To Colonial America
Lifestyles of the Colonists
in Colonial America
The Need for Workers
By Ann
In the 1700’s through 1800’s, slavery was very popular. Most of the farmers grew wheat, barley, corn tobacco, and rice. They had to take their crops down to town or to trades to ship their food to other colonies.
Many families took care of their own crops. They grew just what they needed to feed their family. Most of them also had chickens, pigs, and cows.
The English colony of Virginia had a problem. They were starving; they had to eat dogs, cats, snakes, and acorns. Finally they discovered that tobacco would grow on the land. They shipped 3 million pounds of tobacco, even though the king of England said it was bad for them. Although Virginians kept growing tobacco, they needed more workers.
The settlers tried to enslave the Indians and take their land. But they fought them in battle and the Indians won. So they turned to indentured servants. An indentured servant is a person that has their way paid in order for them to come to the colonies in exchange the person would work on the farm for five to seven years. However, farmers were unable one wanted to come to America as an indentured servant.
So, the Virginians had a new idea on how they could find workers. They thought of turning to Africa for slaves. They considered Africans to be poor and uneducated. The Virginians sought traders who traveled by boat to Africa. A great many of the Africans died on that trip back to America.
Once the Africans reached shore they were separated and sold at about the age of eight. They would even separate a child for your mother. The majority of the slave owners didn’t give their slaves enough food or clothing. Most of the slaves died in a very short while. There were so many slaves in the south that it was nearly a third of the population. The slaves helped the farmers by picking cotton, tobacco, and profitable coffee.
digital picture taken by Ryan