Sometime around the 1650's, records from the southern United States start popping up describing black slaves, and they are assumed to be the first records kept of such events in the United States . By the 1680s they had become essential to the economy of Virginia . During the 17th and 18th centuries, African American slaves lived in all of England 's North American colonies. Without doubt, the most tragic consequence of the period of slavery in America was the effects it had on the families and communities living in Africa . When we examine the villages and tribes of Africa before and after slavery had begun, it is clear that removing the strongest and often most influential members of the society had tragic consequences.
Before slavery began, the people living in Africa were content with their current standings and lifestyle, they had adapted to their surroundings perfectly, and had systems set up for everything they could ever need done. The strongest males of most villages were considered the leaders in most cases, and they were looked upon to handle many of the important issues such as feeding their family and protecting the people in times of war. When the slave ships came ashore and started capturing what appeared to them to be the strongest people of the village, they ended up taking many of the community's figureheads. With nobody to lead the communities, it was only a matter of time before the other Africans living nearby would attack the weakened villages, causing many tribes to fall, and making it easier and easier to take slaves from Africa . The entire concept of taking away the leaders of a community automatically leads to the assumption that chaos will ensue, and so it did.
The African's were obviously very confused as to what was going on, they had a grasp of what slavery meant, but it was to pay back on something that was owed, being brought to a new and unknown land would have confused them immensely: “What kind of a land is this where you almost mean what you say? Where laws almost work?” ( Franzoni , David. 1997) The fact that their home was effectively forced into a state of chaos because of their absence was something they would have been able to consider while they were captured. They knew that they were the leaders in their communities and that their positions would not easily be filled.
