Throughout its conscious existence, humanity has sought to expand its borders, explore new places, and conquer distant horizons. Great Britain is a great maritime state, and it has significantly succeeded as a pioneer. British colonies were established in many places around the world, thousands of miles away from British shores. They also appeared in North America when a new Stuart dynasty came to power in Great Britain. Unfortunately, the concept of slavery and the slave trade is inextricably linked with the process of colonization.
The history of the colonial rule of Great Britain begins in 1607 when the Puritans – part of the first colonists – were fleeing from persecution. Protestants also left France and Holland for the New World, hoping to find a safe place to live and preach their views. Peasants, poor people seeking a better life, and criminals fit for hard work also left for the New World. In 1607, the first permanent English settlement was founded on the territory of future Virginia. The first few years were extremely difficult for the colonists, and many died of hunger. However, in 1612, it was possible to grow “Virginia tobacco,” which improved the situation for the better.
The settlement in the city of New Plymouth was founded by the second, and it laid the foundation for the colonies of New England. The colonists ‘ society consisted of various groups of the population: ordinary farmers, entrepreneurs, hired workers, landowners, and slaves. There was a desperate shortage of labor, so it was imported to North America. Slavery in North America began in 1619 when the first cargo of slaves arrived in Jamestown on a Dutch ship. However, initially, there were few slaves in North America, and their status was not fully defined.
Before the appearance of black slaves, there were white slaves – obligated servants. Traveling across the ocean was difficult, so many slaves died from hunger, disease, or shipwrecks. When the ships arrived on the American mainland, there might not be any buyers in the harbor, so white slaves, chained to each other, went to villages and cities searching for buyers. Moreover, the situation of white slaves was often no better than that of black ones. The owner possessed them temporarily and therefore was utterly uninterested in preserving their lives when the contract expired. People were subjected to the most severe punishments for trying to escape, up to the death penalty. Thus, the skin color did not particularly affect the position of a person if he was a slave.
Initially, slaves received freedom as a reward for good work, exemplary behavior, and conversion to Christianity. However, in the southern colonies, significant local land ownership was formed, which focused on producing raw materials and food, so the situation of the blacks changed considerably. Turning them into hereditary slaves began, which was also dictated by an acute shortage of labor. For the most part, slaves were used on large tobacco and rice plantations, where their work was more productive. Each colony had its legislation concerning slaves, which established specific rules for them. Thus, the slave finally turned into a talking tool and the property of their master, gradually losing the few rights and freedoms that he had.
Nevertheless, it should be noted that there was also certain freedom against the background of slavery. Great Britain has always tried to establish complete economic control over the colonies in North America. Great Britain bought all the industrial goods produced in the settlements to achieve this, and in return, the colonies received raw materials and agricultural goods. It becomes clear that Great Britain was not interested in the fact that the English colonies traded with anyone other than the mother country. Great Britain did not want the industry to develop in the English colonies. Nevertheless, despite the efforts of Great Britain, the English colonies achieved great success in the industry, especially in shipbuilding.
Despite the strict religious discipline, New England became the cradle of the developing self-consciousness of Americans, an original cultural and political tradition. The first printing houses were created, so it was in New England that the ideas of the American Enlightenment were born. Moreover, in New England, the absence of feudal nobility and large land ownership opened the way to free enterprise early. The political life of these colonies developed its tradition of self-government, which Great Britain could not freely control.
Thus, despite slave labor, there were also phenomena in the society of the British colonies that ensured people’s independence from the mother country. The weakening of the social foundations of the colonial regime was also facilitated by the periodic uprisings of certain groups of the population. Merchants, farmers, small merchants in provincial towns, white and black slaves often spoke out against both direct oppressors and the tightening of the fiscal policy of Great Britain. Thus, the short-sighted policy of oppression pursued by England was fraught with aggravation of social conflicts. Leaving the custody of the metropolis was presented to the local American elite as a condition for social stability, neutralization of mass discontent.