slavery

Planters had an abundance of land and a shortage of labor. Slave trading and slavery were important in building the colonial empires of European nations and in generating the wealth that later produced the industrial revolution. With a permanent work force, such as slaves, the slaves would only require to be educated once, instead of the planters having to re-educate indentured servants in the future (8). It was much easier for the Europeans to pick up slaves in Africa, sail to the colonies, and then use them for inexpensive labor. The slaves were immune to malaria, which resisted them from disease, and were subsistence farmers in Africa, which gave them a tradition of farming and essential agricultural skills. After a futile search for employment and with resources depleted, these individuals often solved their most immediate problem, their economic condition, by signing on as indentured servants (3). In addition, the slave trade created the lines of communication for the movement of crops, agricultural techniques, diseases, and medical knowledge between Africa, Europe and America (5). Slavery provided a cheap and efficient labor force that stimulated economic growth in the colonies and was responsible for the establishment of the New World. Power is derived from the wealth of a nation. Tobacco plantations needed a large amount of land, with a large stable work force to plant, cultivate, and check the crops (4). The planter needed to educate his workers on certain agricultural techniques in order to know how to make the land most productive. Indentured servants were also dying of many diseases, which were caused by harsh conditions. African slaves also had other characteristics that enticed colonists to use them as a labor force. The rising numbers of immigrant servants caused the colonists to become dependent on indentured servitude to facilitate the need for labor.