SW10/WWW: Psychovant Teaches American History #15: How Big Was Slavery?

[Drew Perron]

On 1/28/2020 8:31 PM, Scott Eiler wrote:
> Psychovant the Duck, back with another weekly lesson in American history.  Last 
> week, we talked about where "human resources" came from in the New World.  
> Injuns just didn't work for that.  That leads us
> to...
> 
> How big was slavery?  Russia and Sweden made it to North America without 
> slaves.  But Holland, France, Spain, and England all brought some - but mostly 
> to their south lands.  North had subsistence agriculture as long as their 
> colonists were stuck in places like New England.  More slaves, more mouths to 
> feed.  South had plantations, starting from about Virginia; plenty room for 
> slaves.  France was the same from north to south, comparing Quebec with 
> Louisiana.  Spain was even worse, and they were all south. 
> https://www.history.com/news/american-slavery-before-jamestown-1619

Fascinating. I've been really wanting to learn about how Europe got engaged in 
slavery in the first place; this gives some details but doesn't get into the 
deeper drive. (I'm betting it was at least partially in response to the Black 
Plague and the rise of wages and breakdown of feudalism thereafter.)

Drew "messed-up shit huh" Nilium