Slavery

Slavery was caused by economic factors of the english settlers

in the late 17th century. Colonists continually tried to allure

laborers to the colony. The headright system was to give the

indentured servant, a method of becoming independent after a number of

years of service. Slavery was caused by economic reasons. Colonists

chiefly relied on Indentured Servitude, inorder to facilitate their

need for labor. The decreasing population combined with a need for a

labor force, led colonists to believe that African slaves were the

most efficient way to acquire a labor force that would satisfy their

needs.

Before the 1680's, Indentured Servitude was the primary source

of labor in the newly developed colonies. After the 1680's, the

population of the Indentured Servants decreased, exponentially. Their

were a number of different reasons why the population of Indentured

Servents had decreased. The indentured servents were running away from

their temporary masters, to find a job where he could become more

independent. Indentured servents were also dying of many diseases,

which was caused by harsh conditions. The immigration of servents thus

declined, because

of the people in England being informed of the harsh

treatment in the colonies. The society was where the land was easy to

find, while the labor was most scarce. Indentured servitude, was a

form of labor which was declining, and the need for labor increased

rapidly.

In the 1600's, when tobacco was founded by John Rolfe, tobacco

became the main source of income for most of the colonists. The

economic prosperity of the colonies was primarily dependent on the

amount of tobacco produced. The growing of tobacco, needed a large

amount of land, with a large stable work force. The increased demand

for a large, stable work force combined with the availability of

African slaves, led to the use of slavery in the colonies. During the

late 17th century, the indentured servants were running away from

their masters farms, if a slave had run away from their master's

farms, then the slave would be easier to discern because of the color

of his skin. To the planter, slavery was the ideal form of labor that

would be most beneficial to productivity of his crop.

Planters had an abundance of land and a shortage of labor.

This relationship,