Why were African slaves needed to work on econiendas?
1 Answer
The plantations and farms of America Central America and the Caribbean needed reliable low cost labor that could work in the hot climates.
Explanation:
The European settlers did not want to work as laborers in the large farms or plantations. The European settlers wanted their own farms or to own the plantation not work as low paid peasants.
The Native populations had been decimated by disease and knowing the area and language would run away from the enforced labor of the plantations. The attempted to enslave the native populations of the Americans failed.
Indentured servants that would work as "slaves" for seven years did not work out well either. These indentured servants did not thrive well working long hours in the hot climate of the plantations. Being European the indentured servants could run away and blend with the general population. Even if the indentured servants lived, and stayed at the end of the seven years there was the cost of providing them with their own land.
Black slaves from Africa were well adapted to the hot climates and made excellent farm workers. The Black slaves did not know the area or language, which made running away from the enforced labor difficult. Also the difference in skin color made blending in the general population impossible even if they did run away.
The need for low cost slave labor that could work in the hot climate and not flee created the need for slavery on the plantations and farms of America, Central America, and the Caribbean.
