the importation of slaves in large numbers reacted almost immediately upon the migration of whites to virginia. as we have seen, the stream of indentured servants that poured across the atlantic remained remarkably constant throughout almost all of the seventeenth century. the larger planters were always in need of laborers, and they looked to the surplus population of england to supply them. but with the coming of the blacks all was changed. the virginians saw in the slave ships which now so frequently entered their rivers the solution of all their problems. and so the influx of white men and women from the mother country dwindled and almost died out, while in its place came a still greater stream from the coast of africa.
at the time of bacon's rebellion the annual importation of servants was between 1,500 and 2,000. the headrights for 1674 show 1931 names.[8-1] seven years later the whites were still arriving in large numbers, the rolls for 1682 having 1,565 names. as the century drew to a close, however, the effect of the slave trade upon white immigration is reflected in the dwindling number of headrights. the change that was taking place is illustrated by a patent of 13,500 acres to ralph wormleley for the transportation of 249 persons, 149 of whom were white and 100 black.[8-2] yet so late as 1704 the servants were still coming in appreciable numbers. in 1708 however, the number of servants at work in the colony had dwindled away almost entirely.[8-3] in 1715 the names of white persons listed as headrights was but ninety-one; in 1718 but 101.[8-4] in other[135] words, the first great migration of englishmen to continental america, a migration extending over a century and comprising from 100,000 to 150,000 men, women and children, had practically come to an end.
english statesmen at the time looked upon this event as an unalloyed blessing. the day had passed when they felt that there existed a surplus of labor at home and that the country was in need of blood letting. the proper policy was to keep englishmen in england, to devote their energies to local industries and so strengthen the economic and military sinews of the nation. and if unemployment existed, it was the correct policy to bring work to the idle rather than send the idle out of the country in quest of work.[8-5] and the colonies were to be utilized, no longer as outlets for the population, but as a means to the upbuilding of local industry. they were to supply a market for english goods, keep employed english mariners and furnish the tobacco and sugar which when re-exported weighed so heavily in the balance of trade. and since these great staple crops could be produced by the work of slaves, it was thought highly advantageous for all concerned that the negro should replace the white servant in both the tobacco and the sugar fields. the planters would profit by the lowered cost of production, english industry would gain by the increased volume of traffic, the crown revenues would be enhanced and english laborers would be kept at home.[8-6]
apparently the deeper significance of this great movement was entirely lost upon the british economists and ministers. they had no conception of the advantage of having their colonies inhabited by one race alone and that race their own. from the first their vision was too restricted to embrace the idea of a new and greater britain in its fullest sense. they could not bring themselves to look upon the soil of virginia and maryland as a part of the soil of an extended[136] england, upon the virginians and marylanders as englishmen, enjoying privileges equal to their own. they could not realize the strength that would come from such an empire as this, the mighty future it would insure to the anglo-saxon race.
their conception was different. the british empire must consist of two distinct parts—mother country and colonies. and in any clash of interest between the two, the former must prevail. it was not their intent that the colonies should be purposely sacrificed, that they should be made to pay tribute to a tyrannical parent. in fact, they earnestly desired that the plantations should prosper, for when they languished english industry suffered. but in their eyes the colonies existed primarily for the benefit of england. england had given them birth, had defended them, had nurtured them; she was amply justified, therefore, in subordinating them to her own industrial needs.
thus they viewed the substitution of the importation of slaves to the tobacco colonies for the importation of white men purely from an english, not an anglo-saxon, point of view. had it been a question of bringing thousands of negroes to england itself to drive the white laborers from the fields, they would have interposed an emphatic veto. but with the structure of colonial life they were not greatly concerned. in 1693, when james blair secured from the king and queen a gift for his new college at williamsburg, attorney-general seymour objected vigorously, stating that there was not the least occasion for such an institution in virginia. blair reminded him that the chief purpose of the college was to educate young men for the ministry and begged him to consider that the people of the colony had souls to be saved as well as the people of england. "souls! damn your souls," snapped the attorney-general, "make tobacco."[8-7] it would be unfair to say that[137] the british government took just the same view of the colonists as did seymour, but there can be no doubt that their chief concern in the plantations was centered upon the size of their exports to england and of their purchases of english goods. and as the slaves could make more tobacco than the indentured servants, it became the settled policy of the crown to encourage the african trade in every possible way.
the influx of slaves not only put almost a complete end to the importation of white servants, but it reacted disastrously upon the virginia yeomanry. in this respect we find a close parallel with the experience of ancient rome with slave labor. in the third and second centuries before christ the glory of the republic lay in its peasantry. the self-reliant, sturdy, liberty-loving yeoman formed the backbone of the conquering legion and added to the life of the republic that rugged strength that made it so irresistible. "to say that a citizen is a good farmer is to reach the extreme limit of praise," said cato. some of the ablest of the early roman generals were recruited from the small farmer class. fabius maximus, the dictator, in need of money, sent his son to rome to sell his sole possession, a little farm of seven jugera. regulus, while in africa, asked that he be recalled from his command because the hired man he had left to cultivate his fields had fled with all his farm implements, and he feared his wife and children would starve.[8-8]
this vigorous peasantry was destroyed by the importation of hordes of slaves and the purchase of cheap foreign grain. so long as the wars of rome were limited to italy the number of slaves was comparatively small, but as her armies swept over the mediterranean countries one after another and even subdued the wild gauls and britains, an unending stream of captives poured into the city and filled to overflowing the slave markets. cicero, during his short campaign against the[138] parthians wrote to atticus that the sale of his prisoners had netted no less than 12,000,000 sestercias. in epirus 100,000 men were captured; 60,000 cimbries and 100,000 germans graced the triumph of marius; caesar is said to have taken in gaul another 100,000 prisoners. soon the slave became the cheapest of commodities, and he who possessed even the most extensive lands could readily supply himself with the labor requisite for their cultivation.
thus thrown into competition with slave labor the peasant proprietor found it impossible to sustain himself. the grain which he produced with his own hands had to compete in the same market with that made by slaves. it must, therefore, sell for the same price, a price so low that it did not suffice to feed and clothe him and his family. so he was forced to give up his little estate, an estate perhaps handed down to him by generations of farmers, and migrate to the city of rome, to swell the idle and plebeian population. and once there he demanded bread, a demand which the authorities dared not refuse. so the public treasury laid out the funds for the purchase of wheat from all parts of the world, from spain, from africa, from sicily, wheat which was given away or sold for a song. this in turn reacted unfavorably upon the peasants who still clung to the soil in a desperate effort to wring from it a bare subsistence, and accelerated the movement to the city.
thus italy was transformed from the land of the little farmer into the land of big estates cultivated by slaves. a sad development surely, a development which had much to do with the decay and final overthrow of the mighty structure of the roman empire. in former times, titus livius tells us, "there was a multitude of free men in this country where today we can hardly find a handful of soldiers, and which would be a wilderness were it not for our slaves." "the plough is[139] everywhere bereft of honor," wrote virgil, while lucian bewailed the departed peasants whose places were taken by fettered slaves.[8-9]
the importation of slaves to virginia had somewhat similar results. while not destroying entirely the little farmer class, it exerted a baleful influence upon it, driving many families out of the colony, making the rich man richer, reducing the poor man to dire poverty. against this unfortunate development the virginia yeoman was helpless. instinctively he must have felt that the slave was his enemy, and the hatred and rivalry which even today exists between the negro and the lowest class of whites, the so-called "poor white trash," dates back to the seventeenth century.
the emigration of poor persons, usually servants just freed, from virginia to neighboring colonies was well under way even at the time of bacon's rebellion. in 1677 complaint was made of "the inconvenience which arose from the neighborhood of maryland and north carolina," in that virginia was daily deprived of its inhabitants by the removal of poor men hither. runaway servants were welcomed in both places, it was asserted, while the debtor was accorded protection against prosecution.[8-10] this early emigration was caused, of course, not by the importation of slaves, for that movement had not yet assumed important proportions, but by the evil consequences of the navigation acts. the virginia yeoman moved on to other colonies because he found it impossible to maintain himself at the current price of tobacco.
the continuance of the movement, for it persisted for a full half century, must be ascribed to the competition of negro labor. like the roman peasant, the virginia yeoman, to an extent at least, found it impossible to maintain himself in the face of slave competition. the servant, upon the expiration of his term, no longer staked off his little farm and settled[140] down to a life of usefulness and industry. the poor planter who had not yet fully established himself, sold or deserted his fields and moved away in search of better opportunities and higher returns.
this migration was not the first of its kind in the english colonies, for the movement of massachusetts congregations into the valley of the connecticut antedated it by several decades. yet it furnishes an interesting illustration of the lack of permanency in american life, of the facility with which populations urged on by economic pressure of one kind or another change localities. the great movement westward over the appalachian range which followed the war of 1812, the pilgrimages of homesteaders to the northwest and the pacific coast, find their precedent in the exodus of these poor families from the tobacco fields of virginia.
in the last decade of the seventeenth century the migration assumed such large proportions that the board of trade became alarmed and directed francis nicholson to enquire into its cause in order that steps might be taken to stop it. the emigrant stream that directed itself northward did not halt in eastern maryland, for conditions there differed little from those in virginia itself. the settlers went on to the unoccupied lands in the western part of the colony, or made their way into delaware or pennsylvania. "the reason why inhabitants leave this province," wrote nicholson, while governor of maryland, "is, i think, the encouragement which they receive from the carolinas, the jerseys, and above all from pennsylvania, which is so nigh that it is easy to remove thither. there handicraft tradesmen have encouragement when they endeavor to set up woolen manufactures."[8-11]
although this explanation does not go to the root of the matter, it was in part correct. the northern colonies held out far greater opportunities for the poor man than the slave[141] choked fields of tidewater maryland and virginia. the industries of pennsylvania and delaware and the jerseys demanded a certain degree of skill and yielded in return a very fair living. in other words, the poor settlers in virginia, finding that tobacco culture was now based upon the cheap labor of african slaves, moved away to other localities where intelligence still brought an adequate reward.
