The forced movement of people to the establishment of European settlements in North America were crucial to how America was formed and how it functions to this day. African and Native American slaves had a crucial role in the movement of people to North America from approximately the year 1502. They had a major influence on America's economic and social systems and contributed involuntarily to the building wealth of America and England and yet saw nothing of their wealth. America would not be how it is today without the influence of these slaves and the profit from the Triangular Trade, which began at around 1450 then supposedly ended at around 1808 in the USA. Slavery played a vital part in the economy of the USA and …show more content…
The healthiest and strongest slave was most likely to be chosen by the owners. At first, sugar became America's main crop, but later silk, tobacco and coffee became just as important as sugar. These industries grew as a result of the high demand of these products in Europe. Then in 1793, Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin, which dramatically changed the way cotton was produced and the rate that it was produced at. Cotton then became a major crop and source of trade in the South Americas. This invention made separating the cotton fibers from the seeds 50 times faster than their previous work rate. This made cotton more profitable to produce in large quantities. Plantation owners started purchasing even more African slaves to work on the plantations as cotton plantations spread to South America. However, people began to increasingly question the economics and principles of the trading of slaves near the end of the 1800's. Slave trading became more costly and runaway slaves were causing riots. And even though the Triangular Trade ended at around 1808, there were still a lot Caucasian men and women who kept slaves which tended to be of African-American nationality. It wasn't until Abraham Lincoln introduced the Emancipation Proclamation in the 1860s, which freed slaves from their …show more content…
As soon as they were involuntarily taken from their village and families, they were sold at slave auctions to plantation owners, which showed how little the Europeans thought of them because they were not viewed as humans, but to some degree, as machines that continuously worked from dawn to dusk for their owner. But following their purchase at the auctions, they went through a forced process called 'Seasoning.' 'Seasoning' at worst, "was cruel treatment to make the slaves obey any order and live in fear of their owners." Following the torture, many had died under the pressure of 'seasoning' or had committed suicide after already being weakened by the horror and the appalling conditions of the journey to America from