Original a John Carter Brown Library @ Brown University
An Emblem of America 1732-1799
| An Emblem of America. Description: An allegorical figure of America as a woman in Classical dress standing beside a plinth inscribed to the memory of George Washington. A native American child with feathered headdress also stands beside the stone. In the background is Niagara Falls with native American figures. Decorative elements include American flag, spear, and tree. Record number: 86-23. |
. Beginning with European colonization in the late 15th century, the trade grew into a major economic and political force that had a devastating impact on Indigenous communities. While some Native tribes practiced forms of captive-taking before contact, the arrival of Europeans dramatically altered the scale and nature of Indigenous slavery.
Pre-colonial Native American slavery
Before European contact, many Native American tribes practiced their own forms of servitude, typically involving the capture of rivals in warfare. However, this was distinct from the chattel slavery introduced by Europeans:
- Purpose: Captives were often used to replace deceased tribal members, assimilate into the community, or serve as diplomatic pawns rather than as an economic labor force.
- Status: The status of "slave" was often not a permanent, inheritable status. Captives and their children could eventually be integrated into the tribe.
- Scale: Pre-European slavery was not practiced on the massive, commercial scale that the colonizing powers later established.
The European-driven slave trade
European demand for labor turned Indigenous servitude into a commercialized chattel slave system.
- Spanish colonization: European enslavement began with Christopher Columbus, who captured and sent Taíno people back to Spain on his first voyage. The Spanish later created the encomienda system, which forced Indigenous labor in mines and on plantations, leading to the rapid decimation of Indigenous populations in the Caribbean.
- English colonies: The English became heavily involved in the Indigenous slave trade to fill the need for labor in their colonies and the Caribbean. South Carolina was the largest exporter of enslaved Native Americans, selling between 30,000 and 51,000 captives between 1670 and 1715. In fact, in the late 17th century, South Carolina exported more Native Americans than it imported enslaved Africans.
- Native American involvement: European powers exploited and exacerbated rivalries between Native tribes, providing guns and goods in exchange for enslaved captives. This created a destructive cycle of inter-tribal warfare where groups raided others to gain power and acquire goods.
The decline of the trade and shift to African slavery
By the early 18th century, the Native American slave trade began to decline in the eastern colonies, primarily for the following reasons:
- High mortality: Enslaved Native Americans had high death rates from disease and brutal conditions.
- Risk of escape: Colonists found that Indigenous people, who were enslaved on or near their homelands, could easily escape and seek refuge with other tribes. This led colonists to export captives to the West Indies, New England, or other colonies far from their homes.
- Conflicts: The trade incited devastating wars among Native tribes, destabilizing the region and threatening colonial expansion. The Yamasee War of 1715, spurred partly by trader abuses, was a key factor in the trade's end in the Carolinas.
- African slavery: A shift toward using enslaved Africans as the primary labor force occurred as they were seen as a more stable and cost-effective investment.
The continuation of Indigenous enslavement
Despite the decline of the large-scale colonial slave trade, the enslavement of Native Americans continued in different forms for centuries.
- Westward continuation: Spanish, Mexican, and American colonists continued enslaving Native Americans in the Southwest and West well into the 19th century.
- Legal justifications: In places like New Mexico and Utah, legal codes were designed to enable the practice under euphemisms like "servitude" or "apprenticeship," even after slavery was abolished nationally.
- Mixed heritage: Enslaved Indigenous women and African men often intermarried, and their mixed-heritage children were often designated as "colored" in records, which helped obscure the history of Indigenous enslavement.
- Five Civilized Tribes: In a tragic irony, the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, and Seminole nations adopted the practice of owning African slaves as part of their strategy to assimilate into white culture and hold onto their lands.
Enduring legacy
The Native American slave trade had a profound and lasting impact:
- It contributed to the massive population decline of Indigenous peoples through violence, disease, and displacement.
- It disrupted and destroyed traditional Indigenous kinship networks and societies.
- The widespread practice of selling Indigenous people overseas led to their erasure from many regional histories.
- The legacy of the trade continues to affect Indigenous communities, with modern descendants working to reclaim their heritage and dignity.
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