How Did Slavery Affect Colonial Society

Slaves made an enormous impact on shaping the Colonial Society. Land and farming was very important for the British society in America. Their identity in society and wealth was based on the amount of land they owned. Land gave them richness and a great business for trade in Europe. However, with owning land, comes with the need of workers. Slaves shaped the colonial empire to a great economic success from their plantation of tobacco, rice, and indigo. If it wasn’t for the slaves, the British Empire would not be as successful as it was. Before Slaves were kidnapped and sold to the British, the Indentured servants from New England were working for the land owners in America. The indentured servants did not expect the harsh treatment they

However, they worked very hard on their job. One of the main plantation that brought economic success was tobacco in the colonial society. Tobacco was one of the most important commodity produced in the 18th century. According to chapter 4, “The expansion of tobacco production could not have taken place without a corresponding growth in the size of the slave labor force.” Tabaco was a type of plantation that needed a lot of attention from farmers. If it wasn’t for the slaves working in the fields, no one else would be giving the tobacco plantation the attention it deserves to grow and produce properly. Slaves did all the work that made plantation colonies very profitable. In the video Journey through Slavery, it states that tobacco crops were making settlers rich and they were shipping sixty thousand pounds a year back in England. The more land you control the bigger profits you can make. Slaves were being shipped from Africa multiple times to work on the fields for the plantation owners. As the ongoing success for tobacco was happening, they started to realize that slaves are very profitable since the crop value are increasing, but their pay for the slaves were staying the same. More money, means better economy and that is exactly what slaves were doing for the colonial

According to chapter 4, “Rice and indigo became two of the most valuable commodities exported from the mainland colonies of North America. The boom of these two crops depended on the growth of African slavery.” This was another plantation that was highly dependent on the work of the slaves. Slaves made the English men’s lives easier and made them wealthy as well. The work they had to do for rice was unbelievably dreadful. In the video Journey Through Slavery, it states that “Rice was the most unhealthy work in which the slaves were employed…Negroes were perpetually at work often ankle deep in mud with their bare heads exposed to the fierce rays of the sun.” This was work that no rich or poor English men would want to go through. The Englishmen just cared about their profits that they will being receiving from their trades in Europe. The expense they had to go through to take care of the slaves was much less than what they will be profiting for themselves. Their economy was boosting with success because of all the exports and manufacturing they are doing all because of the slaves work in the