The 13 colonies that became the first states in the United States of America were very diverse in their geographical locations, economic outputs, religious and social structures, and stances on slavery. When the United States declared independence in 1776, slavery was legal in all 13 colonies.
The Thirteen Colonies were a group of British colonies on the east coast of North America founded between 1607 and 1733. The Thirteen Colonies had very different geography, economics, religions, and social structures from one colony to another. There were four distinct regions that the colonies could be grouped into based on their locations and primary economic drivers: New England Colonies, Middle Colonies, Southern Colonies, and the Caribbean Colonies.
Despite their differences, the Thirteen Colonies were tied together through their status as British colonies. As Britain strengthened control and taxation over the colonies leading up to the American Revolution, the differences between the colonies were outweighed by their shared opposition to British rule. This section will provide an overview of the Thirteen Colonies on the eve of the American Revolution, including their stances on slavery.
New England Colonies
The New England Colonies consisted of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island and New Hampshire. This northernmost region of the Thirteen Colonies had a colder climate than the other regions, a landscape that was rocky and not ideal for large scale agriculture, and an economy that depended on fishing, whaling, shipbuilding, shipping and rum production.
The cold climate and poor farmland made slavery impractical in New England. Additionally, the Puritan religious beliefs of the early Massachusetts colonists condemned slavery as immoral. While the economies of these colonies, especially Rhode Island, were tied to the Triangle Trade that brought slave-produced goods up from the West Indies, they did not use many slaves themselves. By the 1770s, slaves made up less than 4% of the population in all New England colonies.
Middle Colonies
The Middle Colonies consisted of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware. This central location allowed the Middle Colonies to serve as important trading hubs between the agricultural South, commercial New England, and the whaling colonies of the Caribbean. The larger cities of New York and Philadelphia saw more ethnic and religious diversity than other colonial cities.
Slavery existed in the Middle Colonies, but to a much lesser extent than in the Southern Colonies. Slaves were used as domestic servants and laborers by wealthier families, or in skilled trades like blacksmithing in the cities. Pennsylvania had the highest Quaker population, who were morally opposed to slavery. By the 1770s, slaves were less than 10% of the population of the Middle Colonies.
Southern Colonies
The Southern Colonies consisted of Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. This warm southern region grew highly profitable crops of tobacco, rice, sugar and cotton that were ideal for large plantations with slaves providing the labor. Slavery became an entrenched institution in the agricultural economy and social fabric of the South.
By the 1770s, Africans made up over 40% of the population in Virginia, Maryland, and South Carolina. The Southern Colonies had the highest percentages and highest total numbers of slaves out of all the colonies. The economic and cultural reliance on slavery meant that the Southern Colonies were the strongest defenders of slavery leading up to the American Revolution.
Caribbean Colonies
Although not part of the 13 colonies that became the United States, the British Caribbean colonies were an important part of Britain’s colonial economy and the Triangle Trade network. Barbados, Jamaica and the Bahamas had tropical climates perfect for growing sugar cane and coffee. However, these crops were extremely labor intensive.
As a result, the Caribbean Colonies imported vast numbers of African slaves, who came to outnumber the white populations by ratios of 20 to 1 or higher by the 1770s. The cruel conditions on sugar plantations made these colonies the deadliest destinations for slaves. The Caribbean Colonies were outliers from the 13 colonies in their complete economic dependence on slavery.
Which colonies had the most slavery?
By the 1770s, the colonies could be divided into three tiers of reliance on slavery, from highest to lowest:
- Southern Colonies: Virginia, Maryland, South Carolina had the highest percentages of slave populations, over 40% in some cases. They were economically centered on plantation agriculture using slave labor.
- Middle Colonies: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania had modest slave populations under 10% of their total. Slavery was present but not as essential as in the South.
- New England Colonies: Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire had very small slave populations of less than 4%. They lacked an economic need or moral acceptance of slavery.
Overall, by 1770 there were over 400,000 slaves in the Thirteen Colonies, with 90% of those slaves concentrated in the Southern Colonies and the Caribbean. There were 20 times more slaves in the Southern Colonies than the New England Colonies.
Slavery in Each of the Thirteen Colonies
Here is a breakdown of the state of slavery in each of the Thirteen Colonies in the 1770s leading up to the American Revolution:
New England Colonies
Massachusetts
- Slave Population in 1770: 5,000 (1.5% of total population)
- First colonial legislature to officially abolish slavery in 1780
Connecticut
- Slave Population in 1774: 6,500 (3% of total population)
- Gradual emancipation bill passed in 1784
Rhode Island
- Slave Population in 1774: 3,800 (6% of total population)
- Slave trade banned in 1774, but domestic slavery persisted
New Hampshire
- Slave Population in 1776: 157 (0.1% of total population)
- Never had significant slave population or trade
Middle Colonies
New York
- Slave Population in 1771: 21,000 (14% of total population)
- Gradual emancipation act passed in 1799
New Jersey
- Slave Population in 1745: 7,600 (12% of total population)
- Gradual emancipation act passed in 1804
Pennsylvania
- Slave Population in 1780: 10,000 (6% of total population)
- Gradual abolition act passed in 1780
Delaware
- Slave Population in 1760: 6,800 (15% of total population)
- Gradual abolition act passed in 1787
Southern Colonies
Maryland
- Slave Population in 1770: 83,000 (32% of total population)
- Gradual emancipation started in 1783 but not completed until Civil War
Virginia
- Slave Population in 1770: 187,000 (42% of total population)
- Slave population continued to grow in Virginia after Revolution
North Carolina
- Slave Population in 1767: 25,000 (25% of total population)
- No emancipation until Civil War
South Carolina
- Slave Population in 1770: 80,000 (43% of total population)
- No emancipation until Civil War
Georgia
- Slave Population in 1770: 11,000 (35% of total population)
- No emancipation until Civil War
Laws Regarding Slavery
Each of the Thirteen Colonies had its own laws regarding the treatment of slaves and the limits of slave owners’ rights. Although there were regional similarities, every colony had distinct laws that changed over time. Some examples of colonial slave laws:
- Northern colonies like Massachusetts had tighter restrictions on slave treatment and trade.
