Week Three Eighteenth Century Culture and Society Key Terms 1 William Byrd II 2 Triangular Trade 3 Salutary Neglect 4 George Whitefield Slavery and the Southern Economy The Middle Passage Between 10 11 million Africans forcibly removed from their homes They endured the brutal Middle Passage Chained below decks for months at a time Dehydration and disease common o Feces urine and close conditions 14 of those transported died before getting there o Rebellions suicides disease The Contradiction of American Slavery Only about 5 10 brought to mainland the US By 1825 the US was largest slave holding nation in the world o Children of slaves o International slave trade is banned and holding of slaves is slowly becoming banned Slavery was a special contradiction in the US o Death violence and torture o Life and culture Chesapeake Slavery Small farms and tobacco plantations o Consisted of 1 10 slaves per farm o Abroad marriages contact between slaves across farms plantations Less access to skilled work More contact with whites and white society o Fewer other slaves to come in contact with High degree of creolization More food higher fertility longer life span BUT more supervision less free time less autonomy Low Country Slavery South Carolina Huge rice and indigo plantations o Causes of the introduction of dependence on slavery Greater specialization and more skilled positions o Large scale plantations o Supervising positions to whites and sometimes even slaves Less contact with whites Communities remained Africanized Higher mortality worse worse nutrition fewer children More autonomy less supervision more free time Northern Slavery Most urban Became central in trades like barbering Experienced supervision and isolation o No real sense of community But cities offered opportunities African identity arose by 1720s The Plantation Economy Wealthy southern planters began cultivating gentility Modeled manners after English gentry Filled mansions with elaborate possessions Irony profits from slave labor allowed them to claim to be civilized and refined Economic Development in the North Rocky soil and colder climates not conducive to cash crops Northern economy connected to southern economy through triangular trade This trade led to the rise of a merchant class and rapidly growing port cities in northern colonies It also led to increasing class distinctions