Slave Plantations in the Colonial South
The
agriculture system based on Slave Plantations
was implemented in the Southern Colonies during
the Colonial period. The five Southern Colonies
who introduced the system of Slave Plantations
were composed of the Maryland Colony, Virginia
Colony, North Carolina Colony, South Carolina
Colony and the Georgia Colony. The reason that
Slave Plantations sprang up in the South was due
to the geography and climate of the Southern
colonies. Typical crops were cotton, Tobacco,
Rice, Sugar and Indigo.
The Slave Plantations and the Slave Auctions
The
slave trade started in West Africa when
unfortunate men and women were forcibly dragged
from their homelands and forced on to the slave
ships. The slave ships followed a terrible 3000
mile route called the Middle passage to the West
Indies and later to America. This Atlantic trade
route was part of the English policy of
Colonialism,
Mercantilism and
Triangular Trade.
One the slaves had reached the areas of the
Slave Plantations they were sold at slave
auctions.
Owners of the Slave Plantations
The owners of the large Slave Plantations were
called planters and belonged to the planter
aristocracy of the Southern Colonies. The owners of the
Southern Slave Plantations were often the younger sons
of British landowners, who perpetuated the
English system of the 'landed gentry'. These
wealthy owners emulated the lifestyle of the
noble aristocracy and gentlemen farmers of
England. The planters used some of their slaves as household servants.
The houses of the planter aristocracy lived in
Georgian style mansions often featuring
frontages with Grecian style columns and large
verandas.
Life on the Slave Plantations - the Role of the
Overseer
On
the large Southern Slave Plantations the owners
relied heavily on overseers to run their
Slave Plantations. Overseers were men hired by
planters to manage and direct the work of
slaves. Overseers were usually from the white,
badly educated lower class - totally different
from the refined plantation owners. The
overseers were under considerable pressure from
the plantation owners to maximize profits. In
order to meet the requirements of the owners the
overseers used fear to motivate the slaves and
increase productivity. The punishments used by
the overseers against slaves included the use of
the cart-whip. The the role of the overseer in
the Slave Plantations gained scant respect -
they were looked down upon by the owners and
slaves alike.
