Transcript Ch.4, Sec.3 – The Southern Colonies: Plantations & Slavery

Ch.4, Sec.3 – The Southern
Colonies: Plantations & Slavery
- the Southern Colonies
were made up of
Maryland, Virginia,
North Carolina, South
Carolina, and Georgia
Ch.4, Sec.3 – The Southern
Colonies: Plantations & Slavery
 The Plantation Economy
- the South’s fertile soil and almost year-round growing
season was ideal to grow cash crops like tobacco, rice, and
cotton
- transporting resources was very easy because of the many
waterways
Ch.4, Sec.3 – The Southern
Colonies: Plantations & Slavery
- the Southern Colonies didn’t
have large cities like the New
England & Middle Colonies
because plantations had
everything the families needed
- because plantations were
mostly self-sufficient, large cities
were not as common in the South
– the only exception was Charles
Town, South Carolina
(Charleston)
Ch.4, Sec.3 – The Southern
Colonies: Plantations & Slavery
 The Turn to Slavery
- by the A.D. 1660s, the labor system in the Southern Colonies
began to change as indentured white servants began to leave
the plantations
- it was politically dangerous (like Bacon’s Rebellion) to keep
White servants on their plantations
- therefore, landowners turned to African slaves
- by A.D. 1750, there were over 235,000 African slaves in
America and 85% lived in the Southern Colonies
Ch.4, Sec.3 – The Southern
Colonies: Plantations & Slavery
 Plantations Expand
- African slaves were used to cultivate the rice fields in South
Carolina & Georgia
- African slaves were also
used to cultivate the indigo
plant, which was introduced
as a plantation crop by
Eliza Lucas
Ch.4, Sec.3 – The Southern
Colonies: Plantations & Slavery
 The Planter Class
- slave labor allowed the
planter class to become
very wealthy & powerful
- many gained political &
economic control of the
South and they ruled their
plantations like tyrants
Philip Ludwell
William Byrd II
Ch.4, Sec.3 – The Southern
Colonies: Plantations & Slavery
 Life Under Slavery
- overseers often forced slaves to work
15 hour days in the hot sun with
backbreaking work and whipped them if
they were not working hard enough
- many still tried to hold on to their African
cultures (music, dances, religion)
Ch.4, Sec.3 – The Southern
Colonies: Plantations & Slavery
 Resistance to Slavery
- many slaves fought against
their enslavement through
rebellions
- the Stono Rebellion in A.D.
1739 was one famous example
of 20 slaves killing their owners
(all were killed in battle or
executed after capture)