Listen, Jackson. Do You Hear Singing?
Cotton-Pickin' Singing
"Listen, Jackson. Do you hear singing?"
"Ain't gonna tarry here no more..."
"Yes, Alana, and it sounds sad. Where are we, anyway? All this fluffy white stuff reminds me of pillow stuffing!"
"My camera has brought us to the cotton fields of Georgia in the 1700s. Those are cotton bolls, or the seedpods of cotton, Jackson. Look around. Everyone here is picking cotton."
"Well, I don't really feel like picking anything. I'm sleepy and need a nap. Maybe I’ll just lie down right here..."
"Jackson, hurry and get up before the overseer gets you!"
"Yikes! Look at that whip! That overseer looks like he could use a nap!"
"He's the boss! Now quick, pick some cotton!"
"But, aren't we too young to work in a field?"
"Jackson, this is a slave colony. Even kids had to work long hours in the plantation fields every day. You're lucky that overseer didn't catch you trying to lie down."
"No kidding. Kids our age who were slaves had to work all day, every day! Just like the grown ups."
"Yes, Jackson. Kids, grandmas, every slave who could walk had to work. The plantation fields were so big that the owners needed lots of laborers. They didn't have machines like the farms in our day. Slave traders brought thousands of African slaves here to work. And don't even think about lunch. Slaves got only two small meals a day, if they were lucky!"
"OK, I cannot go without a lunch, Alana!"
"Don't worry, Jackson. We won't be here that long. Did you ever wonder why the settlers didn't use American Indians for laborers?"
"One reason was that American Indians got sick from European diseases. And Indians could easily run away because they knew their way around."
"Ain't gonna let nobody turn me 'round..."
"There's that singing again, Alana."
"Slaves in the fields used to sing to make the time go by and keep their spirits up. They also sang to keep the rhythm of picking going so nobody stopped or tried to lie down. They'd be whipped, sold or suffer some other punishment. The overseers had no mercy. (Crack!) That's the overseer with his whip just a few rows over. Pick, Jackson, pick!"
"Comin' for to carry me home..."
"Hey, I've heard that song! That's 'Swing Low, Sweet Chariot'! I remember learning about spirituals in music class. Those old songs were first sung by slaves."
"Yeah, Jackson. Pretty cool, huh?"
"The song part, yes. The slavery part, no way. I still can't believe this used to happen."
"I know. I'm taking lots of pictures, so we never forget what slavery was like."
"Good idea. I'll skip the nap, as long as you make sure your magic camera gets us back home in time for lunch."
"Yeah, yeah. I know. C'mon, let's sing too!"
"Swing low..."
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Slavery in the Colonies
Triangular Trade
If you think triangular trade is an exchange of percussion instruments, guess again! Triangular trade is a phrase that describes trade between three continents or ports. This type of trade was common between the 16th and 19th centuries and usually involved Europe, North America and Africa. Many different countries and colonies formed these triangles. Do you remember the Columbian exchange? That's what started it all. People in Europe just couldn't get enough of the goods and resources that came from the Americas. And people in the colonies depended on Europe for goods they couldn't get in America. The African point of the triangle was added when Europeans decided they could use Africans as slaves. In the early 1500s, the Spanish brought slaves to America to help search for gold. A large number of slaves came to Jamestown in the early 1600s. Africans already knew how to work in sugar and indigo fields. The colonists forced them to work without payment - slavery. Slavery here lasted for over 250 years. Let's find out more about each part of triangular trade.
Here's an Example of a Trade Triangle:
Leg 1: Great Britain to Africa
Great Britain was a powerful empire in Europe during triangular trade. We know England was competing with France, Spain and the Netherlands for control of the Americas. So you're probably wondering what this has do with Africa? Well, in order to make more money and get more land in America, England needed lots and lots of workers, mostly for the big plantations in their colonies. (Do you remember the three L's - Land, Labor and Loot?) England shipped goods to Africa in exchange for slaves. England traded copper, fine cloth, Asian silk and goods made of glass. Some Africans captured people from other African countries and sent them to England. Perhaps the most valued English goods were guns and ammunition. African town and tribal leaders paid for the goods with healthy people, most of whom would become slaves in America.
Leg 2: Africa to America
Slaves and indigo were Africa's chief exports in colonial times. Hundreds of African families were torn apart when members who could work were shipped to America. Altogether, traders took over 11 million Africans from their homeland. Some were bought and paid for with British goods or goods from America. Others were kidnapped from their towns and put on ships. The Atlantic crossing was known as the Middle Passage, or the middle leg of the triangle. Many Africans were tightly packed below decks where ill treatment, disease and starvation caused many deaths. Of those who survived the Middle Passage, most ended up doing slave work in colonial fields. Some Africans, however, were domestic workers. This exchange of Africans destroyed the populations and family structures of West African villages for hundreds of years. Some free Africans lived in the colonies too. They often farmed or worked at trades.
Leg 3: America to Great Britain
The economy in the Americas developed quickly. The use of slave labor increased profits for cash crops. In the Southern and Middle Colonies, the biggest plantations exported tons of tobacco, cotton and sugar. Other big American crops were rice and coffee. English merchants paid top dollar for Virginia tobacco and rich coffee from the Americas.
Triangular Trade, Then and Now
Countries and colonies in North, Central and South America were all part of triangular trade then. Here's another example: Caribbean slaves made molasses from sugar. The molasses was shipped to the New England Colonies where it was made into rum and shipped across the Atlantic to Africa. The Rhode Island Colony alone had 20-30 rum distilleries (places where liquor is made) and at least 150 ships dedicated to trading with Africa for slaves. If you had been a sailor during the age of triangular trade, you'd probably cross the Atlantic Ocean seven or eight times a year!
Think about all the trade routes there are today and how fast goods can get from one continent to another. The next time you finish a candy bar, do some research about it. Trace the countries of origin of each ingredient and imagine how they traveled the world to get to you. How many triangles of trade exist now? Just thinking about it is mind-boggling!
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