black people in colonial north america 1526–1763

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The African-American Odyssey, Fifth EditionDarlene Clark Hine • William C. Hine • Stanley Harrold

TheAfrican-American ODYSSEY

FIFTH EDITION

Chapter

Black People in Colonial North America1526–1763

3



Black People in Colonial North America1526–1763

• The Peoples of North America• Black Servitude in the Chesapeake• Plantation Slavery, 1700–1750• Slave Life in Early America• Miscegenation and Creolization• The Origins of African-American Culture• Slavery in the Northern Colonies• Slavery in Spanish Florida and French Louisiana



Black People in Colonial North America1526–1763 (cont'd)

• African Americans in New Spain's Northern Borderlands

• Black Women in Colonial America• Black Resistance in Colonial America• Conclusion



Black People inColonial North America

• Who were the peoples of colonial North America?

• How did black servitude develop in the Chesapeake?

• What were the characteristics of plantation slavery from 1700 to 1750?



Black People in Colonial North America (cont'd)

• How did the experience of African Americans under French and Spanish rule in North America compare to that in the British colonies?

• How did slavery affect black women in colonial America?

• How did African Americans resist slavery?



This eighteenth-century woodcut shows enslaved black men, women, and children engaged in the steps involved in the curing of tobacco



The slavery codes regulated slaves and asserted the rights of slave owners.



The Peoples of North America



The Peoples of North America

• African immigrants gave birth to the African-American people

• Preserved African cultural history

• African Americans shaped new way of life



American Indians

• By the fourteenth century, diverse American Indian cultures developed

• American Indian, African relationship complicated American Indians lived harmoniously with

nature, influenced Africans Indians were sometimes slaveholders Africans helped defend against Indian attacks



American Indians (cont'd)

• Africans, Indians similarly oppressed in American colonies



American Indians (cont'd)

• French and Indian War A war between Great Britain and its American

Indian allies and France and its American Indian allies, fought between 1754 and 1763 for control of the eastern portion of North America



Escaping slaves in the Carolinas



The Spanish Empire

• Spanish colonial economy enslaved Indians, Africans

• African, Indian, Spanish customs intermingled in U.S., Mexico



The British and Jamestown

• Jamestown first permanent British colony in North America Located in Chesapeake region, called Virginia No gold, climate unsuitable for crops

• Tobacco became mainstay of Virginia

• White laborers produced most tobacco in Chesapeake colonies



The British and Jamestown (cont'd)

• Spanish Armada A fleet that unsuccessfully attempted to carry

out an invasion of England in 1588

• Joint-stock companies Primitive corporations that carried out British

and Dutch colonization in the Americas during the seventeenth century



Africans Arrive in the Chesapeake

• 1619, 32 people of African descent at Jamestown Dutch bring 20 Angolans to Jamestown New arrivals regarded as “unfree,” not slaves

- England had no slave laws- Some Angolans Christian, Christians could not be

enslaved



Africans Arrive in the Chesapeake (cont'd)

• First black person born in English America Parents baptized in Church of England Born free

• Africans remained small minority in expanding Virginia colony



Africans Arrive in the Chesapeake (cont'd)

• Church of England A Protestant church established in the

sixteenth century as the English national or Anglican church with the English monarch as its head. After the American Revolution, its American branch became the Episcopal Church.



Black Servitude in the Chesapeake



Black Servitude in the Chesapeake

• Demand for tobacco expanded, indentured servitude grew Blacks, whites sold freedom for set time Could expect to live as free people Free black men became landowners

• British assumed Africans were alien

• British made slaves property of masters



Black Servitude in the Chesapeake (cont'd)

• Chattel Slavery A form of slavery in which the enslaved are

treated legally as property



Race and the Origins of Black Slavery

• Economic, demographic developments led to enslavement of Africans Precedent set for enslaving Africans Less poor white laborers available African slaves become less costly

• British assumed Africans were inferior Status of black servants different than whites

• Black servants would serve masters for life



Race and the Origins of Black Slavery (cont'd)

• House of Burgesses A representative body established at

Jamestown, Virginia, in 1619



The Emergence of Chattel Slavery

• Children of black female servants, slaves for life Counter to English law, where status derives

from father

• Enslaved Africans, African Americans had status of domestic animals Masters who killed slaves exempted from

felony charges Slaves held accountable for transgressions



The Emergence of Chattel Slavery (cont'd)

• System compelled black people to involuntary servitude



The Emergence of Chattel Slavery (cont'd)

• Slave codes Colonial and state laws that defined the

status of slaves and the prerogatives of masters

• Manumission The act of freeing a slave by the slave's

master



Bacon's Rebellion andAmerican Slavery

• Black slaves, white indentured servants unite against elite Bacon dies before rebellion can occur

• Elite realize danger of freed, white indentured servants Planters switch to enslaved black labor force

• Whites’ freedom, prosperity rest on denying blacks freedom



Bacon's Rebellion andAmerican Slavery (cont'd)

• Master class Slaveholders



Plantation Slavery, 1700–1750



Plantation Slavery, 1700–1750

• European demand for tobacco expanded slave labor system



Tobacco Colonies

• Tobacco, rice colonies' economies dependent on black slaves

• Black laborers' living conditions varied Some masters worked together with slaves Some masters divided slaves among many

holdings Before mid-eighteenth century nearly all

slaves were fieldworkers



Tobacco Colonies (cont'd)