- Southern colonies like Virginia gave more rights to slave owners over their slaves.
- Middle colonies like New York blended aspects of both Northern and Southern slave laws.
- Some colonies allowed slaves to petition for their freedom under certain conditions.
- Most colonies had harsh punishments like branding or mutilation for runaway slaves.
On the national level, slavery was upheld through British law. Significant rulings related to colonial slavery were:
- 1696 – Board of Trade regulations allowed each colony to determine status of slaves.
- 1705 – Virginia Slave Codes defined slaves as property, not people.
- 1740 – Stono Rebellion in South Carolina led to comprehensive slave codes.
- 1772 – Somerset v Stewart ruling didn’t end British slavery but prohibited slave transport from Britain.
- 1774 – Massachusetts Governor Thomas Hutchinson vetoed bill prohibiting use of slaves.
In the Declaration of Independence in 1776, one of the colonists’ grievances against British rule was that the King had “excited domestic insurrections amongst us.” This was referring partly to Governor Dunmore’s 1775 promise to emancipate any slaves willing to fight for Britain in Virginia. Southern slave owners in particular worried about a British coordinated slave revolt.
Economic Impact of Slavery in the Colonies
Slavery was an essential part of the economic engine that enabled the colonies to prosper. In addition to providing the labor that planted and harvested Southern cash crops, the entire colonial economy was entangled with the slave trade.
- Northern merchants financed slave trading voyages and sold slave-produced goods.
- British banks and companies profited from financing and insuring the slave trade.
- Northern shipping industries gained from transporting slave trade goods.
- New England distilleries made rum from Caribbean sugar to use for obtaining African slaves.
By the 1770s, the economic impact of slavery in all the colonies was substantial, even though slaves themselves were concentrated in the South. The colonies were tied together through trade so the North benefited indirectly from Southern slave labor. Banning slavery outright would have been economically damaging for all the colonies.
Estimates of Economic Impact of Slavery in the Colonies
- Estimated annual profits of £3 million for British slave traders in the 1770s.
- Over 80% of British overseas trade was connected to slave-produced goods.
- 10% of income for Northern colonial merchants came directly from slave trade.
- Virginia planters had higher incomes than 90% of population in colonies.
- Rice exports accounted for about half of British customs revenue from colonies in 1770s.
The colonies prospered overall but the wealth was concentrated among the colonial merchants, traders and Southern planters who benefited most from slavery. The economic incentives for maintaining slavery remained strong on the eve of revolution.
Religious Views on Slavery
Religious beliefs influenced whether colonies opposed, accepted, or defended slavery. But every faith had internal divisions over the issue.
Quakers
Most Quakers believed slavery violated Christian morality and emphasized spiritual equality. But some Quaker merchants profited from slave trade and forced labor.
Catholics
Catholic leaders condemned slavery as sinful, but many Catholics owned slaves. Catholics were a small minority in most colonies.
Anglicans
Anglicans used Bible passages to defend slavery as part of the natural social order. Anglican ministers sometimes owned slaves themselves.
Puritans
Early Puritans condemned slavery as unchristian. But Puritans in Caribbean colonies adopted slave labor for sugar production.
Baptists and Methodists
Baptist and Methodist preachers appealed to slaves and poor whites. But they split over slavery in the early 1800s as they expanded in the South.
Overall, Protestant denominations moved from tentative anti-slavery stances in colonial times to firmer pro-slavery positions as slavery became more entrenched in the South.
Slavery and Colonial Politics
Debates over slavery became increasingly polarized in the political arena leading up to the American Revolution. Key political disputes included:
- Northern colonies wanted British warships to stop inspecting colonial ships for smuggled slaves.
- Colonists argued taxation on slave trade was improper government interference.
- Southern colonies demanded British military support in case of slave revolts.
- Colonists disagreed over whether freed slaves should get voting rights.
- Colonists debated Parliament’s right to regulate the slave trade.
However, both Northerners and Southerners believed their economic success depended in part on slavery. The colonists put aside arguments over slavery to unite against British rule during the Revolutionary War in the name of freedom and prosperity.
Growth of Slavery in Late Colonial Era
As the colonies matured throughout the 1700s, the practice of slavery became more entrenched, particularly in the South:
- The percentage of slaves in the population increased across many colonies.
- Laws and slave codes became more consolidated to treat slaves strictly as property.
- Intercolonial slave trade grew as colonies specialized in different crops.
- Abolition efforts failed to gain traction except in minority religious groups.
- Harsh slave punishment like branding became more widespread.
By the 1770s, slavery was deeply embedded throughout colonial America, even if slaves themselves were concentrated in the South. The stage was set for bitter political conflicts over abolition in the new United States after the Revolution.
Conclusion
On the eve of the American Revolution in the 1770s, all 13 colonies permitted slavery despite early religious and moral objections to the practice. However, there were clear dividing lines – it was essential to the economy and culture of the Southern colonies, tolerated with limits in the Middle Colonies, and marginal in New England.
The entrenchment of slavery meant abolition would be economically and politically challenging once the colonies gained independence. Regional tensions over slavery only intensified after the Revolution. Yet the colonists’ shared experience of British restrictions on self-governance enabled them to unify as Americans and set the path toward independence, even if they disagreed over slavery.