Slavery was so profitable, it sprouted more millionaires per capita in the Mississippi River valley than anywhere in the nation. With cash crops of tobacco, cotton and sugar cane, America’s southern states became the economic engine of the burgeoning nation.
Why were slaves important to the colonies?
England’s southern colonies in North America developed a farm economy that could not survive without slave labor. Many slaves lived on large farms called plantations. These plantations produced important crops traded by the colony, crops such as cotton and tobacco. The business of the plantation was farming.
How did agriculture affect slavery?
Because the economy of the South depended on the cultivation of crops, the need for agricultural labor led to the establishment of slavery. It also created a society sharply divided along class lines. For this reason, the contrast between the rich and the poor was greater in the South than it was in the North.
What were slaves required to do?
When they were not raising a cash crop, slaves grew other crops, such as corn or potatoes; cared for livestock; and cleared fields, cut wood, repaired buildings and fences. On cotton, sugar, and tobacco plantations, slaves worked together in gangs under the supervision of a supervisor or a driver.
What did the slaves produce?
Most favoured by slave owners were commercial crops such as olives, grapes, sugar, cotton, tobacco, coffee, and certain forms of rice that demanded intense labour to plant, considerable tending throughout the growing season, and significant labour for harvesting.
What did slaves do for fun?
During their limited leisure hours, particularly on Sundays and holidays, slaves engaged in singing and dancing. Though slaves used a variety of musical instruments, they also engaged in the practice of “patting juba” or the clapping of hands in a highly complex and rhythmic fashion.
