Why were so many African slaves needed in the Americas?

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anonymous · Answer

Well there were lots of reasons! A large reason was for basic chores of the day to day. Rather then pay for someone for the rest of your life you pay for a person once and you own them to do whatever you need. Northern slavery grew out of the paradox the new continent presented to its European masters. So much land was available, so cheaply, that no one was willing to come to America and sign on to work as a laborer. The dream that drew Europeans across the Atlantic was owning acres of land or making a fortune in a trade or a craft. It was an attainable dream. In the 1680s a landless Welsh peasant from the mountains of Montgomeryshire could bring his whole family to Pennsylvania for and acquire 250 acres for another; placing just one son in a trade in Britain would have cost the family. Then of course there was cotton picking... This will help a lot! http://slavenorth.com/slavenorth.htm