Economic Factors and Political Influence on Slavery in the New Netherland

Slavery in the New Netherland
Student’s Name
Institution
Slavery in the New Netherland
Introduction
The slave trade might have started in the early 15th century but the 16th century witnessed the most rampant slave-trading especially across the Atlantic. The discovery of the American Continent fueled the ferrying of African slaves across the Atlantic to provide free labor. The slave situation in New Netherland, the region that now encompasses the state of New York, New Jersey, some parts of Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut, is a bit unique to other regions in America. In the early 16th century, the Dutch dominated the newly discovered continent and ran the Dutch West India Company that was responsible for ferrying slaves from West and Central Africa across the Atlantic. The New Netherlands attracted slavery due to the numerous economic activities that required laborers, unlike the southern and Caribbean colonies that only relied on cash crop cultivation.
Economic Factors for Slavery in New Netherland
The New Netherland had fertile plain lands conducive for undertaking agricultural activities and the European colonies mainly engaged slaves in their large pieces of land to tend to their crops and livestock. For instance, the white settlers in Monmouth County were granted on average, 200-acres of land under the Monmouth patent to cultivate and plant cash crops, and in addition, were allowed to acquire African and Indian slaves for laboring (Hodges, 1997a). Other than for agricultural purposes, the slaves were required in large numbers for the establishment of new infrastructure, building of defensive walls, and carrying out other public works (Hodges, 1997a). The slaves were also needed for the growing industrialization that was in its early stage. Lewis Morris, a white settler in Monmouth Country, purchased a total of forty slaves to work as iron men alongside free whites who provided skilled labor in Morris’ enterprise (Hodges, 1997a).
The colonial administration from the state of New Jersey, previously part of the New Netherland, realized that the slave trade was contributing more to their economy than any other commercial activity. Instead of following suit and abolishing the illegitimate slave trade, the New Jersey colonial administration imposed a ten-pound duty on the slave trade to increase the total revenue (Hodges, 1997a). The slave duties were later scrapped following an order from the Privy Council to bar any legislation that might inhibit the lucrative business. The elimination of tariffs in the New Netherland attracted more slave traders because of the high demand for laborers. Slaves were also considered valuable commodities in the New Netherland, to an extent of being used in the barter trade (Hodges, 1997a). Valuable commodities of that time, including beaver skin, pork, or peas could be used in exchange for some slaves for their valuable free labor. As the economy evolved, the use of slaves for other purposes like dowery payment became the norm in the New Netherland.
Political Influence
Politics influenced the prevalence of the slave trade in the New Netherland as much as the economic factors. In fact, the economic and political factors are often intertwined, and ...