Step 1: Choose Two Travelers
The growth of the European colonies in North America depended on the removal of millions of people. Most of these people were relocated by force to perform the tedious work that made American settlements and plantations possible. Historical records tend to overlook these slaves and indentured servants, focusing on the households of businesses that they worked for. In the grand scheme of international trade, forced laborers were treated like products rather than individuals.
So the best way to find out more about slaves and indentured servants in the colonial era is to review business records -- specifically the inventories of trans-Atlantic ships. Choose the name of one laborer from each of the following websites, and read some basic facts about them.
Option 1: Slave Voyages: The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database
Option 2: Virtual Jamestown Indentured Servants Database
Now use the facts about these two laborers to make broader guesses about the other slaves and indentured servants in early America:
