Slavery became a common form of labor in the Americas because slave labor was viewed as the most cost-effective way to produce the cash crops that undergirded the Atlantic economy. Virtually every European colonial power experimented with other forms of labor, including indentured servitude, but African slaves, for a variety of reasons, were eventually preferred to white servants and even Native American slaves. One major reason was that indentured servants could only be attracted to...
Slavery became a common form of labor in the Americas because slave labor was viewed as the most cost-effective way to produce the cash crops that undergirded the Atlantic economy. Virtually every European colonial power experimented with other forms of labor, including indentured servitude, but African slaves, for a variety of reasons, were eventually preferred to white servants and even Native American slaves. One major reason was that indentured servants could only be attracted to the New World with the promise of land at the end of their term. The problem was that people tended to die before they reached the end of their term, at least at first. As sufficient numbers survived to constitute a workable labor force, however, those that lived long enough to claim their freedom dues placed significant land pressures on their respective colonies. This happened in both the Caribbean (on Barbados) and in Virginia. So colonial authorities sought a labor force that would be hereditary and permanently marked by their race. Another factor influencing the emergence of African slavery was that European nations were already engaged in a vigorous trade with the powerful kingdoms of West Africa. The trade in human beings was really another phase of this relationship. It was also commonly believed by Europeans (though de-emphasized by historians today) that people who had been born and raised in West African often were less likely to get the diseases that often killed laborers in the New World upon their arrival.
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