Introduction

Economy, politics, immigration, and war have dictated American migration patterns for centuries. These patterns, though complex, are important historical indicators that portray the direct effects of political and economic situations on peoples' lives. The migration and settlement of African Americans throughout the country also followed patterns that were influenced by current events, but because of slavery and racism, the patterns were often unique. By looking at the beginnings of slavery and its expansion throughout the South, we can begin to understand the settlement patterns of blacks throughout the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries. Emancipation was not the only factor that dictated the settlement of blacks, nor was it the first time blacks were mobile in America. African American migration was also influenced by the same events that affected the population as a whole, such as the availability of homesteads and the California Gold Rush. Through these events we can follow the patterns of African American migration, which provides some explanation for the American demographic as it exists today.

The Slave Trade

In 1619, twenty Africans were brought to Jamestown as indentured servants. More were brought to Boston in 1639. These people were the first of 10,000 Africans that would be brought to the British Colonies during the 17th century. Although they were the first Africans in the British Colonies, they were not the first brought to North America. During the 1500s, African slaves accompanied the Spanish explorers in Florida and Texas. Runaway slaves even reached as far north as South Carolina. But it was the slave trade in the British Colonies that determined further expansion throughout America. As more servants arrived in the colonies, plantation owners feared they might lose control. This fear led to the institutionalized slavery of Africans that would last until the Civil War.

African slaves were acquired (kidnapped) by members of rival kingdoms within Africa and sold to European traders. Sugar plantations in Brazil and the Caribbean demanded the most slaves. Work on the sugar plantations was the harshest of all the labor Africans were forced into, which caused a higher death rate, and thus a higher demand for slaves. As tobacco proved to be a valuable cash crop in North America, British colonists also took advantage of the slave trade. Between 1619 (when the first Africans were brought to America) and 1808 (when the slave trade ended in America), over 400,000 Africans were forcefully transported to what is now the United States. (1)

Table 1: Slave Population by Colony, 1680 - 1770 (2)

Colony	1680	1740	1770
Massachusetts	110	3,305	5,698
New Hampshire	75	500	5,698
Rhode Island	175	2,408	5,698
Connecticut	50	2,598	5,698
New York	1,200	8,996	63,818
New Jersey	200	4,366	63,818
Delaware	55	1,035	1,836
Pennsylvania	200	2,062	5,761
Maryland	1,611	24,031	63,818
Virginia	3,000	60,000	187,605
North Carolina	210	11,000	69,000
South Carolina	200	30,000	75,178
Georgia	---	---	10,625

The majority of slaves in North America were brought to the Chesapeake region, particularly Virginia and the Carolinas. This major tobacco-growing district demanded the most slave labor and would remain the leading slave-holding region until the emergence of cotton near the end of the 18th century.

The slaves that were captured came from many different ethnic groups and locations in Africa. The majority of the Africans were farmers, herders, or fishermen before becoming enslaved. Most were familiar with tobacco and rice farming, which were the principle crops in America. They each had their own religious and cultural beliefs that they brought with them to the New World. The ports in North America that received slaves were located in New Orleans, Savannah, Charleston, New York, Newport, and Boston. Each of these areas took in slaves from different parts of Africa, but the ratios of African ethnicities varied in each region of America. For example, almost 40% of the slaves in the Chesapeake region came from the Bight of Biafra, but in Louisiana, the majority came from Senegambia. These ethnic differences shaped African culture in the respective areas.

Table 2: Origins of Africans in Chesapeake, Carolina, and Louisiana (3)

American Region	% From Mozambique	% From Central Africa	% From Bight of Biafra	% From Bight of Benin	% From Gold Coast	% From Upper Guinea	% From Senegambia
Chesapeake	4%	16%	38%	---	16%	11%	15%
Carolina	---	40%	7%	3%	9%	18%	23%
Louisiana	2%	25%	8%	25%	2%	6%	32%

The majority of slaves in America were concentrated on the tobacco fields in the Chesapeake region and the rice and indigo plantations in Georgia and Carolina. Slaves in the north, such as in New York and Boston were more likely to do domestic and other non-agricultural work. The end of the 18th century brought a decline in tobacco and the need for slaves. Many slaves were manumitted by their owners, giving way to what historians call the First Emancipation.

The First Emancipation

The growth of tobacco took its toll on the Chesapeake's soil, and by the end of the 18th century, the tobacco industry was in a state of decline. Some farmers migrated to the south and west, planting on new land. Others tried to find new uses for their slaves, such as renting them out as domestic servants and urban laborers. Many owners failed to find uses for their slaves and as a result, set them free. This was most common in Maryland and Delaware, but it happened throughout all of the colonies. In Virginia, the number of free blacks rose from 12,766 in 1790, to 30,570 in 1810.(4) It was during this time that the northern states abolished slavery, creating an even larger number of free blacks. These free blacks often lived in the urban centers of the North.

Table 3: Emancipation Dates for Northern States (5)

Colony	Emanicpation
Massachusets	1780
New Hampshire	1783
Vermont	1777
Rhode Island	1784
Connecticut	1784
New York	1799
New Jersey	1804
Pennsylvania	1780
Northwest Territories	1787

The Recommitment to Slavery

The First Emancipation was cut short by the invention of the cotton gin. Short Staple cotton grew well along the lower Atlantic coast and in the Deep South, but was not profitable because of the large amount of time and labor required to remove the seeds. In 1793 Ely Whitney invented the cotton gin, a machine that quickly separated the seeds from cotton; America instantly gained a new cash crop to replace tobacco. Cotton was in high demand and brought large profits, especially with the use of free labor. The increase of cotton farming single-handedly rejuvenated and solidified slavery in the South.

This high demand for cotton caused a high demand for slaves. Farmers who lived too far north to plant cotton sold their slaves to Southerners at high prices. The slave trade was scheduled to end in 1808, (as decided by the United States, England, and other European countries) so slave traders made the most of the time they had left and imported as many slaves as possible. Between 1788 and 1808, 250,000 slaves were brought directly from Africa to America, mostly to the ports in Savannah and Charleston.(6) The concentration of slaves shifted from the Chesapeake region to the Deep South, especially Georgia and South Carolina. Heavy concentrations of slaves also developed in the newly opened lands of Mississippi and Alabama. The fertile soil that surrounded Alabama's rivers developed a plantation economy as soon as lands became available from the Native Americans. Called the Black Belt because of its dark, rich soil, this region could have easily taken its name from the large concentration of black slaves as well.