US History

LIFE IN THE COLONIES
These words had a devastating effect on the congregation, which began to wail
and beg for mercy. The “shrieks and cries were piercing,” wrote one witness, and
the uproar was so great that Edwards could not even finish his sermon.

The Impact of the Awakening
Over the next few years, such incidents became more common and quickly
widened the split between Old Light and New Light ministers. Since churches
were breaking apart, both sides agreed to make peace and heal their divisions for
the sake of unity. Although the Great Awakening was over by the late 1740s, the
impact of the movement was deep and ongoing.
New Light preachers had encouraged people to think for themselves and to make
their own choices about their religious faith. As a result, the church no longer had
absolute authority in religious matters, and preachers began to teach that
everyone was equal in the eyes of God. As one preacher said, “The common
people . . . claim as good a right to judge and act for themselves . . . as civil rulers or
the learned clergy.” By encouraging people to act independently and defy
authority, the Great Awakening helped lay the groundwork for rebellion against
British rule.

150

LIFE IN THE COLONIES

151

LIFE IN THE COLONIES

152

LIFE IN THE COLONIES

Slavery in the Americas
Many of the British colonies used the labor of enslaved West African people.
Southern Colonies with large farms depended on enslaved people to grow crops.
What was life like for people before they were enslaved in the colonies? How did
they get to the Americas?
West Africa is near the equator and south of the Sahara, a large desert in northern
Africa. To its west and south is the Atlantic Ocean. Most of West Africa is covered
by grassland or rainforest.
In the 1500s, the people of West Africa were alike in many ways. Most people
farmed crops that helped them feed the people in both small towns and large
cities. Other people were miners, craftsmen, or traders. Traders led caravans of
camels across the Sahara to trade gold and ivory for salt and cloth.
While most West Africans lived in freedom, some were enslaved. Slavery was
common in many parts of the world during this time. In West Africa, people were
enslaved as servants or workers. Although people enslaved in West Africa were

153

LIFE IN THE COLONIES
not free, many of them remained part of the larger family in a village. They may
have had fewer rights than other villagers, but they could own land to farm. They
could even become skilled workers and earn money. They and their descendants
could become free.

Traders from European countries changed this way of life in West Africa. In the
1400s, Portugal began trading goods in exchange for enslaved people. It had
plantations in the Americas that needed workers. Enslaving people for their labor
was a cheap way to get the work done and allowed a small country like Portugal to
control its colonies and the people it colonized.
Soon, other European traders also went to West Africa to participate in the trade
of enslaved people. Many Europeans targeted West Africans because of their
racist ideologies. They believed that Black Africans were not fully human and were
meant to be enslaved. Because of these false ideas, Europeans racialized slavery.
The people of West Africa had many different opinions about enslaving and selling
people to Europeans. Some believed that it was bad and they did not take part in
it, while others enjoyed the riches that it brought them. Many did not want to
enslave and trade people, but felt they had little choice. Their neighbors who
traded enslaved people were becoming richer and more powerful and might soon
try to capture, enslave, and sell them. Europeans created conflict between groups

154

LIFE IN THE COLONIES
in Africa to ensure that they had a steady supply of enslaved people with which to
grow their colonies.
People who were captured and enslaved faced a terrible journey. First, other West
Africans put them in chains and marched them, sometimes hundreds of miles, to
Africa’s west coast. Many people died along the way or after reaching the coast.
Europeans waited to load the survivors onto ships.

This voyage was part of the triangular trade. There were three different parts of
the triangular trade. In the first part of the triangular trade, Europeans traded
cloth, guns, and other goods for enslaved people from Africa.
The second part of the triangular trade was called the Middle Passage. In the
Middle Passage, enslaved people were sent on a voyage across the Atlantic
Ocean. The Middle Passage usually took between 21 to 90 days. In bad weather, it
could take even longer. Traders sold enslaved people in South America, the West
Indies, and the British colonies in North America.
No one knows exactly how many West Africans made the Middle Passage, but the
number has been estimated at 10 to 12 million. About 15 out of every 100 African

155

LIFE IN THE COLONIES
people died during the voyage because of the harsh conditions. Once they had
reached the Americas, most were enslaved in the West Indies and forced to grow
sugarcane. It was turned into sugar and molasses. New Englanders bought these
products and made them into rum.
In the third part of the triangular trade, traders took American goods, such as
tobacco and sugar, to Europe. Then, they took goods made in Europe to Africa.
There, they traded the goods for even more enslaved people. The triangular trade
continued for about 300 years.
When a ship arrived in the American colonies, the traders sold the West African
people to White plantation owners. If they were not already separated in Africa,
parents were sold separately from children, husbands from wives, and brothers
from sisters. Often, they never saw each other again. Separating families helped
enslavers maintain control over enslaved people.
The first year of enslavement on a plantation was very hard. People had to survive
a period of “breaking in,” or adjusting to their new life. First, enslavers gave each
enslaved person a new name. Next, an overseer shouted orders at them in an
unfamiliar language. If they did not understand what they were supposed to do, or
if they disobeyed the overseer, they might be whipped.

156

LIFE IN THE COLONIES
Most people were enslaved to work in the fields, spending long hours planting and
picking crops. They sometimes had to walk long distances to get to the fields.
There was a short meal break at noon and another one in the evening. Then the
enslaved people walked back to their cabins. Usually, many people lived in one
small cabin with a dirt floor. Sometimes, all they had for a bed was a bundle of
straw with some rags for a blanket. Oftentimes, they were not able to
communicate with the other people in their cabin because they did not speak the
same language.

People coped with their harsh lives of enslavement in different ways. Some
attempted to escape. Fugitives from slavery usually hid in nearby woods or
swamps, and some tried to make their way to freedom. Most people who escaped
were eventually caught and often severely punished by enslavers.

People resisted being enslaved in other ways, too. One way was to pretend not to
understand what they were being told to do. Another way was to pretend to be
too sick or too hurt to work. They sometimes broke tools or set buildings on fire. A
few killed themselves. Some enslaved people believed that when they died, their
spirits would return home to West Africa.

Others chose to work hard and do what they were told to avoid punishment or
win the enslaver’s favor. They hoped that the enslaver would make them house
servants or skilled workers.

Enslaved people also worked inside the homes of their enslavers. They worked as
cooks, gardeners, coachmen, and personal servants. Some were taught skills like
carpentry and blacksmithing. However, working in the home of the enslaver
brought on different kinds of cruelty and abuse.

An enslaved person’s life was painful, traumatic, and filled with many difficulties,
but through their tenacity, self-preservation, and faith their descendants have
survived.

157