SLAVERY IN THE COLONIES
After the first few years, the colonists in Jamestown began to have more success, and the number of colonists grew. They moved to new areas and started growing crops like tobacco and later cotton. The colonists made a lot of money selling these crops to England. They wanted to grow more crops, but they did not have enough people to work on the farms.
Other European countries that had colonies took people from Africa to the Americas and sold them as slaves. Another term for "slave" is an "enslaved person." An enslaved person is someone who is forced to work with no freedom. Millions of enslaved African people were forced on ships and taken to North and South America.
The first group of enslaved Africans were brought to Jamestown in 1619. Enslaved Africans were forced to work on farms in terrible conditions.
Routes bringing enslaved people to North and South America
CHAPTER 7: EARLY AMERICAN HISTORY
An image of the first enslaved people from Africa arriving in Jamestown.
This map shows the routes that colonists from Europe made when coming to North America and the routes that brought enslaved people from Africa to North America and South America.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services