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1501
African slaves brought to Santo Domingo
This sparked the beginning of the Transatlantic Slave trade as slaves first arrived in the New World in the present day Dominican Republic. -
1581
Slaves in Florida
Slavery began to spread north into present day Florida, becoming vital to the life of St. Augustine residents in the first permanent settlement in Florida. -
Slavery in Jamestown
The English colonies receive their first slaves as they assist in the booming business of tobacco in Virginia. This first amount was small at 20 slaves. -
Massachusetts legalizes slavery
Being the first of the colonies to do so, Massachusetts sparked an interest that would continue for over 200 years in the English colonies. -
Gloucester County Conspiracy
This became the first documented slave revolt in the colonies as slavery began to expand rapidly. -
Rice cultivation in the Carolinas
This new crop would be a large advancement economically for the colonies, sparking a high demand for slaves again. -
African American population grows
In South Carolina, the population of African American slaves surpass the number of white people. -
Georgia permits the importation of slaves
Repealing a prohibition earlier made, slaves were now allowed to be brought to Georgia ports, increasing demand in the nonpopulated area -
Prohibition of importation of slaves
Georgia, Connecticut, and Rhode Island are the first states to prohibit the importation of new slaves. -
Vermont abolishes slavery
Being the first to start the end of slavery, Vermont abolishes slavery in an attempt to have other states follow behind. -
Invention of Cotton Gin
Eli Whitney patents the cotton gin, skyrocketing the demand for slaves in the southern states. -
United States bans slave trade
In an overall attempt to end slaves from arriving in the country, many laws were passed to prevent companies from bringing slaves but smuggling soon became a large problem. -
Harriet Tubman escapes
After her escape, she would later return 15 times to bring back several groups of slaves in an effort to free them. -
Civil War begins
After several years of increasing tensions over slavery, the South finally secedes, starting the outbreak of the civil war. -
Civil War ends and the 13th Amendment is put into place
The end of the slavery trade in the United States was found at the end of the Civil War as the north found victory. The south was forced to give African Americans the freedoms they deserved and slavery was abolished throughout the country.
