U.S. Citizenship Civics TestColonial Period and IndependenceMedium
Which of the following describes the group of people forcibly brought to America and sold as laborers, primarily in the Southern colonies?
- ANative Americans from other tribes.
- BIndentured servants from Europe.
- CAfricans sold into slavery.
- DPrisoners of war from European conflicts.
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: C. Africans sold into slavery.
Millions of Africans were forcibly removed from their homes, transported across the Atlantic Ocean, and sold into chattel slavery in the Americas, particularly to work on plantations.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. While some Native Americans were enslaved, the question refers to a 'group of people' brought 'to America' and sold, which primarily signifies Africans.
- B. Indentured servants signed contracts for temporary labor, unlike the permanent, inherited status of enslaved people.
- D. Prisoners of war were sometimes used as labor, but not on the scale or with the enduring, generational system of chattel slavery applied to Africans.
Transatlantic Slave Trade
The forced migration of millions of Africans across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas for enslavement.
- Lasted from the 16th to the 19th centuries.
- Primarily involved West and Central Africans.
- Fueled by demand for labor in colonies, especially for cash crops.
Memory trick: From Africa's shores, by force they were taken, to toil in a land their freedom forsaken.