From the 1400s to 1750, there were various factors that affected American history, but none more substantial than race. Since Columbus stepped foot on the New World, up until the colonies became established, race has played a vital role in American history. Whether we discuss African Americans and the Atlantic Slave Trade, the relationships with the Natives, or the English, the significance that race had on the social hierarchy, labor, and the lack of order in American society is undeniable. When analyzing the role of race in American history, there is not a more notable place to being than the affect race had on labor in the New World. Before the enslavement of Africans, a lot of colonies relied on Indians as their source of labor, which
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In David Northrup’s book “The Atlantic Slave Trade”, there is a chapter in which Eric Williams argues that economic motives caused the enslavement of Negros. He claims that colonies resorted to Negros as their source or labor because of its cheapness and superiority. With the rise in demand for sugar, tobacco, and cotton, there was need for larger plantations and cheap, skilled laborers, which replaced a lot of small farm owners and indentured servants with large plantation owners and Negro slaves. Negro slaves were able to endure harsh labor conditions and had better endurance, unlike the Indians and indentured servants, which was a benefit to the English. Other advantages of Negro slaves were their cheapness and the difficulty for them to run away. The money used to contract an indentured servant for a couple of years could buy a Negro for life and when Negro slaves dared to run away, they were often caught because of their lack of knowledge of English land and customs. (Northrup, …show more content…
With the use of primary and secondary resources, we are able to analyze the importance that race has had on American history. Throughout the colonization of America, race has been the cause of riots and rebellions, been a factor that the English used to determine someone’s social status, was a tool used to control and manipulate various groups, and completely revolutionized labor in the New World. When the roles of race are brought up into discussions today, we examine not only how race influenced American history, but how its significance affects the world we live in
In David Northrup’s book “The Atlantic Slave Trade”, there is a chapter in which Eric Williams argues that economic motives caused the enslavement of Negros. He claims that colonies resorted to Negros as their source or labor because of its cheapness and superiority. With the rise in demand for sugar, tobacco, and cotton, there was need for larger plantations and cheap, skilled laborers, which replaced a lot of small farm owners and indentured servants with large plantation owners and Negro slaves. Negro slaves were able to endure harsh labor conditions and had better endurance, unlike the Indians and indentured servants, which was a benefit to the English. Other advantages of Negro slaves were their cheapness and the difficulty for them to run away. The money used to contract an indentured servant for a couple of years could buy a Negro for life and when Negro slaves dared to run away, they were often caught because of their lack of knowledge of English land and customs. (Northrup, …show more content…
With the use of primary and secondary resources, we are able to analyze the importance that race has had on American history. Throughout the colonization of America, race has been the cause of riots and rebellions, been a factor that the English used to determine someone’s social status, was a tool used to control and manipulate various groups, and completely revolutionized labor in the New World. When the roles of race are brought up into discussions today, we examine not only how race influenced American history, but how its significance affects the world we live in