This question sprung into my head after reading this source: https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/aug/14/slavery-in-america-1619-first-ships-jamestown. It talks about how the original Africans shipped over to Virginia in 1619 were indentured servants rather than chattel slaves, only through a series of laws in the late 1600 did enslaved Africans become property. How and why did this shift occur?
This is a GREAT question! And the story of the shift from Indentured Servants to Slavery -- and why slavery came to dominate in the south and not the north -- was something I did a huge answer on last year and then the original poster deleted their account and the thread disappeared! So in advance I thank you for asking this question. So hold on, this is a bit long and a bumpy but fascinating ride!