In what is now the United States, the vast majority of early settlers were indentured servants who came over to "the new world" to work for privately owned colonies that were chartered by British royalty. They were indentured servants to the owners of the colonies for 7 years to pay the debt of transport, food and housing, then granted land upon freedom.
You are correct that blacks were brought here in chains from the beginning. initially the blacks were kidnapped from the Portuguese colony of Angola. While the Spaniards and Portuguese held the Angolans as lifelong slaves from the beginning, in the British colonies-- at least initially -- they were called slaves but freed and given land after seven years, the same as the white indentured servants.
The Angolans had already been forced to adapt European cultural traits as part of being a colony, including forced to adopt Christianity. This is part of why they were viewed as people -- they already had many of the same habits and mannerisms as the (mostly) British colonists. In the very earliest days of slavery, black and white indentured people resided together in servant housing. Blacks would become free and buy slaves of their own.
As slavery expanded, traders started stealing black people from all over the continent, bringing in many people from many different cultures. As more people with "strange" cultures were forced together, there were cultural clashes, not only with the white people, but with other blacks. Whites began to view black people as "less than human" and separation of blacks and whites began to be institutionalized.
Meanwhile, the private charter colonies failed under their own weight and the crown took them over as official crown colonies. Indentured servants wasn't a "thing" any more, and that quickly faded as a cultural norm.
Plantation owners were making giant profits, and they created many laws to ensure that they stayed in power and stopped others from getting power. Laws included preventing white indentured servants from getting "good" land (a trait that defined good was land already stolen from the Native Americans so they didn't have to worry about their plantations being attacked by the Natives), blacks not being allowed land at all, and to laws to ensure black people couldn't be free.
If you are planning a vacation any time soon, I would recommend a trip to Williamsburg, Virginia to see Jamestown and Williamsburg (capital of VA during the Revolution). Fort Monroe is a relatively short drive from Williamsburg-- Fort Monroe is literally the place that slavery began and ended, and the story of that pivotal piece of land is fascinating.
Interesting post. I plan to visit all your suggested places.
VA is a treasure trove of American history. I visited a Civil War battlefield in the Culpepper VA area. It was eye opening.
I'm from California and I learned virtually nothing about American history in school. I am currently homeschooling my 8th grader, and this year is American history. We happened to be going to Virginia this past summer, so while we were there, I dragged my son to many historic sites that I knew we'd be learning about in his school curriculum. Jamestown and Williamsburg are "reenactments," where they simulate life back in that era, and seeing "life" in action made it all the more real and comprehensible. My son breezed through his history assignments because he had already seen most of it with his own eyes. If you can, take 2 days for Williamsburg. It's only open from like 9 - 5 and you can't see it all in one day. Its really good and worth the time/money.
It has been fascinating for me to learn the truth about our roots and I am grateful that my son is learning "real" history and not the indoctrination crap I learned in school.
I agree with you. You did the right thing as a parent
NC public schools in the early 70s had a very extensive US history curriculum as well as NC History , World and American Black history.
My church field trip to Williamsburg was very good.
Virginia is treasure.
In what is now the United States, the vast majority of early settlers were indentured servants who came over to "the new world" to work for privately owned colonies that were chartered by British royalty. They were indentured servants to the owners of the colonies for 7 years to pay the debt of transport, food and housing, then granted land upon freedom.
You are correct that blacks were brought here in chains from the beginning. initially the blacks were kidnapped from the Portuguese colony of Angola. While the Spaniards and Portuguese held the Angolans as lifelong slaves from the beginning, in the British colonies-- at least initially -- they were called slaves but freed and given land after seven years, the same as the white indentured servants.
The Angolans had already been forced to adapt European cultural traits as part of being a colony, including forced to adopt Christianity. This is part of why they were viewed as people -- they already had many of the same habits and mannerisms as the (mostly) British colonists. In the very earliest days of slavery, black and white indentured people resided together in servant housing. Blacks would become free and buy slaves of their own.
As slavery expanded, traders started stealing black people from all over the continent, bringing in many people from many different cultures. As more people with "strange" cultures were forced together, there were cultural clashes, not only with the white people, but with other blacks. Whites began to view black people as "less than human" and separation of blacks and whites began to be institutionalized.
Meanwhile, the private charter colonies failed under their own weight and the crown took them over as official crown colonies. Indentured servants wasn't a "thing" any more, and that quickly faded as a cultural norm.
Plantation owners were making giant profits, and they created many laws to ensure that they stayed in power and stopped others from getting power. Laws included preventing white indentured servants from getting "good" land (a trait that defined good was land already stolen from the Native Americans so they didn't have to worry about their plantations being attacked by the Natives), blacks not being allowed land at all, and to laws to ensure black people couldn't be free.
If you are planning a vacation any time soon, I would recommend a trip to Williamsburg, Virginia to see Jamestown and Williamsburg (capital of VA during the Revolution). Fort Monroe is a relatively short drive from Williamsburg-- Fort Monroe is literally the place that slavery began and ended, and the story of that pivotal piece of land is fascinating.
Interesting post. I plan to visit all your suggested places. VA is a treasure trove of American history. I visited a Civil War battlefield in the Culpepper VA area. It was eye opening.
I'm from California and I learned virtually nothing about American history in school. I am currently homeschooling my 8th grader, and this year is American history. We happened to be going to Virginia this past summer, so while we were there, I dragged my son to many historic sites that I knew we'd be learning about in his school curriculum. Jamestown and Williamsburg are "reenactments," where they simulate life back in that era, and seeing "life" in action made it all the more real and comprehensible. My son breezed through his history assignments because he had already seen most of it with his own eyes. If you can, take 2 days for Williamsburg. It's only open from like 9 - 5 and you can't see it all in one day. Its really good and worth the time/money.
It has been fascinating for me to learn the truth about our roots and I am grateful that my son is learning "real" history and not the indoctrination crap I learned in school.
I agree with you. You did the right thing as a parent NC public schools in the early 70s had a very extensive US history curriculum as well as NC History , World and American Black history. My church field trip to Williamsburg was very good. Virginia is treasure.