Middle Colonies 71Slavery, then, did not become associated with any one
occupation and continued as a substitute system of wage
labor. Since slavery never became associated with cash
crop production, the slave population in the middle colo-
nies never matched that of the South; however, the middle
colonies possessed more slaves than New England dur-
ing the same time period. In 1770, New York contained
the most number of slaves with approximately 20,000 or
about 12 percent of its total population. New Jersey had ap-
proximately 8,500 slaves or 7.0 percent of its total popula-
tion classifi ed as slave, while Pennsylvania had about 5,500
slaves or 2.3 percent of its total population.
Although the economic roles and numbers of slaves in
the middle colonies were vastly diff erent from Southern so-
ciety, their treatment did not diff er. State legislatures passed
Black Codes that prescribed the legal basis of slavery and
regulated that system. New Jersey became the fi rst in 1704,
while New York followed in 1706. Both of these codes man-
dated severe punishments for criminal off enses, legally de-
fi ned who qualifi ed as a slave under the law, and restricted
black liberties and freedoms. Castration and burning at the
stake were only two of the punishments that New Jersey
courts used to punish slaves convicted of rape and mur-
der, respectively. Additionally, the treatment at the level of
master and slave mirrored the South. Whippings, separa-
tion of families, or increased work were frequently used
mechanisms masters employed against disobedient slaves.
However, it is important to recognize that the treatment of
slaves diff ered widely based on individual masters, as it did
in the South.
Maltreatment caused slaves to rebel through a variety
of means: work stoppages, running away, or open revolt.
Northern farmers noted that without constant supervision,
slaves would not complete farm work while newspaper ads
routinely advertised for the return of fugitive slaves. In re-
gard to open revolt, organizing any structured rebellion was
diffi cult in the North, since the average slave owner only
owned one or two slaves. Large holdings that created an
independent slave culture were largely nonexistent in the
North. Th erefore, the creation of culture and organizing
a revolt usually occurred in an urban environment. Two
rebellions of note occurred in New York City in 1712 and- On April 1, 1712, slaves burned a house and shot the
whites who were inside when they attempted to escape the
fi re. Eight whites died and twelve were wounded. Special
courts prosecuted the slaves, and they were executed later
used slaves for agriculture in the fertile fi elds of northeast
New Jersey and established a slave-dominated East Jersey
labor system that would endure until the beginning of the
19th century. In addition, Dutch traders soon began trad-
ing slaves to Dutch farmers who settled along both sides of
the Delaware River as well as the colony of New Sweden.
Slavery eventually moved into the Philadelphia area in the
late 1600s when Quaker settlers arrived with William Penn
to establish their “holy experiment.”
Th e experience of the early colonists in Pennsylvania,
New York, and New Jersey was repeated until Emancipa-
tion. Primarily, slavery in the middle colonies grew because
of the lack of substantial white populations, the availability
of cheap land, and the desire of white settlers to own and
farm land. Th e combination of these factors made wage
labor on larger farms or for the public good extremely un-
popular. Th e dearth of wage labor in the middle colonies
soon made slavery a popular and acceptable substitute
measure. Th erefore, to farm even the most modest of fi elds,
slavery became a necessity.
Th ose colonists who could aff ord a large capital expen-
diture typically bought slaves aft er they arrived from the
West Indies (very rarely were there direct shipments from
Africa because it was felt that Africans not familiar with
slavery were too dangerous). Th ose with larger farms or
resources purchased slaves primarily for agricultural labor.
However, slaves expanded their presence in colonial society
by becoming coopers, blacksmiths, shoemakers, carpenters,
and other types of artisans. Slaves also worked in the iron
industry along the New York–New Jersey border.
Aft er the acceptance of slaves outside of their tradi-
tional agricultural roles, slave owners began to hire out
slaves for wages. Owners received a constant income from
their investment while simultaneously retaining access to
the slave during harvest season. Hiring out slaves allowed
farmers to recoup the losses they had previously been victim
to when their slaves sat idle during off -peak growing times.
Th is dilemma was especially felt in the middle colonies as
compared to the South, since the crops slaves helped grow
(wheat, millet, barley, fl ax, corn, vegetables, and apples) were
not as valuable economically as the rice, cotton, or tobacco
of the South. In addition, since a typical New York slave
grew wheat on a medium-sized farm, his economic output
was substantially smaller than slaves in the South, thus slave
owners had to fi nd a way for slaves to increase their income
potential, therefore, the hiring-out system became popular.