American Colonies and American Slavery (Essay Sample)

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American Colonies and American Slavery
Slavery in America started back in 1607 when the first among thirteen colonies was formed by the British. However, the thirteen colonies can be narrowed down into three main regions; New England, middle and southern colonies respectively. The process of and practice of creating colonies ended in 1732. The Americans were used as servants while the Africans were overburdened with lots of obligations as slaves in tobacco and sugarcane plantations that targeted the British’s southern market. The respective colonies were commanded by the British colonialists. However, the colonies joined hand and formed a formidable force to declare independence from the Great Britain leading to the formation of the United States of America. The essay will focus on American colonies and American Slavery.
The Development of American, slavery played a major role in shaping up the history of the American Sates as compared to conflicts and interactions between Europeans and Native Americans. This is because economies were built on strengths of respective human workforce which was achieved through the participation of slaves as trade and production tools. Slaves were used to work in vast sugarcane and tobacco plantations. Americans would not have achieved tremendous economic growth on their own as the large volume of cash crop production boosted trade and ultimately opened up new trade routes for imports and experts (Starkey 1675).
1. The extent to which freedom and slavery developed side by side defining colonies and the US in the 19th Century
An in-depth understanding of a slave is critical in analyzing slavery in the Americas. The art of one person owning another as an asset without free will, and dictating what the captive feeds on or where the person should be assigned to works without remuneration is termed as slavery. Slaves are people who generally work on conditions set by their masters and can be historically traced to ancient Greece and among the Romans. When a person became a property of his master for lifetime, he not only became a slave personally but his line generation became slaves of his master too. The question will tackle the way freedom and slavery developed side by side leading to a better understanding of the respective colonies and the US in the 19th Century.
During the time when the Great Britain colonized the America, they commanded the formation of thirteen states that were meant to facilitate the colonization process. It is true to argue that slavery and freedom in the 19th century went side- by –side to define the term colonies, which later resulted into the U.S.A as a result of a combined power by the colonies to stop colonialism so that freedom would be realized. This was the origin of the current U.S.A; United States of America.
Relations between European Americans and Native Americans
The terms freedom and slavery in the 19th century went side- by- side as mentioned above due to the relationship and understanding between the colonialists and the Americans. The interaction between the British and Americans during the colonization period resulted into intermarriages between Americans and the British. The families of the European Americans had no alternative but to stay in the US. Despite the pain inflicted on the Americans by the colonialists, the Native Americans had to put up with the European Americans. This affirms the statement that slavery and freedom develop side- by- side.
The Route to Slavery in the US
Colonization was mainly catalyzed by Spain and Portugal since they were the only two nations that were practicing slavery in the 1500s, who also managed to export this vice from Europe to the Americas. Africans had many practices in common despite the difference in culture and languages experienced. They kept animals, tilled the land planting crops and vegetables by clearing bushes and burning them in just like the Native Americans did on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean (Starkey 153).
The caravan trading between the Arabs living in the Northern part of Africa, Middle East and the Western Africans was the epitome of slavery. Ghana in particular had constructed adequate business centers with craftsmen who were highly skilled making it a power house in iron tools, pottery, salt business and cod. Songhai replaced Ghana after it was invaded by Muslims in the eleventh century (Cox 14).
The fact that Africans were already skilled in the art of farming made the demand for slaves to thrive in the sugar and tobacco plantations in Europe and America. The capture of the first slaves is traced between the 1500 and 1800 when over ten million Africans were forcefully taken to Europe and America among which, 1.5 million died on the way mainly to Central and Southern America (Pointer 8). By the time the Portuguese ventured in Western Africa in the 1400 to capture slaves to take to their sugar farm in the island of Azores. Slavery was found to be thriving as a business to Muslims and powerful ancient coastal kingdoms who sold people across Africa and the Mediterranean.
In the 15th century, the exploration of the Portuguese made it possible for traders to infiltrate Africa and take charge of the entire slave trade. The mainly took slaves to work in their plantations increasing the production of sugar in the islands of canary, Madeira and Azores. When South America and West Indies came into the hands of Spain through the exploits of Christopher Columbus, people who had lived in different environments came together as one. It is clear that Europeans created a new world by the use of slaves mainly exported from the horn Africa. This means that development was enhanced by hard labor through farming plantation, making of art crafts and working as house helps.
Slaves were mainly black considering the color of their skin. In total, Europeans from Africa enslaved over 500,000 thousand people in their quest to create “The New World” between 1500 and 1620 during which time the beginning of slavery took shape in America. An account of the exact date of entry is given as 1619 when the first African slaves were brought to the colony of Jamestown, Virginia which is found in North America to work in tobacco farms which was a booming a cash crop at the time.
History of Native American Invasion
The voyages of Christopher Columbus in the 15th century made it possible for the Europeans and the native occupants of America to meet. Navigations of the rivers and seas opened up new opportunities for trade and mineral exploitations both in the North and Southern borders. As they passed through Orinoco and Amazon, they realized that there were opportunities of exploiting minerals, slaves, flora and fauna which existed in these areas. The population of Indians between the 16th and 19th century declined with a big a margin since they were not immune to the diseases brought by the visitors from Europe.
The Indians were declared endangered in the later years since by 1890s approximately 600,000 to 250,000 Native Americans existed in the United States (Pointer 16). Some of the fatal diseases exported from Asia like measles and chicken pox was usually lethal killing the natives in large numbers.
The introduction of formal education around 1640 by the not only taught Indians but also absorbed girls as well. The oldest catholic school in America was founded in 1727 by the Sisters of the Order of Saint Ursula called Ursuline Academy in New Orleans. The French and Indian wars, which took seven years, involved many Native American tribes in the year 1754 and 1763. Most of the tribes sided with the French as opposed to the British colonial troops.
The other tribes that did not support the French supported the British with the intention of protecting their colonies by signing treaties and being assimilated to British cultures. Most of these native tribes were taking sides in order to settle inter native wars and others like the Iroquois who were loyal to the British during the American revolution ran to Canada.
Meeting of Europeans and Native Americans
When the Europeans were encroaching native America, not only did people meet but animals, insects and plants which were carried from one part of the world to another both intentionally and accidentally, an interaction that was referred to as the Colombian Exchange. Europeans and Spaniards brought horses to Mexico in the 16th century some of which ran away in the world and started breeding hence multiplying by a huge margin. This led to the change in culture of the Great Plain Native Americans by embracing hunting and decreasing animal husbandry.
War erupted between English colonialist and the Native Americans who currently live in the south of New England between 1675 and 1676. This battle was referred to as King Phillips War and it continued until 1678 when an agreement was signed at Casco Bay in April. As the American Revolution took shape, the newly created United States came into competition with the British for the support and loyalty of the Native Americans who lived on the east of the Mississippi river (Starkey 1665).
For those who mainly supported the British hoped to increase business relationships and that the British would stop further colonial encroachment on their land. While other natives sat on the fence, the Lenape became the first Native Americans to sign a pact with the United States administrators. This revolution led to civil war and in the long run the British and the Americans in 1783 signed an agreement giving most colonial territories to America without consulting and engaging the natives (Carlisle, Rodney and Golson 22). Upon acquiring the colonies, there was need to get land for farming and building of new settlement areas for people who had left Europe to live in the Native American l...