AHC: Curb Slavery in American Colonies (w 1670's PoDs)

[John Fredrick Parker]

As many here doubtless know, while popular history often dates the beginning of slavery in the 13 Colonies to the first African immigrants in 1620, the truth is that the origins of the institution in the land that would become the United States is more complicated -- that the initial African Americans were indentured servants, of the same legal status as most Virginians, and that it was only through subsequent legislation that institutionalized racial slavery came to be. As I see it, the major turning point for the bulk of Colonial American slavery came in the 1670's, with two major events -- the emergence of the Province of Carolina, and Bacon's Revolt.

What I'm looking for are PoDs in these developments that would do the most to curb the influence of slavery (as OTL America knows it) as much as possible -- in the process, curbing "white supremacy" (again, as OTL understands it) in America as well* -- by 1770 or so. As I see it, this might include things like Locke's proposed constitution being both less feudal and more successful, Bacon's revolt leading to Frontier Republics, or anything in between -- unless, of course, you think said examples implausible, in which case I'd be interested in other ideas as well.

*(though note, this does not necessarily entail being nice to native nations)

 

[Last of the Stuarts]

The best way to remove slavery is to remove the causes of slavery, in America this was tobacco and cotton.

If the 13 colonies had a climate that was not suitable for such cash crops then others would have been grown (in the same way that sugar caused slavery in the Caribean).

We have wheat and other cerals or animal husbandry which are both much less labour intensive and would lead to no slavery beyond the indentured slavery of the white immigrants.

 

[Socrates]

Greater Spanish power to the south might make frequent attacks on Charleston cause the settlement to be abandoned. By the time they're resettled an anti-slavery mindset could have set in.

 

[wkwillis]

The first slaves in New Amsterdam (now New York City) were captured Morrocans, IIRC.

 

[MerryPrankster]

Keep Georgia a free colony--it could be done with an earlier discovery of gold, although the fact the gold was in the Cherokee land could be a problem this early.

Keeping Georgia free might contain slavery to South Carolina geographically.

 

[Antipater]

Looking towards the other side of the Atlantic, the defeat of Portugal in the "Restoration War," which secured its independence from Spain, could easily set back slavery in the 13 Colonies. The War, which ended in 1668, allowed Portugal to engage in an independent trade policy, which included taking a large role in the slave trade. Not sure on the numbers, but I believe a very high percentage of slaves went through the Portuguese outpost of Cape Verde, and much of the "origination" of the slave trade was conducted by Portuguese traders and captains; if Portugal and its colonies remained part of Spain, such trade would have had to remain clandestine, and thus been reduced.

This would not halt the importation of slaves to the Colonies, but having no independent Portugal would raise the price of slaves, and make enslaving Indians and relying upon indentured servants more economical. English merchants would not be in a position to really dominate the Transatlantic slave trade until 1714 or so at the earliest, the forty year period where slaves would continue to be expensive could cause changes in colonial society that would make it less receptive to slavery than it was IOTL. With a higher percentage of whites in the Southern colonies, by the 1770's Carolina and Georgia may look more like OTL Pennsylvania, with a large slave population, but with free labor being predominant.

I don't think there is any way that you can avoid large scale African slavery taking root in the 13 colonies, at best I think you can limit it with a delay in the widespread availability of slaves at a low price. The Caribbean plantation model was already too well known to be ignored, there was already the successful precedent of using slave labor to grow cash crops. The best you can hope for with a 1670's POD is the greater use of White and Indian indentured labor as a substitute.

 

[John Fredrick Parker]

Does anyone think that Bacon's Revolt had any potential? Not even with regard to slavery, just potential to have more impact (more democratic Virginia, etc) than it did?

Keep Georgia a free colony--it could be done with an earlier discovery of gold, although the fact the gold was in the Cherokee land could be a problem this early.

Keeping Georgia free might contain slavery to South Carolina geographically.

Has potential; can certainly come into play TTL, though right now I'm looking at 17th Century PoDs...

Looking towards the other side of the Atlantic, the defeat of Portugal in the "Restoration War," which secured its independence from Spain, could easily set back slavery in the 13 Colonies. The War, which ended in 1668, allowed Portugal to engage in an independent trade policy, which included taking a large role in the slave trade...

Maybe; though for the purposes of this thread, I really couldn't take a PoD earlier than the 1660's. so it'd have to be in the Third Stage of the war...

 

[MAlexMatt]

If you keep immigration from the Caribbean sugar colonies to a minimum, the institution as it came to in the Deep South would never spring up. Slavery was a big thing in the Upper South in that it provided a unprecedented degree of wealth to the upper class, and allowed for an agrarian upper-middle class in the Near West, but they never quite as zealous about it as the Slave Lords of the Deep South. Combine that with something surrounding Bacon's Revolt, and you might very well be able to butterfly a racial caste system in America.

EDIT: Considering Charles' role in the foundation of Carolina, find something to change about the English Restoration and there you go.

 

[John Fredrick Parker]

EDIT: Considering Charles' role in the foundation of Carolina, find something to change about the English Restoration and there you go.

Any specific ideas on that?

 

[Ganesha]

Anyone else?

