American History: Slavery and Dutch New Amsterdam

The Dutch West India Company established a fur trading post in 1624 on Manahattes, which later became New York City.
The first enslaved Africans arrived in Dutch New Amsterdam in 1626, seven years after the English settlers in Jamestown, Virginia purchased twenty Africans from Dutch traders.
The first eleven enslaved Africans in New Amsterdam were owned by the Dutch West India Company and were brought to build the colony.
These enslaved Africans were Atlantic Creoles, having cultural roots in both Africa and Europe, and were able to negotiate for greater autonomy.

Slaves in New Amsterdam had rights that were unusual for enslaved people, including the right to earn wages and keep them.
Enslaved Africans were able to petition for freedom and some were able to achieve "half freedom," where they were allowed to live on "free negro lots" and farm their own land.
Despite these advantages, slavery had no legal structure, and enslaved people were still subject to the whims of their owners.

Indentured servants, including both black and white people, were essential to the profits of Virginia tobacco farmers.
The status of indentured servants was similar to that of enslaved people, with both being treated poorly and having few rights.
However, by 1640, Africans were being treated differently than white indentured servants, with the former being enslaved for life.

By 1665, Maryland and New York had legalized slavery, and Virginia law makers decreed that children would be held bond or free according to the condition of their mother.
This marked the beginning of a shift towards racial slavery, where being black or white became a determining factor in one's freedom.
Free blacks found it increasingly difficult to make their case before a court of law, and were often subject to racial constraints.

Emanuel Driggus was an enslaved African who was able to negotiate for his freedom and later became a landowner.
Despite his efforts, he was unable to free his children, who were sold by his owner, Captain Pott.
However, one of his children, Thomas, was able to marry a free black woman and have free children.

Frances Driggus was a free black woman who was able to use the courts to her advantage, winning a lawsuit against her master.
However, she was later forced to bind herself and her child to another household as a servant in exchange for support.
Despite her efforts, she was eventually impoverished and disappeared from the public record.

By the beginning of the 18th century, slavery had become a racially based institution, with people being considered property.
The Carolina colony, founded in 1670, was the first society in which slavery was the center of economic production.
The plantation system was transplanted from the Caribbean to the American coast, and the more slaves that were brought, the more land was given to the owners.### The Carolina Colony and Slavery
The Carolina colony was established with a policy that encouraged slavery, offering 50 acres of land for every person brought into the colony.
Slaves were brought to the colony to exploit the low country, and they were initially used to grow crops like cotton, indigo, and rice.
The enslaved people brought from West Africa were knowledgeable about growing rice, which became a lucrative cash crop for the colony.

Many of the enslaved people were former soldiers who had been captured through wars or civil wars in West Africa.
They were marched to the coast, where they were sold to European traders, who then brought them to the Americas.
The enslaved people were subjected to inhumane conditions, including being treated as goods or cargo, and were often sold to the highest bidder.

The slave trade became a profitable business, with many investors making money from the sale of enslaved people.
The expansion of slavery was linked to the growth of capitalism, with industries like shipbuilding, insurance, and sail-making emerging to support the slave trade.
The enslaved people were used to grow rice, which became a major export crop for the colony.

The enslaved people lived in brutal conditions, with many dying during the journey to the Americas or shortly after arrival.
Those who survived were forced to work long hours in the fields, with men and women working alongside each other in a system that was unique to South Carolina.
The enslaved people were given tasks to complete each day, and were punished if they failed to meet their targets.

Many enslaved people resisted their enslavement, with some pretending to be ignorant or conforming to their masters' interests to survive.
Others maintained their dignity by drawing strength from their spirituality and culture.
There were instances of rebellion, including the Stono Rebellion, where a group of enslaved people rose up against their masters and attempted to escape to freedom in Florida.

The Stono Rebellion took place in 1739, when a group of enslaved people, led by a man named Jemmy, rose up against their masters and killed several white people.
The rebellion was crushed, but not before the enslaved people had burned several plantations and killed some of their white oppressors.
The rebellion led to the consolidation of slave laws into a single code, restricting the movement of black people and regulating their lives.

The Stono Rebellion was a turning point in the history of slavery in the Americas, marking a shift towards more brutal and oppressive measures to control the enslaved population.
Despite the failure of the rebellion, it showed that enslaved people could resist their enslavement and fight for their freedom.
The rebellion is remembered as a symbol of the resilience of the human spirit, and the determination of people to fight for their dignity and freedom.