This discussion by Prof. Peter Wood of Duke University explores what may have allowed the shift from indentured servitude to lifelong slavery for Africans and their children. Click on Teacher's Guide for teacher resources.

This website explains why Virginia needed laborers, why it led to the use of African labor and how it was justified by Christians. Hyperlinks to related topics on the site.

The story of Angela, a young woman West Central Africa who was kidnapped in 1619, and ended up in Virginia as a slave to a planter named William Peirce.

William Byrd built Westover, his plantation home. Here you can view photographs of it and learn of some details of interest.

Extensive timeline (1492-1997) of tobacco cultivation--in three parts. Click links at bottom of pages to view Parts I, III, and IV.

With the French now involved, the British stepped up their efforts in the southern colonies since they felt that most Southerners were Loyalists. A campaign began in late 1778, with the capture of Savannah, Georgia. Shortly thereafter,...

A map of the eastern portion of North America showing the British, Spanish, and Indian territories after the French and Indian War (1754-1763), with the proclamation line as established by the Treaty of Paris (1763). "The newly acquired...

A map of New Netherlands in the 1600's showing New Amsterdam and Dutch Fort (Albany) established in 1623, the English Settlements on the Connecticut River (Hartford) and the New Haven Colony, and the southern Dutch and Swedish...

Three seventeenth-century buildings, two portraits, and three original accounts from Virginia and the Carolinas about the qualities and conditions of life in these southern English colonies that led to success and growth.

Three seventeenth-century buildings, two portraits, and three original accounts from Virginia and the Carolinas about the qualities and conditions of life in these southern English colonies that led to success and growth.

A map of eastern North America showing the early development of the European colonies and westward exploration to the Mississippi River. The map shows the routes of several early explorers with dates of exploration, including La Salle,...

A map of North America showing the French posts and forts at the beginning of the French and Indian War (1754) between the French and the British. The map is color-coded to show the territorial claims of the British, French, and Spanish...

A map of the southern Colonies showing the area of General Nathaneal Greene's campaign (1781) against the British under Charles Cornwallis in the closing years of the American Revolution. The map shows the important sites of Cowpens,...

A map of southern Connecticut and Rhode Island showing the area of the Pequot War (1636-1638) between the allied Massachusetts and Plymouth colonies against the Pequot tribe. The map shows the territories of the Mohegans, Narragansetts,...

Map of Northwestern Africa in 1906 showing the Barbary States of Morocco, Algeria, Tunis, and a portion of Tripoli, the western country of Rio de Oro, and the Upper Guinea States of Gambia, Portuguese Guinea, Sierra Leon, Liberia,...

Map of Africa in 1858, prior to the extensive European colonization of the continent established at the Berlin Conference of 1885. This map shows the European possessions of the Cape Colony, Natal, and Orange River Free State, and the...

A map of the southern Atlantic coastline showing the early attempts by the French Huguenots under Jean Ribault to establish settlements in the Spanish territory of Florida. The map shows the sites of Charles Fort (Charlesfort) South...

A map showing the southern operations (1780-1781) during the American Revolutionary War. The map shows terrain, rivers, and major battle sites from the northern Virginia line south to St. Augustine, which was at the time a Loyalist...

A map of Africa around the middle of the nineteenth century showing European interests on the continent prior to the Berlin Conference of 1885, which established their territorial claims. The majority of the continent was unexplored at...

A map of Africa as it was known in 1882 before the Berlin Conference of 1885, when the most powerful countries in Europe at the time convened to make their territorial claims on Africa and establish their colonial borders at the start of...