"The African-American Struggle Against Slavery: A timeline of the African-American experience

The extensive use of African labor in Brazil and the Caribbean by the Spanish for farming purposes during the 16th and 17th centuries led British and other European colonists to do the same in North America, where Native American and indentured servant populations were insufficient to meet the demands for agricultural labor.
Most Africans brought to North America were used to produce the export crops (tobacco, rice, indigo, and cotton) that became a major source of wealth for European nations and their colonies.
Sadly, the English settlers of North America turned to black slavery to sol…