History Essay on Changes in American Slavery Before 1740

American slavery had changed through a number of ways by the year 1740. Some of the changes were inevitable since they were influenced by different factors. The colonial masters were the ones in charge of the slave trade and controlled the business for decades.

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First, the slaves were converted to Christianity so as to promote the strength of the country by making it economically secure. Those that were captured were put to work in farms, in the mines some traded for the governments while others became settlers (Who Built America Chapter One 24). The slaves were used to construct houses in places like Mexico and Florida. The slaves were judged using their skin color. It is what made so many Africans be enslaved by the Americans when their native supply of labor started diminishing. The Africans believed that they were being transformed into Christianity, but in the real sense, they were being enslaved. At first, the number of slaves that were bought was few but started rising rapidly, and the slaves were being ferried using ships since they were so many. The Africans started moving into America, not as slaves but people who had joined various groups. Some of the slaves perished when they were traveling due to the harsh conditions they experienced on the journey while others reached their destinations (Who Built America Chapter One 31).

Secondly, slavery became hereditary after some years. It is because the children of the wealthy inherited all that their parents owned before their death including the slaves. And slavery was also passed from parents to children too since a child of a slave also became a slave without objecting. The Europeans started exploring North America in significant numbers. This resulted in wars between the French, Dutch and English men. It was due to the warfare that colonies were established in North America (33).

Third, when the labor in Europe decreased, those who had peasants working on their farms had to rent out their land and relied on the rent they got for survival. Despite the fact that the slaves had been given a chance to breathe, they were still facing challenges of diseases and increased poverty. The peasants were not safe since the landlords forced them to pay massive amounts of rent while others were chased from their homes when they were unable to pay. This is a method of getting bigger payments (Who Built America 36). For the people to be enticed to work, companies used to lure them into giving into their demands. For instance, the Virginia Company promised the peasants land in return for working in the tobacco firm. Anyone who was willing to cultivate land would get many acres of land for himself. The company further shipped women for the men and sold to them as wives for they were single (Who Built America 41).

Fourth change, slavery took a twist when governments gave people power and privileges. This is seen when Winthrop and his group settled in New England and put up Boston and some towns around it. They made several camps and ensured that their place would remain untouchable from the Pilgrim`s Plymouth colony (Who Built America 45). It would get him to be in full control of the area as well as the slaves in that location. It did not last for long because of the increasing number of people and the political instability experienced made the government chase Winthrop. Puritan colonies wanted to gain more land hence had to do away with him because he disagreed with its decisions. It is when Roger Williams came to find Rhode Island.

Fifth, the English Revolution came to change the face of American slavery. These were the problems that were being experienced in England such as religious disagreements, political instability and challenges facing the economy of the country. They affected so many colonies that England had secured for itself. Warfare started erupting in this period as Scotland rebelled against England and an intense fight was witnessed. It led to people who had been captured from other nations including the slaves leaving the country for their homes (Who Built America 46). Nevertheless, the revolution did not make England crash into its knees because the country still regained power and strength since the country grew commercially. People became federal and better policies were formulated to facilitate stability in the colonies and win the warfare between them and the rivals. It was essential for them to regain control over the slaves in their colonies.

Sixth change, the policies were met with greater resistance by the Native Americans. It was because the two had a dispute over a part of Ireland where both had shown interests (Who Built America 47). Guns were later incorporated in the native warfare and made a significant impact on how quickly people were being taken as prisoners by others. It was easy to capture slaves and rescue those who had been held captives by the enemies. The Indians accepted settlers into their land. It is the reason that facilitated the Indians to coexist with the Europeans in India and England. The two lived in harmony, and they were never formal to each other. Also, the trade between the English, French and the Dutch merchants helped the Indians get what they lacked.

A seventh change is that slaves started having rights too. It was an element that changed slave trade in the early years of the 1960s. The immigrants were also economically independent during this time. All these changed in the seventeenth century when the white land owners started suppressing the slaves and the immigrants (Who Built America 63). The French and the Spanish settled in North America, and this brought about changes in the English colonies. However, the Spanish and the French people remained few in those colonies with the being many. This made missionaries from Spain to go on a spiritual adventure into Mexico and Florida resulting the Spain`s military to secure local labor making slaves resist (Who Built America 68). There were many women immigrant from England than men despite the fact that women had migrated to Virginia. The women too were not spared as they were made to labor in the plantation and the homes as helpers (Who Built America 72).

Though some of the Africans had been rendered slaves for life, some were treated with respect and were later released. On the other had the white servants and the blacks worked together as a standard unit. The only difference is that black servant could be continuously sold and be bought back by their masters to other colonies. Slaves often found opportunities in Virginia (Who Built America 76). The white settlers in the southern areas were subjected to pressure by the slaves who rose against them. The white and the black servants did not want to work for the white settlers any longer. This made more blacks become slaves they were more prone to slavery. Later slave groups became societies, and they formed the larger part of the low labor (Who Built America 80). The slaves were forced to move to Chesapeake where they had more freedom than in Virginia, and their skills were appreciated hence the slaves had access to live with others publicly.

References

Who Built America