• Masters wanted slaves to work harder, faster After 1750, some black men had skilled

occupations Black women worked in fields, homes



AFRICANS BROUGHT AS SLAVES TO BRITISH NORTH AMERICA, 1701–1775



Low-Country Slavery

• West Indian plantation system strong in Carolina, Georgia British settlers were Barbados slaveholders,

brought slaves- Black people were chattel from start

Also center of Indian slave trade Cultivated rice on large plantations, similar to

West Indies- 1750s, rice cultivation, slavery spread to Georgia



Low-Country Slavery (cont'd)

• Blacks were both feared and needed

• Appearance of distinct classes among people of color Creoles, mixed-race relatives of masters,

lived alongside whites Blacks on low-country plantations had

autonomy, kept heritage



Plantation Technology

• Africans learned crop technology, trades Slaves prepared tobacco leaves for market Slaves turned indigo plants into blue dye

• Slaves served as carpenters, blacksmiths

• Slaves tanned leather, slave artisans made boots, garments



Slave Life in Early America



Slave Life in Early America

• Eighteenth-century slave housing was minimal, often temporary Furniture, cooking utensils varied from place

to place

• In early years, cloth came from England Later, homespun fabric was made by slaves Clothing evolved to style of West African

culture



Slave Life in Early America (cont'd)

• Food staples were corn, yams, salt pork Rice important in South Carolina low country



Miscegenation and Creolization



Miscegenation and Creolization

• Interracial sexual contacts between blacks, whites, Indians White assemblies feared creation of mixed-

race class

• Creolization led African parents to produce African-American children

• Miscegenation, creolization together caused physical, cultural change



The Origins ofAfrican-American Culture



The Origins ofAfrican-American Culture

• Retained West African heritage

• Extended families as reaction to slavery Families helped others adapt, sheltered

escapees Families influenced African American naming

practices

• African religions persisted in America Even when converted to Christianity

indigenous practices remained



The Origins of African-American Culture (cont'd)

• Incest taboos Customary rules against sexual relations and

marriage within family and kinship groups

• Spirit possession A belief rooted in West African religions that

spirits may possess human souls

• Divination A form of magic aimed at telling the future by

interpreting a variety of signs



This eighteenth-century painting of slaves on a South Carolina plantation



The Great Awakening

• Evangelical ministers preach spiritual equality

• Africans Africans linked spiritual equality to earthly

equality General African conversion Africans influence church services



The Great Awakening (cont'd)

• Development of distinct African-American church Blacks segregated in white churches Masters used church to teach obedience

• African-American Christianity blended West African, European elements



Language, Music, and Folk Literature

• Black English came from ancestral African language

• Music most important aspect of African culture American popular music influenced by

African-American music

• West African folk literature survived in North America



Language, Music, and Folk Literature (cont'd)

• Pidgens Simplified mixtures of two or more languages

used to communicate between people who speak different languages

• Black English (or African-American Vernacular English) A variety of American English that is

influenced by West African grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation



The African-American Impact on Colonial Culture

• West African culture shaped work in the American South African styles influenced southern colonial

architecture Slaves worked harder in groups



The African-American Impact on Colonial Culture (cont'd)

• African-American imprint on southern diction Black women raised white children White children acquired African-American

speech patterns

• Blacks influenced white notions of remedies, cooking



AFRICANS AS A PERCENTAGE OF THE TOTAL POPULATION OF THE BRITISH AMERICAN COLONIES 1650–1770



The African-American Impact on Colonial Culture (cont'd)

• Gang system A mode of organizing labor that had West

African antecedents. In this system American slaves worked in groups under the direction of a slave driver.



Slavery in the Northern Colonies



Slavery in the Northern Colonies

• Slavery less extensive in north than south Small numbers, close to masters, isolation Northern slaves had fewer opportunities to

preserve African heritage

• In Middle Colonies, curfews kept slaves isolated



Slavery in the Northern Colonies (cont'd)

• Because of New England Puritanical beliefs, few slaves Puritans converted Africans Slaves could inherit, own property



This eighteenth-century drawing of Philadelphia's London Coffee House



Slavery in Spanish Floridaand French Louisiana



Slavery in Spanish Floridaand French Louisiana

• Numbers small, needed as soldiers more than fieldworkers British takeover caused slaves to grow

• Louisiana imported about 6,000 slaves Blacks outnumbered whites Slaves became artisans, gained freedom Sexual exploitation of black women created

mixed-race offspring



African Americans in New Spain's Northern Borderlands



African Americans in New Spain's Northern Borderlands

• Fewer black people than in British colonies Some slaves, some with limited freedom Worked as domestics, laborers or in Mexican

mines

• Racial Purity Spanish top; Blacks, Indians bottom Most Spaniards mixed race Blacks, Indians had more status



This detail of a mural located in the Arizona capitol building shows, on its extreme right, the former slave Esteban, who wears a blue turban.



Black Women in Colonial America



Black Women in Colonial America

• Black men valued more highly than black women Worked in fields until giving birth

- Suffered complications giving birth

• Changed from fieldworkers to house servants Subjected to sexual exploitation



In this painting African Americans await sale to slave traders, who stand at the doorway on the left.



Black Resistance and Rebellion



Black Resistance and Rebellion

• Slavery in America relied on physical force African Americans responded by resisting

• Some escaped, established maroon communities Rebellious slaves in Charleston, steal

ammunition, plunder plantations

• White southerners never lost fear of slave revolt



Conclusion



Conclusion

• History of blacks both painful and exhilarating

• Enslavement, racism, loss of African heritage

• Resistance, forged family, developed African-American culture

black people in colonial north america 1526–1763

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