Linkage Activity

     During the 18th century, there was a heavy flow of both goods and ideas across the Atlantic. From Africa came an almost inexhaustible supply of slave labour which was transported to the Caribbean and the Americas. Raw materials were exported from the Americas to Europe, where they were processed into manufactured goods that were sent to Africa and the colonies. Outside of the Tirangular trade however, the radical ideas of the Enlightenment (or Age of Reason) were reaching America from Europe. This precipitated the Great Awakening and sparked the passions of such intense preachers as George Whitefiled.  

Analysis of York County Records

     By 1648, the difference in attitude towards black labor and white labor was already becoming apparent in York County. Whereas English indentured servants were only expected to work for a specified number of years, Africans were kept for life. From these records, it is clear that Africans were expected to produce a considerably larger amount of tobacco than their European counterparts. This was quite a change from the status quo of three decades prior, when skin color had little effect on the treatment of laborers.