The first African slaves arrived in 1619. Initially regarded as indentured servants who could buy their freedom, the institution of slavery began to harden and the involuntary servitude became lifelong as the demand for labor on tobacco and rice plantations grew in the 1660s. Slavery became identified with brown skin color, and the children of slave women were born slaves (partus sequitur ventrem). By the 1770s African slaves comprised a fifth of the American population.
The first African slaves arrived in 1619. Initially regarded as indentured servants who could buy their freedom, the ins.titution of slavery began to harden and the involuntary servitude became lifelong as the demand for labor on tobacco and rice plantations grew in the 1660s. Slavery became identified with brown skin color, and the children of slave women were born slaves (partus sequitur ventrem) By the 1770s African slaves comprised a fifth of the American population.