Slavery In Jamestown Virginia Essay

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Slavery began in Jamestown, Virginia. Founded in 1607 by a group of English Merchants. Jamestown served as the capital of Virginia from 1616 to 1699. It started when James I granted a charter to settle anywhere from North Carolina to New York State. Named River and Colony after the King, and settled on an island in the James River. Jamestown became first successful English colony in the America’s. This was because of tobacco and the slaves in Colonial America. Also, tobacco saved Jamestown from collapse. Colonists no longer cared about gold and instead desired land for crops. To encourage colonization, Virginia introduced the Headright system which offered fifty acres to anyone who was willing to pay their own passage to the colony.
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Another benefit to owning a slave rather an indentured servant is that all children born of slaves also become slaves. Furthermore, this is how the idea of slavery came along. They would bring African American slaves to North America. The slaves would come from Africa to the colony of Jamestown, Virginia. They did this to help with the mass-production of tobacco. The idea of slavery in Jamestown made its way through the American colonies in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Without the help of slaves, Jamestown, Virginia wouldn’t have become so successful. Slavery was different between the colonies, it changed over time, and slaves made many contributions to American culture in Colonial North …show more content…

The contributions and cultural influences that slaves made have gone unappreciated throughout American culture. African culture, Southern food from songs to dances are not just present in today’s times but have had a huge effect throughout America. During the Middle Passage, slaves had to abandon traditional customs, rituals and cultural artifacts. They had to do this to get a ticket into the New World. However, slaves still used their customs survive and carry on in the New World. These customs were key to the survival of most

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