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How Chesapeake become a “slave society” rather than a merely “society of slaves.”
Chesapeake, a region in Maryland and Virginia, was the populous tobacco plantation region in the seventeenth century. It was a region with racial diversity; thus, Africans were necessary for the plantation’s labor source. Due to fluctuation in economic development in Chesapeake, there were limited advancement opportunities for the indentured servants. The compelled law by Chesapeake colonies that defined slavery as a lifelong and inheritable made the settlers rage and, as a result, formed the Bacon’s rebellion. Bacon’s rebellion led the planters to look for an alternative. As a result, African slaves were seen the most advantageous compared to indentured servants. In the late sixteenth century, Virginia was running out of the land, since Africans labor service did not expire after 5-7 years like the indentured servants, and the transatlantic slave trade anchored the emergence of African slavery (Wright, 2017). Chesapeake becomes more of slavery to Africans since they could not claim protection from the English common law and they developed resistance to disease encountered more readily than their indentured servant counterparts making them subject to the will of their masters. In the seventeenth century, the growing slavery in Chesapeake, embedded in white supremacy, caused a slavery economic process for blacks, making Chesapeake a center of slave society.
The lack of legislative effort to ensure the slaves’ well-being anchored Chesapeake to become the center of slavery. The measure that condemned the barbarous usage in the sixteenth century did not come to pass, as it was only vague in addressing how the slaves were to be treated (Berlin, p1246). The legislative lackluster in law enforcement lead the slaves to be entitled to poor diet, clothing, and lodging, and as a result, the mortality rate among the African slaves surged. Their unaccountability made the colonists have the overall power on their servants, thus leading to more exploitation in the right of labor (Berlin, p1216). The servants were left only to comply with discrimination as they were only to register their complaint to the local commissioners, who did not value their livelihood. Since the Indentured slaves were entitled to the English common law and were subjected to restrictive governance of law, they oversee their well-being in their master’s plantation, thus becoming hard for colonists to subject them to harsh treatment. In contrast, the Africans were sold for their labor and due to lack of the legislative law to govern them led the Chesapeake colonist taking advantage and made them the subject of a society of slaves.
The incremental abrogation of the servant’s right enacted in the servant book rights perpetuated an increase in African slavery. Regardless of any situation, the workers were subjected to restrictive laws that violated their freedom. The 1639 measure injected to the slaves prohibited them from engaging in trade; thus, their masters took total control of their rights (Berlin, p1230). The law furthered more prohibition that restricted the workers from marrying without their master’s permission and rescinded the worker’s freedom of movement. They were not supposed to depart their houses on Sunday or any other day without their masters’ permission. Due to this, a master could sell his slave according to his will, and this total ownership of masters-slave lead to control of the servant’s life. The Virginia law viewed African rights as temporary, and to this, the slaves had no one to look after them, thereby leading to more ownership and exploitation of rights (Berlin, p1260). Since the African was the cheapest and available at no cost of law enhancement made Chesapeake colonist to rely on them for their labor and as a result, made them the society of slaves.
The development of slavery endorsed by the precedent institutional debasement and exploitation of African workers in Virginia resulted from the slaves’ bondage. The African slaves were immune-resistant to the epidemics that particularly affected the indentured servants (Berlin, p1226). The native whites were prone to opportunistic diseases and were believed to be less productive in plantation than their counterparts. Due to transatlantic trade, the Africans were sold at a lower price, and their availability leads to more exploitation than the indentured servants. Since the indentured servants were subjected to additional cost due to the contract agreed in them and had a common English law like the Bacon’s movement of enhancing their rights made the African subjected of exploitive human rights. The elite colony planters developed a way of holding their servants in bondage for a longer time to continue working for them. Thus they created a labor system that holds the slave’s freedom, and due to this, Chesapeake becomes a society of slaves.
The growth of slavery in Chesapeake resulted from the blacks’ availability due to burgeoning direct delivery and lack of the legislative act as the common English law. Due to the availability of the African slave, the colonist invested in slavery even for those could only need one worker but rather opted slavery to its availability. Due to an increase in racial equality advocacy like Bacon’s movement to criticize the colonist exploitation, the kindle heart and minds against overwhelming of the workers’ rights will be embraced in society. Consequently, the government and law enforcers should enhance that no law violation is conducted, and charges are instituted to lawbreakers. Such government-directed efforts to prevent such pernicious action would bring more harmony and ensure gender equality and fairness.
Work Cited
Berlin, Ira. “From creole to African: Atlantic creoles and the origins of African-American society in mainland North America.” Critical Readings on Global Slavery (4 vols.). Brill, 2017. 1216-1262. https://brill.com/view/book/edcoll/9789004346611/BP000045.xml
Wright, Donald R. African Americans in the colonial era: From African Origins through the American Revolution. John Wiley & Sons, 2017. https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=7AAUDgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=At+what+point+did+the+Chesapeake+become+a+%22slave+society%22+rather+than+merely+a+%22society+with+slaves%22+in+seventeeth+century&ots=TmPbEFSN-D&sig=1RQhyVa7MLO7ZnnJ-HcnfiQZjis&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false