Slavery has been one of the most problematic aspects of the history of humankind. Slavery developed as European trading and marine settlements which required additional labor in the American colonies (Harris, 2018). Settlers comprised enslaved people from Native Americans and forcibly brought Africans, using slave labor in every part of the economy, from sugar production to harvesting and exploration of raw materials (Harris, 2018). The practice of slavery in British North America can be characterized by how colonists regarded enslaved people.
As slavery gradually spread across America, each area had distinctions. For instance, Jamestown in Virginia became the first permanent British settlement through which enslaved Africans were brought to North America (Harris, 2018). Similar to Jamestown, other port cities practiced slavery primarily by connecting the international slave trade with rural and urban slave markets (Harris, 2018). Slavery practices were perceived to extend in Boston, which is believed to be the first place where someone tried to force enslaved people to have children to earn money (Harris, 2018). Later, Massachusetts enacted the first law of slavery in British North America (Harris, 2018). While the practice of slavery was developing throughout America, the labor roles did not vary much (Harris, 2018). Colonists used enslaved people as domestic labor or to farm and produce trade goods (Harris, 2018). Colonial regions captured people to force them to work, but slavery practices seem to differ depending on how settlers viewed enslaved people, whether for trade, profit, or as legitimized property.
Although slavery used to be a significant source of labor in colonial America, indentured servants were also prevalent. Enslaved people consisted of Native Americans or Africans, with the latter brought to America against their will (Harris, 2018). However, indentured servants made individual choices to migrate, looking for economic opportunities and hoping to live better overseas (Delao, 2021). The servants often worked cultivating tobacco and building the economy, with indentured servitude influencing culture and society in North America (Delao, 2021). Colonial regions had varying labor, but some were forced to work while others did so voluntarily.
To summarize, the practice of slavery was characterized by capturing people and considering them as a workforce. Regions often viewed enslaved people as goods for trading or means to make money but failed to regard them as human beings. However, labor was represented not solely by enslaved people but also by indentured servants who willingly arrived in colonial America seeking jobs to improve their lives.