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Because there was a labor shortage. Anybody who could get to America had all the land they could possibly want for very low cost, but they could get no one to help them work it. New arrivals could get their own land, so , who would want to be someone else's field hand? There was a partial solution in indentured servants. These were poor people recruited in England to go to the colonies. They did not have the money to pay their way, so someone would pay their passage, in return for which they had to work for that person, usually for seven years. But after the seven years they were free to go their own way and acquire their own land.
So, in 1619 when a Dutch ship captain arrived off Jamestown with a cargo of African slaves he had been unable to sell elsewhere and proposed to sell them to the Virginians, it seemed to some like a good idea. Originally these Africans were treated just like the other indentured servants, and freed after seven years. Within a generation or two though the Virginia legislature, and those of other states, had changed laws so that white indentured servants were still freed after seven years but Africans became perpetual servants, never to be freed.
What else can I help you with?
When did child slavery begin?
in the early 1700s
How did slavery begin in the middle ages?
Slavery was widely practiced in the Roman Empire, and medieval people inherited the practice from them.
What state in the US supported slavery first?
Maryland was the first US state to support slavery.
When did the formation of all-black churches begin?
After the abolition (end) of slavery
When did US President Lincoln begin to think about plans to end slavery in a peaceful way?
The civil war was fought over states rights, it wasnt until the 1960s that jews changed the history books to make it out like the civil war was over slavery.
What year did slavery officially begin in the US?
1776. Slavery was also extant in the colonies before the US existed.
What country or city or state did slavery begin in the us?
South Carolina
Where did slavery in the new world begin?
Where slavery begin
What year did the slavery begin in the US?
Slavery occurred over a 100+ years even before the founding of the United States.
When did President Lincoln begin to formulate a fair way to end slavery in the US?
President Lincoln did begin to formulate a fair way to end slavery in the United States in 1862.
How did Islam begin in the US?
http://Islam.about.com/od/history/a/afammuslims.htm Via slavery of Muslim African slaves!
When did slavery begin in Jamestown?
Slavery stated in Jamestown in 1620.
When slavery begin in the unite states?
Slavery existed in the Americas prior to the formation of the United States in 1787. When the US Constitution was accepted, slavery was already there. The first African slaves were brought to the Jamestown colony in the 17th Century.
When did slavery begin to spread?
when you died
When did chattel slavery begin?
1900s
How did slavery begin in the Americans?
:O
When did slavery begin in US?
Slavery began in Virginia in 1619 when the first African slaves arrived in Jamestown to help with the production of tobacco. A Dutch ship carried 20 slaved over the Pacific.
