Slavery Act

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,

becuase 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, made the amount of tobacco

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