Aspects of Slavery in Colonial America
Slavery gained traction at the inception of the colonial period. The Colonia United States took to the trade at the beginning of 1600. Consequently, it became a well-known trade that was taking place in the majority of the American and European colonies. Slavery was established from the needs of the American and European farmers during the period. The farmers acquired large tracts of land, which required a lot of labor. However, the American farmers were not in a position to provide the labor to themselves. Therefore, the existing need was bridged by some of the Americans who ventured into the trafficking of African slaves from the Caribbean. It was a coordinated effort that involved a chain of human traffickers from Africa until they reached the point of exchange. The Atlantic slave traders mostly facilitated it.
Eventually, the slave trade developed so much, which ultimately earned it the reference as an institution. The structuring of the institution saw to it that the trade became a success, and the slaves were delivered at the points they were needed. Therefore, slavery holds three fundamental characteristics. They include labor provision, living according to the drafted statutes, and enforceability by the masters.
Provision of Labour
Slaves provided cheap labor to the farm owners in Colonial America. During this period, most landowners had acquired vast fields that they were not capable of managing. Therefore, they transferred the management rights to the overseer who coordinated work around the farms (Anburey 1). The overseer was rewarded wages as an effort to keep him motivated in the responsibilities. Most overseers never had any interest in the slaves except for the need to keep up with the production in the plantations. The slaves were put to use until exhaustion before they could earn their break from the draining work. As a reward, the slaves were handed an acre of land for producing their meals. They were only given one half of a day of the week to work on their portion before they could take back to the plantations of the farm-owners.
Moreover, the ownership of many slaves was a measure of wealth possessed by an individual during colonial America. Many slaves translate to extensive tracts of land, which showcases massive wealth. Additionally, some of the slaves were at the service of the masters in their homes while the rest were taking up responsibilities in the farms. For instance, from Equiano, the author is subjected to subsequent movements from one place to another, where he was exchanged between slave traders at a fee. His last exchange took place at the coast, where he saw massive furnace of boiling copper and a multitude of slaves who were shaping up for transit (71). The presence of the minerals and the slaves, when equated to wealth, had a great value. The traders would take them to the Caribbean coast, where the wealthy Americans would buy and take them to their farms.
In addition, the American agricultural economy heavily relied on the availability of labor. The successes experienced in the plantations of the American farm-owners are attributed to the efforts of the slaves, which was obviously against their will. Most of the slaves would work from dusk to dawn. When they were done with the plantations, they would move back to the tobacco houses where some other tasks awaited them before retiring to rest (Anburey 1). Since they were not being paid, the cost of production was reduced. The fall in production cost gave the farm-owners maximum profits, which stabilized the economy of the country. The produce was also available to the American market to provide raw materials and food.
Abiding by the Drafted Statutes
The institution of slavery came up with some regulations regarding the conduct of slaves, which were put in place by the Assembly through the masters. The laws were meant to forbid the sexual activities and their lives on the fronts of reproduction. The majority of the rules were strict, with very tough penalties attached to them.
The first statue puts forth that in any instance a man or woman was found guilty of fornication, either through confession or upon finding enough evidence regarding the issue, each of the offenders was to be charged with a fine equated to five hundred pounds of tobacco (Laws of Virginia 1). Further, they would get imprisoned for a time decided upon by the authorities spearheading the hearing of the offense. However, if either of the servants committing fornication had a master, the master was tasked with paying the five hundred pounds of tobacco. It the master declined the penalty, the servants were to be whipped and serve one half of the year in the parish. The situation was different when the servant bore a bastard. They were supposed to pay two thousand pounds of tobacco to the master besides the initial fine of committing the act of fornication. Also, the servants would stay in the parish for two years, excluding the required time of service they were given initially.
Secondly, the Virginia Assembly imposed a law relating to the instance of fornication between masters and their maiden servants (Laws of Virginia 1). The statue highlighted that upon a master was found liable to the conception of a bastard by his maiden, the woman will stick around the parish after the completion of her prescribed time. She was to stay at the churchwardens where she was staying at the time that she fornicated with her master. In addition, the same law passed that all children brought to life by the Americans, and the black slaves would remain free as long as they were dwelling on the land of the masters.
Finally, the Assembly also passed that the marriage between a white Englishman and a negro woman or a negro man and an English woman was not supposed to happen. The authorities outlined that should such a relationship be brought to light, the partakers would be fined ten thousand pounds of tobacco (Laws of Virginia 2). Moreover, the law also passed that there were no Indians or Negros who were in a position to own the Christian servants. This statue was imposed despite the proclamations that the Negros and Indians were emancipated to take part in the desires of their hearts.
Enforceability of Slavery by the Masters
The most constant aspect of slavery throughout the various dimensions it employs is the concept that it was forced by the individuals taking part in the trade. From the early stages of trafficking the slaves to the moment where they are serving on the plantations of their masters, the dominant features which enable slavery to thrive is coercion employed.
The framework of slavery is built upon coercion. From Equiano, the author was well-versed in war, which was their survival apparatus against the invaders who often graced their neighborhoods. The human traffickers had had their way with most of their residents through force full means, and they could read their presence from afar (48). However, he never managed to evade the capture of the traffickers. He was pushed to the bandwagon of slavery with her sister in the absence of their parents. They were roughed up with their mouths stopped and tied up to minimize the level of resistance. The traffickers rushed with them into the nearby forests and fasted their bait. The author was subjected to sale to different masters, and It separated him from his only sister and later reconnected them. Nevertheless, it was short-lived since they went through several hands until they reached the slave ship’s coast. Throughout these escapades, the traffickers were only interested in their objectives of exchanging their captures with items they needed.
Moreover, the overseers never had any humanity in them since they used force at any slight resistance or reduction in the pace of work. Since they never had an interest in the well-being of the servants, they were motivated by whipping and making use of them to the point of exhaustion. By daybreak, they had a meal, which was to take them through another episode of hard labor (Anburey 2). This back and forth coercion was their daily life in which their masters and overseers predisposed them.
Also, the statutes that were passed by the Virginia Assembly were put to practice by the application of force to the servants who went astray with the directives imposed. The consequences attached to these offenses were grave, especially to the Negros. Going contrary to the expectations of the regulations would often call for the extension of the service period or hefty fines that the servants were not in a position to pay.
In conclusion, the perpetrators of the slave trade deprived the servants of their freedom through the exercising of power, which employed aggressive tendencies to the slaves. They were reduced to the state of helplessness by denying them vital privileges. Throughout these vices that the slaves endure, the three constant features of slavery are the provision of labor, confinement by the laws that limit their freedom, and the coercion that the human traffickers put forth for the functionality of the institution of slavery.
Works Cited
Anburey, Thomas. “Slavery at the End of the Colonial Period.” The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. pp 1-2
Equiano, Olaudah. “The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano. 1789.” Ed. Robert J. Allison. Boston: Bedford (1995), pp. 45-88
Laws of Virginia, 1661, 1662, 1691, 1705, pp. 1-3