Slavery In The Southern Colonies

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Most southern farmers kept their farms small, however, others bought additional land to increase the production of cash crops. Larger farms were known as plantations. Plantations were predominant in the Southern Colonies. Large plantations cultivated more cash crops than small farms.

The Southern Colonies were the perfect place to grow cash crops. The soil was rich and the location along waterways allowed for easy shipment of goods. Tobacco became the primary cash crop on the plantations of Maryland and Virginia. In South Carolina and Georgia, indigo and rice became the main crops.

The larger the farm, the more workers it required. Raising tobacco, rice, and indigo required a lot of human labor. The earliest plantation workers were indentured
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However, in the mid 1600s, Africans were being traded not as indentured servants but as slaves. Enslaved people were prisoners forced to work without pay. Unlike indentured servants, slaves were not contracted workers, they were enslaved for life. Enslaved people were usually sold like property at an auction.

Over time a plantation owner who had many workers, was only needed to watch over the work of others. Field slaves and house slaves are two types of slaves that could be found on a plantation. Field slaves raised crops, while house slaves tended to indoor chores.

Southern plantations were located on large amounts of land which made them far from other plantations or towns. Because people lived so far apart, there were few schools. Some plantations established their own schools and some hired teachers from Europe. Boys were expected to complete school while girls, who were only required to learn basic skills, finished around the age of 13.

A plantation owner and his family lived in the main house which was usually located high on a hill near a source of water. They were responsible for taking care of everything and everyone on the plantation. A large plantation often included around a hundred people that needed to be clothed and fed. The owner and his family often lived in