Notes on Slavery in the USA

Slavery
The development of slavery
The first slaves to reach the mainland colonies arrived in Virginia as early as 1619. Their numbers at first grew very slowly: even in the 1670s Virginia's slave population did not exceed 2,000. Nor at first were slaves geographically concentrated: New York City in the 1690s had proportionately as many as Virginia.
In the early 18th Century the importation of slaves rose rapidly and slavery took firmer roots. Slavery had a number of distinctive advantages over white wage owners and indentured servants : slaves were permanent workers, they could not easi…