How Did Slavery Affect The Economy

The introduction of slavery, in 1619, allowed the settlements in North America to establish their own economy and social society. Through slavery, the economy of the North American settlements was able to climb rapidly as the production of crops increased. However, slavery had a negative impact on the social aspects of the settlements. It caused the establishment of a hierarchy and created a gap between different groups of people. The period of slavery began in 1619 when a Dutch ship brought twenty Africans to Jamestown, Virginia. From there, the Africans were allocated to work for landowners, which later proved quite successful for mass production of crops. This resulted in slavery becoming more widespread and it later reached as far as Louisiana
At one stage, the lack of available land for plantation owners to expand their crop production was a developing problem. The cotton industry had to limit its expansion. There were two main types of cotton. One type, short staple cotton, had seeds that were difficult to remove from its fibres. There was plenty of available dry land for its production but processing was difficult. The other sea-island variety of cotton needed special climatic conditions found in coastal Georgia and South Carolina. This type required much less effort to produce and process and was therefore economically profitable. However, land was not available to expand its production, and the cotton industry was beginning to diminish. However, in 1793, Eli Whitney invented a mechanism called the cotton gin, which allowed seeded cotton to be more easily and rapidly processed. In addition, this mechanism produce more cotton and therefore required more picked cotton. This created more work and a greater demand for slaves for picking larger crops. Meanwhile, land suitable for tobacco farming was running out, which meant the tobacco industry would not be able to continue to expand. The cotton gin allowed the cotton industry, with the extra slaves, to overtake the tobacco industry and become the new backbone of the country. Soon, the combination of the fertile land and the slaves meant that the region was able to produce around seventy-five per cent of the world’s cotton and further develop North America’s