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Why Is Slavery Important In Colonial America

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Why Is Slavery Important In Colonial America
Unit 1 Test Slavery in the colonial America was greatly over-exaggerated. Only about six percent of the slaves traded during this time actually were sent to the colonies. The rest of the slaves were sent to the caribbeans. During the early 17th century settlers turned to African slaves as a labor source, more plentiful and less expensive than indentured servants. This created the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. England became a dominant slave trading power. The English provided slaves for Spain and Portugal. The English colonies in North America became slaveholding societies because slaves provided cheap labor for the colonies to exploit. Slavery became illegal in Britain because of the court case Somerset v Stewart. Europeans originally enslaved the Native Americans. The Native Americans, however, did not like this and fought back, ran away, or died of disease. The colonists, in a panic, decided that they had to replace the lost workforce. The colonies turned to Africans. This is where the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade originated. Unlike most slavery occurrences, The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade was different because it was racial slavery. Only Africans were …show more content…
During this time, England and the Dutch Republic had gone to war over who had control of trade and the colonies. The Parliament of England had enacted the First Navigation Act to prevent English colonies from trading with the Dutch. This led to the Dutch Republic declaring war on the Commonwealth of England. King Charles II was determined to make England into a major slave trading power, in order to supply its own colonies with slaves. King Charles II chartered the Royal African Company. This established slave factories which supplied slaves to the colonies and the Caribbean. These slave factories could be used by any merchants who were able to pay the required fees to the King. This made England a strong slave trading
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