Race and Ethnicity in the U.S.9/14/11QuestionBy 1680, slavery in the colonies is both for life and a racially divided phenomenon. There were other options: how did the event of slavery happen?The Age of Flexibility: could go either way- 1619-1680- Initially slaves are oddities- No laws or slave codes yet!- Indentured servantsThings to think about- There is a high death toll, large numbers of people die- Slaves become status symbol (because indentured servants are cheaper)- There are no slave codes/laws yet- Some people prefer indentured servants because they do not know how to deal with slaves- What to do with slave for when they grow old? Must care for them for lifeAge of flexibility is over- 1690-1730- Perfect storm of events- Four factorsIndentured servants stop coming in large numbers. Economic conditions are getting better in Europe. People in England finally understand that America is not what it was made up to be (lots of work, diseases, high death tolls, no money)1. Tobacco explodes. People in the UK and all over Europe are buying and selling Tobacco. People in the colonies are making money off tobacco, andcan afford to buy slaves. 2. At this same time the prices of slaves drop because the slave trade is growing quickly.3. South Carolina is created, it is different from the other colonies because it was not developed as an English colony from England. It was developed as an English colony from Barbados. On the island of Barbados the sugar industry is very large. Slavery existed in Barbados and when S. Carolina was established they wanted slaves as well. They create slave codes and laws. Other colonies base their slave system on S. CarolinaThe Strange Case of South Carolina- Unique- Barbados- Special relationship with slaveryo Slave codes/lawso Adopted slave codes in 1696Slave Codes/Laws- Most of them are about what slaves cannot do, but also what masters can andcannot do- Enslavement for life- Status follows the mother- Chattel – property. They do not words like “person, human”- Other laws come from Massachusetts- No literacy allowed- Not allowed to have access to weapons- Miscegenation – sex between people of different races. There are laws against
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