ira. Many Thousands Gone: The First Two Centuries of Slavery in North America. Cambridge: The Belknap Press of Harvard University, 1998. Print.
Jefferson, Thomas. Notes on the State of Virginia. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1982. Print.