How Did African Slaves Build Their Own Community

Chapter Four. African Slaves Build their Own Community in Coastal Georgia Slavery was originally prohibited in the original 1732 Georgia charter; the ban was lifted two decades later when Georgia became a Royal colony. By 1770, 15,000 slaves made up 80% of the population. Rice was one of the most valuable commodities of mainland North America, surpassed only by tobacco and wheat. The Atlantic slave trade grew to match rice production. “Saltwater” slaves (slaves taken from Africa, rather than “country born”) were inspected and branded on coastal forts in Africa, shipped overseas (where many died), then sold and marched to plantations Mortality rates were high for slaves, especially infants. Overseers could legally punish
The natural growth of the slaver population served to increase the profits of their owners, and so was encouraged. The Lower South Settlement in the south was a slave society from the outset, using native slaves. However, this soon shifted to African slaves as the South began producing more rice. Slavery in the Spanish Colonies Spanish settlements employed slaves, the most benign form being the kind in Florida, which resembled the system in use in Mediterranean and African society. Spain declared Florida a haven for fugitives to weaken southern English colonies. In New Mexico, however, Spain used native slaves, though in a more restrained way to prevent another Pueblo Uprising. Spain captured "infidel Indians" such as the Apaches or nomads from the Great Plains and enslaved them, using them as house servants or fieldworkers. French Louisiana Slaves were heavily used in Louisiana agriculture until the Natchez Rebellion, with slaves making up no more than a third of the population. Only when the 18th century ended did slavery make a return, in force. Slavery in the