Yeah, I had an idea. It's possible (just barely possible) that a very large slave revolt might cause Southern whites to view Africans as "uncivilizeable and uncontrollable", and thus cause them to abandon slavery from fear and racism. The revolt would have to be huge (holding a significant amount of territory for a significant amount of time), but given the right circumstances, I think it'd be possible. You would probably (after it's put down) see either a partial genocide of African Americans (less likely) or mass deportation back to Africa (more likely).

 

[John Fredrick Parker]

^^I don't know, weren't there a lot of slave revolts in the West Indies anyway?

Part of what interests me about a PoD in this period isn't just curbing slavery, it's curbing the white supremacy that slavery gave rise to. At the time of Bacon's Revolt, for example, interracial marriage was not uncommon, and several "negroes" participated in the revolt.

 

[Johnrankins]

Going from the Africa end maybe a more stable Africa with large kingdoms reluctant to war on each other thus reducing greatly the number of prisoners that can be sold as slaves? Not sure how to do that though. Another way would be for some new disease going through Africa that is comparable to the Black Death or worse wiping out large numbers of Africans. The problem there (outside its sheer nastiness which doesn't reduce its probability) is Africa's low population density.

 

[mtg999]

Part of what interests me about a PoD in this period isn't just curbing slavery, it's curbing the white supremacy that slavery gave rise to. At the time of Bacon's Revolt, for example, interracial marriage was not uncommon, and several "negroes" participated in the revolt.

Whilst it would not necessarily curb slavery, could changing the 'justification' for slavery help curb the white supremacy aspect of it? I mean that, to my understanding, up until the 19th century, the justification was more based on religion and to a lesser extent culture (views about 'uncivilised heathens') as opposed to race ( views about the Africans as an 'inferior race').

Now, at least to my knowledge race-based justifications (of the 19th century pseudo-scientific kind) of both slavery and by extension, white ruel, were never as common in some other colonial systems, such as France and Portugal. What were the official justification for in particular slavery in this system? More importantly, how do we get the British (and later the Americans) to keep have a less race-based view of colonialism?

 

[John Fredrick Parker]

Whilst it would not necessarily curb slavery, could changing the 'justification' for slavery help curb the white supremacy aspect of it? I mean that, to my understanding, up until the 19th century, the justification was more based on religion and to a lesser extent culture (views about 'uncivilised heathens') as opposed to race ( views about the Africans as an 'inferior race').

AIUI, the racialized understanding of slavery had as much to do with the rise of the concept of a "white race" than the psudo-science of the 19th Century -- what I've come across before* indicates that there was a common understanding of Africans as the equivalent of cattle, morally and mentally, well by the mid 18th Century.

*which, TBF, may well be little beyond Roots

 

[Intosh]

As many here doubtless know, while popular history often dates the beginning of slavery in the 13 Colonies to the first African immigrants in 1620, the truth is that the origins of the institution in the land that would become the United States is more complicated -- that the initial African Americans were indentured servants, of the same legal status as most Virginians, and that it was only through subsequent legislation that institutionalized racial slavery came to be. As I see it, the major turning point for the bulk of Colonial American slavery came in the 1670's, with two major events -- the emergence of the Province of Carolina, and Bacon's Revolt.

What I'm looking for are PoDs in these developments that would do the most to curb the influence of slavery (as OTL America knows it) as much as possible -- in the process, curbing "white supremacy" (again, as OTL understands it) in America as well* -- by 1770 or so. As I see it, this might include things like Locke's proposed constitution being both less feudal and more successful, Bacon's revolt leading to Frontier Republics, or anything in between -- unless, of course, you think said examples implausible, in which case I'd be interested in other ideas as well.

*(though note, this does not necessarily entail being nice to native nations)

West Africa could simply be christianized by a Church lead by a humanist Pope and it could be inappropriate for Spain to let some english or dutch slaves traders to kidnapp these new "children of god" belonging to a modern Kingdom of the Priest John...

The POD will be in the 1570's with a Spain who will be more successful in its campaign in northern Africa and so missionaries will be send to North Africa but also to West Africa to stop the rising of Islam in these regions. The Spanish missionaries will be successful to convert and christianize entire small kingdoms who will be under Church and spanish protection...

Another POD will be the lack of a English Revolution so thousands of lives will be saved and more people could be used as Indentured Servants in the colonies.

 

[wietze]

AIUI, the racialized understanding of slavery had as much to do with the rise of the concept of a "white race" than the psudo-science of the 19th Century -- what I've come across before* indicates that there was a common understanding of Africans as the equivalent of cattle, morally and mentally, well by the mid 18th Century.

*which, TBF, may well be little beyond Roots

this of course is not restricted to black people, up till 1882 wives were more or less considered property of their husbands under British law. So in those days in general the mindset was completely different.

 

[gridlocked]

In southern and Carriabean climates, blacks did better than whites. Make Blacks particularly vulnerable to mosquito borne diseases and the economic basis of slavery withers.

Age of enlightment thinking in the 1670s (very early) versus the economic success of slave plantation? I don't see it. Making slave planatations less viable is the way to go. In the 1670s didn't the north have slaves too?

 

[John Fredrick Parker]

^^It's not a question so much of averting slavery as keeping it from growing so big -- UIAM, the 17th "slaves" in the north were more akin to indentured servants, becoming slavery proper through a process like that in Virginia, setting white residents apart as having the rights of Englishman and all that...