The Slave Trade

In the late 1600s, the cost of buying a slave went down. The colonies in America began buying more and more slaves. These slaves came from the continent of Africa. People in Africa were captured and sold as slaves throughout the world.

Slave traders hunted for young slaves and captured them in nets and traps. They were taken from their families and villages. They would never return home again. Thousands and thousands of these people were captured and sold as slaves. The new slave owners branded them like cattle so people would know to whom the slaves belonged. The slaves were treated terribly.

The slaves were packed onto ships and sent across the ocean. Many of the slaves were sold and sent to the West Indies. They worked on sugar farms there. Some of the slaves were also sent to America at this time. People in the Southern colonies bought many of the slaves to work on the large plantations. They worked in the tobacco, cotton, and rice fields. The life of a slave was terrible and inhumane.