Introduction

Between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries, about 12.5 million men, women, and children were forcibly transported from Africa to the Americas, then forced to work. The slave traders came from England, France, Portugal, Spain, Netherlands, Denmark, United States and Brazil. Many of the enslaved people did not survive the horrendous conditions of the long sea voyage. Those who did were sold at various ports throughout North America, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

In the centuries that followed, several million more people of African descent were born into slavery in the Americas. The United States received approximately 400,000 enslaved people from Africa. When slavery was finally abolished in 1865, approximately four million enslaved people were freed. That means the U.S. population of enslaved people increased tenfold, through reproduction.

Enslaved populations in the sugar-producing islands of the Caribbean were less likely to increase through reproduction. They relied instead on the continuous importation of new laborers from Africa. Sugar plantations in the Caribbean had brutal labor and living conditions. Just look at the numbers. When the British slave trade was abolished in 1807, there were about 750,000 enslaved people in the British Caribbean even though more than three times this number were brought to those colonies from Africa on slave ships.

The lives of enslaved people varied by a number of factors, depending on their gender and age as well as where and when they lived. They were also impacted by the specific circumstances of their work and living conditions.

Despite these differences, the systems of slavery in the Americas shared three defining characteristics:

1. Enslaved people of African descent were legally defined as property;
2. Slavery was organized according to a racial hierarchy;
3. Slavery was motivated by economics but justified in religious and scientific terms.

Defining Characteristic 1:

Enslaved people of African descent were legally defined as property.

Although they were human beings, enslaved people of African descent were legally considered property throughout the Americas. In other words, they were owned by other people and could be bought and sold like farm animals. The experiences of enslaved persons of African descent were very different from that of other laborers. They were forced to work against their will, were not paid, and could not negotiate the terms of their labor. If they resisted or were disobedient, they faced severe physical abuse, including whipping, mutilation, and other forms of torture.

Enslaved labor in the Americas differed from other labor for two other reasons. First, enslaved status was inherited. When an enslaved woman had a baby, that baby was considered legally enslaved, and became the “property” of the mother’s “owner.” This meant enslaved children were always at risk of being sold and separated from their families. Second, enslaved status was a lifetime sentence, and most enslaved people performed forced labor for the duration of their lives.

Many enslaved men, women, and children tried to obtain their freedom. Some negotiated with their owners to buy or earn their legal freedom, a great challenge since they had little or no money. There were others who resisted by trying to escape, a choice that required incredible courage, as anyone caught attempting to flee was severely punished.

Advertisements, like the one below, were sometimes placed to catch enslaved people attempting to escape. What does it tell us about the risks they took to get their freedom?

Advertisement announcing the escape of an enslaved person in Jamaica (1780)

Kingston Run away, a Negro boy, named YORK, he has a scar upon his face, close by his left ear, and marked upon his right shoulder W S; he is a good looking boy, and speaks good English, about 5 ft. 5 in. high, and may attempt to pass for free and get on board some vessel. This is to caution any person from employing him, in particular masters of vessels. If it can be proved he is harbored or employed by anyone, they will be prosecuted to the utmost rigor of the law. Any person that can give information where he is to be found, or will lodge him in any [jail], shall receive one Pistole reward...

Defining Characteristic 2:

Slavery was organized according to a racial hierarchy.

During the period of slavery, societies in the Americas were organized around a belief in inequality. In other words, it was considered acceptable for some people to have more rights and privileges than others. These rights and privileges were determined, in part, according to a racial hierarchy, or grouping.

Slavery and racial hierarchy in the Americas

Those at the top of the hierarchy — wealthy people of European descent – were granted all the rights and privileges associated with freedom. In contrast, the men, women, and children at the bottom of that hierarchy – enslaved people of African descent — were denied any rights and privileges. There was also a middle category for people of African descent who were not enslaved, having been granted their freedom or born free. Free people of African descent had the liberty to make important decisions about their lives and their futures. Although free, they did not have the same rights as people of European background.

Very specific laws shaped the lives of the enslaved and free people of African descent. These varied depending on time and location. For example, France implemented the Code Noir (Black Code) in 1685. It was an official proclamation that defined the conditions of slavery and freedom in French colonies that relied on enslaved labor. You can use excerpts from the Code Noir, below, to reflect on the ways in which the French defined who was legally enslaved.

Select articles from the Code Noir (1685)

Article XII. Children born from marriages between slaves shall be slaves, and if the husband and wife have different masters, they shall belong to the masters of the female slave, not to the master of her husband.

Article XIII. We desire that if a male slave has married a free woman, their children, either male or female, shall be free as is their mother, regardless of their father’s condition of slavery. And if the father is free and the mother a slave, the children shall also be slaves…

Article XV. We forbid slaves from carrying any offensive weapons or large sticks, at the risk of being whipped and having the weapons confiscated. ... The sole exception shall be made for those who have been sent by their masters to hunt and who are carrying either a letter from their masters or his known mark.

Article XVI. We also forbid slaves who belong to different masters from gathering, either during the day or at night, under the pretext of a wedding or other excuse, either at one of the master’s houses or elsewhere, and especially not in major roads or isolated locations. They shall risk corporal punishment (physical beating) that shall not be less than the whip …

Article XIX. We also forbid slaves from selling any type of commodities, even fruit, vegetables, firewood, herbs for cooking and animals either at the market, or at individual houses, without a letter or a known mark from their masters granting express permission.

Conclusion?

Enslavement in the Americas was a system where human beings were considered property, and status was determined by racial hierarchy. How was this system of enslavement justified? Especially by the colonizing powers of France and Britain and independent countries like Brazil and the United States — all of whom claimed to be champions of freedom and liberty? The answer relates to the third defining characteristic of enslavement: Slavery was motivated by economics but justified in religious and scientific terms.