Slavery in Northern vs. Southern British Colonies (17th Century)

Northern Colonies

• Primarily agricultural, but slaves also worked in shipbuilding, lumbering, mining.
• Small-scale: most owners held fewer than 10 slaves.
• Slaves often treated as individuals: given names, allowed property and marriage.
• Higher manumission rates due to gradual emancipation and moral opposition.

Southern Colonies

• Plantation-based: cash crops (cotton, tobacco, sugar) on large estates.
• Large-scale: some owners held hundreds or thousands of slaves.
• Treated as property: rarely given names, denied property rights and marriage.
• Lower manumission rates; slavery entrenched economically and ideologically.