An Unthinking Decision: Slavery in the English Colonies

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…presence in the north. The rest of the world was involved in the lucrative business of slave trade well before the English colonies joined. Even at its height, slave trade in America accounted for a small percentage of the world trade. When slaves became readily available to colonists, and indentured servitude was gradually fading due to longer life expectancy, the slave market was the next logical step from the economic stand point in the colonies.