What Caused The Increase In Slavery Between 1607 And 1775

Topic No.5 The years between 1607 and 1775 brought a substantial increase in slavery in the southern colonies. What caused this increase and dependency on slavery? Economically, slaves provided cheap labor which transferred into greater profit margins and consistent revenue. With the Geographic conditions of the southern colonies and the decline of Indians, Africans were the next as they were better suited to the climate. Socially, African Americans were dehumanized, leading them to be at the rock bottom of the social system, therefore making them a commodity like cattle. Economic factors aligned up nicely to create the perfect conditions for the use of slavery. Aristocrats were given 50 acres of land for each person they brought with them to the New World. With the great initial influx of indentured servants, this gave aristocrats more than enough land to start their plantation and plenty of people to work it. The southern colonies were mostly concerned about producing cash crops such as tobacco, rice, indigo, and later, cotton. Farming these cash crops was very labor intensive, …show more content…
The southern colonies were farther south, which meant the growing season was longer. The climate was warm and moist which was perfect for growing of tobacco and such. Broad rivers located there was an excellent source of transportation. Indians were first considered to work the land, as they were closer and were used to hard work. But as the plantation owners soon discovered, they weren’t so reliable. The Indians tended to rebel against their masters and escape, so many plantation owners tended to stray away and fear the use of Indians. So then African Americans were the next best thing, providing a reliable investment unlike the Indians. African slaves being as cheap as they were provided the perfect labor force to achieve maximum efficiency and profit on the