Did the Colony of North Carolina Have Slaves?

Yes. Slavery was integral to North Carolina's colonial economy and society.

Timeline

• 1660s: First enslaved Africans brought to the colony.
• 1700: Over 1,000 enslaved people.
• 1750: Over 20,000 enslaved—4th largest slaveholding colony in British America.

Roles & Conditions

Enslaved people labored in farming (tobacco, rice, indigo), logging, naval stores, construction, domestic service, and skilled trades. Conditions were brutal: forced labor, family separation, physical abuse, legal denial of rights.

Abolition

Slavery persisted until the American Civil War and the 13th Amendment (1865).