Slavery+in+the+American+Colonies

= = =__-The Slave Trade__= The slave trade describes the removal, by force, of 10 million to 15 million people from Africa over a period from 1400 to 1900. These slaves were shipped as if they weren't even human. The conditions for the Africans that were on board were completely immoral and wrong. They were worked on large fields, known as plantations, without any pay. The pinnacle of the transatlantic slave trade was about between 1700 to 1800. At this time there were usually 50,000 Africans forced onto a ship and sent to the colonies to work every year. The slave trade was very complex. It was a system of trade between five continents. First merchants had to gather goods from Europe or Asia and then ship them to Africa where they were traded for slaves. Then the slaves were transported across the ocean to North America, South America, or the Caribbean where the slaves were exchanged for more goods. After that, the goods were shipped back to Europe where they were traded for more goods and the cycle continued.

=__-War's Effect on Slaves__= The revolutionary war did have an impact on the slaves in the colonies. The majority of white people were either neutral or loyalist, but there were still many people that were patriots. The only thing that mattered for the slaves was their freedom. They did not care who won or if they fought among white men, as long as they didn't have to work tough days on the plantations. As the revolutionary war spread the slaves sided with whoever would promise them freedom afterward. Most African Americans fought for the British becuase in Europe they didn't have slavery. By the end of the war 100,000 slaves escaped, died, or were killed.

=__-Slave Conditions in the Colonies__= Slaves were not treated as a common human being should. On the plantations and during the slave trade the slaves were treated like animals. The one thing that the masters did give them was food, but a master would not even give them much at all. Many slaves died of starvation on the plantations and on the ships. There were different conditions for different labors. The conditions on the fields were almost always scorching hot and the work was very hard and tiring. There were also house slaves. For them the work was not as laborious and it wasn't extremely hot, but they could not escape, they were always in the presents of their master and if they made a mistake the master would see. The living quarters where the slaves slept and ate were horrible. Many slaves were packed into one small shack and the beds they slept on were hard with no mattress. These living conditions led to an outspread of disease which spread like wildfire. All of the diseases led to many deaths.