Question

Martha lived in the Middle Colonies and owned a large tobacco plantation. Some seasons hired other colonists to help her bring in the harvest, but often they were busy tending their own fields. A few times she paid for the passage of indentured servants to the colonies, but they were only a short term solution. What might situations such as Martha's have led to in the colonies? an increase in the African slave trade B ) an increase in the price of tobacco in England a decrease in agriculture in the Middle Colonies D) a decrease in the popularity of the Middle Colonies

Answer 1

Labor shortages and the inefficiency of indentured servitude in the Middle Colonies led to an increase in the African slave trade, providing a more stable and profitable labor source for tobacco plantation owners like Martha.

Step-by-step explanation:

Situations such as Martha's, who lived in the Middle Colonies and owned a large tobacco plantation, could have led to an increase in the African slave trade. As indentured servitude proved insufficient due to high mortality rates, harsh treatment, and short-term contracts, the colonies turned to a more permanent solution for their labor shortages. The transformation from indentured servitude to slavery happened first in the West Indies and soon was adopted in the Chesapeake colonies, with slave labor becoming a dominant force in the economic growth and agricultural production of tobacco and other crops.

With tobacco being a labor-intensive crop and the prospects of wealth from land ownership, the need for a stable workforce became critical. Colonists like Martha often faced labor shortages during harvest seasons when other colonists were tending to their fields, and indentured servants, who were temporary laborers, were not able to fill this vacuum. Ultimately, this led to the sinister and profitable option of slave trade and ownership as a means to ensure a consistent and controlled labor force for plantations.

Answer 2

Answer: A. an increase in the African slave trade

Step-by-step explanation:

The situation depicted shows that Martha suffered from a lack of a steady supply of labor. She could not rely on other colonists because they had their own farms to tend to and she could not rely on indentured servants because they would eventually work off their debt and leave her.

Problems like these led to the rise of the African slave trade because if Martha were to buy enslaved people, she would own them for life which would have given her a steady supply of labor.