Slavery in the American colonies existed in two forms. Indian Slaves and Negro slaves. These were found in all colonies since their founding. Eventually slavery grew in the South due to its need for workers on plantations but there was also isolated slavery in the Northern Colonies. Slavery was common in New York City into the 19th century and people always forget that one of the most densely settled slave populations was in southern Rhode Island, where an entire culture similar to Virginia was developed and flourished but existed off horse breading and wool instead of tobacco farming.

Indians had the problem of them dying from disease so it slowly evaporated. Negro slaves were more malaria resistant and grew from a novelty to a need. The driving force was a need for cheap labor for the plantations that grew tobacco for England. There was always a great supply of indentured servants coming from Europe but these were always owed something at the end of their period whereas slaves were not. Additionally, the English government stopped shipping large numbers of people over in the late 17th century so slaves filled the need.

What made slavery a necessity was cutting costs. The English passed Navigation Acts that allowed them to completely control the tobacoo trade from the colonies and taxed it so much that the planters needed to save money at all costs. The production of tobacco increased but the revenue crashed due to taxation and price controls in London. Slaves were also used in South Carolina to grow rice as they were more malaria resistant than others.

Please see Conceived in Liberty Volume 1, Chapter 6. Social Structure in Virginia: Bondservants and Slaves. This book is freely available in pdf and audiobook format.