Slavery in the Colonies

Slave labor and the African slave trade formed the backbone of the American colonial economy. 

Triangular Trade was a system in which slaves, crops, and manufactured goods were traded between Africa, the Americas, and Europe.

The economy of the Chesapeake region revolved around tobacco and relied heavily on slave labor.

South Carolina was the first colony founded deliberately on slave labor to support its growing rice economy. 

While Northern states had fewer slaves and eventually outlawed slavery entirely, they were still economically dependent on the institution.

The rise of large-scale plantations in the South led to the widespread use of slavery to support the colonial economy.