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Stefan Küpper
PS: Text and Context: Important Documents in American History
Wintersemester 2004 / 2005
Slavery in North America and the West Indies: An Attempt of Comparison
2. Semester
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction
3
2. North America
4
2.1.
Beginnings of Slavery until the War of Independence
4
2.2.
Changes in
the ante-bellum Period up to the Civil War
7
2.3.
Slave
Life
and
Culture 8
3. The West Indies
10
3.1.
Historical
Overview
10
3.2.
Slave Society and Plantation System
12
3.3.
Slave
Resistance
13
4. Comparison
15
5. Conclusion
18
6. Sources
19
7. Appendix
22
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1. Introduction
When in 1619 the first 20 blacks arrived in Virginia, nobody could even guess what
consequences would arise from this arrival. This event should be the beginning of a yoke of
suppression of blacks lasting nearly 250 years in order to work for the "white man's" fortune
in the newly founded colonies in North America and the West Indies. In this "dark chapter" of
history many of the slaves were driven to death by starving, exhaustion, beating or diseases.
Legally they were not even considered as humans, but as mere properties.
Regarding the American and Caribbean Colonies, certain differences occur in economies, life
conditions and social structure of slaves. Consequently my research will deal with the
description and the comparison of "black history" from the beginnings (early 17
th
century)
until the end of slavery in America and the West Indies. After having a look at the historical
background, I intend to examine some crucial questions, for instance: Why did slavery in
America develop in a different way than in the Caribbean? Or: Why did so many elements of
the African culture survive until today on the West Indies, whereas an "African-American
Culture" developed in North America? According to Stamp it took several centuries to
ascertain, in other words to accept, that "Negroes are [...] only white men with black skins,
nothing more, nothing less."
1
1
Kenneth M. Stamp, cited in Elkins (23)
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2. North America
2.1. The Beginnings of Slavery until the War of Independence
In fact, the origin of the American slavery problem can be found in 1619, when a
Dutch captain brought the first 20 blacks as indentured servants to Virginia. These blacks
were treated the same way like other white indentured servants who accepted to work three or
four years without getting any money, in order to pay off their debts for the journey to
America. Surely blacks as well as whites had to work hard (agricultural labour-like planting
tobacco), but under human conditions. Even their legal status was the same, which meant the
permission for marriages (and intermarriages between blacks and whites), the integration in
churches and sometimes basic education. Some of these facts were acknowledged by Robert
Beverley (pp. 98) who told about relations of servants and slaves in 1705. But this
"acceptable" situation should not last long, because in 1638 the first "real" black slaves, who
were acquired in Barbados, arrived in New England.
Russell Menard (pp. 109) mentions that soon after whites experienced black slaves as
labourer, the situation changed immediately. Most planters complained about the short time of
servitude of indentured servants. Just after having been productive on an optimal level, they
had paid off their debts by working some years and after that they decided to establish their
own business. They were replaced by new indentured servants, but these ones had not yet
acquired the desired skills. Another point in favour of slave labour was that white servants
were obviously difficult to discipline and relatively expensive. Black slaves were easier to
control, they reproduced themselves and were cheaper after some years working. A certain
pattern became visible the demand for indentured servants declined, when the availability of
slaves increased. After the Royal African Company had been established in 1672, the import
of slaves occurred in greater dimensions. In contrast to that, Francis Bremer (pp. 205) points
out that although more slaves were imported, the extent of slavery in connection with
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agriculture was rather unpopular in the Chesapeake Colonies. This can be simply justified
with the economical situation, because New England's farmers never decided to cultivate
staple crops like cotton, which would have required huge amounts of slaves.
Additionally Stanley Elkins (p. 40) states that the first legal step towards the institution of
slavery was made in 1663 by Maryland Law which implied that all Negroes should serve
"durante vita", a term which is equated by serving the whole life time. Until the end of the
17
th
century, the proportion of black slaves in the Chesapeake colonies (Virginia and
Maryland) was relatively low, which meant 3% to 4% of the whole population. Expressed in
concrete numbers, there had lived about 24000 whites and 900 blacks (cf. appendix).
According to Edmund Morgan (223) the majority of the labour force after 1700 were slaves,
simply because the "Virginians bought the cheapest labour they could get." Also the legal
status changed at the beginning of the 18
th
century, resulting in separate laws for whites and
black slaves. Racial discrimination began to develop in this time. As a kind of contemporary
opinion, Hugh Jones stated that the new laws were good to prevent slaves from running away.
Besides he thought that blacks had a pretty good job there and a better life than in their home
countries. They just had to plant corn and in case blacks were free, they could not take care of
themselves without the "loving" care of whites.
Peter Kolchin (pp. 192) claims that racism acted as a justification of slavery or as a state of
nature, and consequently, the "savage", uncivilized and heathen blacks, often captured from
West Africa (Niger Delta, Gold Coast, Dahomey), were supposed to become civilized.
Finally, I would like to quote Edmund Morgan (223): "The rise of liberty and equality in this
country was accompanied by the rise of slavery."
Franklin and Moss (pp. 122) report that some states, from 1783 on, decided that blacks who
served in the War of Independence were granted freedom. Another four years later the North-
West-Ordinance was signed which said that in the newly explored Northwest Territories
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