the maryland house of delegates, when asked to give their opinion in this matter, thought that it was a desire to escape the payment of debts which made some of the "meaner inhabitants" seek shelter in delaware bay and the carolinas. they came nearer the real cause when they added that the low price paid by the merchants for tobacco obliged many to leave.[8-12] nicholson was not satisfied with this answer. "they will not directly own," he wrote, "that setting up manufactures and handicraft-trades in pennsylvania, the large tracts of land held by some persons here and the encouragement given to illegal traders are the causes that make people leave this province. they would have it that they wish to avoid the persecution of their creditors, which causes them to shelter themselves among the inhabitants of the lower counties of delaware bay and of carolina. the low price of tobacco has obliged many of the planters to try their fortune elsewhere, and the currency of money in pennsylvania, which here is not, draws them to that province from this."[8-13]
in virginia the difficulty of securing desirable land because of the large tracts patented by rich planters was usually assigned as the reason for the migration of poor families. this view of the matter was taken by edward randolph, the man who had won the undying hatred of the people of massachusetts by his attempts to enforce the navigation acts there and by his attacks upon their charter. in 1696 randolph did virginia the honor of a visit, and although encountering there[142] none of the opposition which had so angered him in new england, he sent to the board of trade a memorial concerning the colony, criticising the government severely. "it should be inquired into," he said, "how it comes to pass that the colony (the first english settlement on the continent of america, begun above 80 years ago) is not better inhabited, considering what vast numbers of servants and others have yearly been transported thither.... the chief and only reason is the inhabitants and planters have been and at this time are discouraged and hindered from planting tobacco in that colony, and servants are not so willing to go there as formerly, because the members of the council and others, who make an interest in the government, have from time to time procured grants of very large tracts of land, so that there has not for many years been any waste land to be taken up by those who bring with them servants, or by such servants, who have served their time faithfully with their masters, but it is taken up and ingrossed beforehand, whereby they are forced to hyer and pay a yearly rent for some of those lands, or go to the utmost bounds of the colony for land, exposed to danger and often times proves the occasion of warr with the indians."[8-14]
for their large holdings the wealthy men paid not one penny of quit rents, randolph said, and failed to comply with the regulations for seating new lands. the law demanded that upon receipt of a patent one must build a house upon the ground, improve and plant the soil and keep a good stock of cattle or hogs. but in their frontier holdings the wealthy men merely erected a little bark hut and turned two or three hogs into the woods by it. or else they would clear one acre of land and plant a little indian corn for one year, trusting that this evasion would square them with the letter of the law. by such means, randolph adds, vast tracts were held, all of[143] which had been procured on easy terms and much by means of false certificates of rights. "which drives away the inhabitants and servants, brought up only to planting, to seek their fortunes in carolina or other places."[8-15]
randolph suggested that the evil might be remedied by requiring a strict survey of lands in every county, by demanding all arrears of quit rents, by giving strict orders that in the future no grant should exceed 500 acres. these measures, he believed, would cause 100,000 acres to revert to the crown, and "invite home those who for want of land left virginia." it would encourage other persons to come from neighboring colonies to take up holdings and "mightily increase the number of planters." this would augment the production of tobacco by many thousands of hogsheads, stimulate trade and industry in england, and aid his majesty's revenue.
the board of trade was deeply impressed. they wrote to governor andros explaining to him the substance of randolph's report and asking what steps should be taken to remedy the evils he had pointed out. "but this seeming to us a matter of very great consequence," they added, "we have not been willing to meddle in it without your advice, which we now desire you to give fully and plainly." but andros knew full well that it was no easy matter to make the large landowners disgorge. the thing had been attempted by nicholson several years earlier, when suit was instituted against colonel lawrence smith for arrears of quit rents upon tracts of land which had never been under cultivation.[8-16] but before the case came to trial nicholson had been recalled and it was afterward compounded for a nominal sum. the proceedings had caused great resentment among the powerful clique which centered around the council of state, and andros was reluctant to reopen the matter. he knew of no frauds in granting patents of land, he wrote the board, and could suggest no remedy[144] for what was past, "being a matter of property." he agreed, however, that to limit the size of future patents would tend to "the more regular planting and thicker seating of the frontier lands."[8-17]
consequently when francis nicholson was commissioned as governor in 1698, he received strict instructions to advise with the council and the assembly upon this matter and to report back to the board.[8-18] that nothing was accomplished, however, may clearly be inferred from a letter of a certain george larkin written december 22, 1701. "there is no encouragement for anyone to come to the plantation," he declared, "most of the land lying at all convenient being taken up. some have 20,000, 30,000 or 40,000 acres, the greater part of which is unimployed."[8-19] two years later nicholson himself wrote that certain recent grants were for ten or twenty thousand acres each, so that privileged persons had engrossed all the good land in those parts, by which means they kept others from settling it or else made them pay for it.[8-20]
despite all the concern which this matter created, it is doubtful whether it was to any appreciable extent responsible for the continued emigration of poor families. the mere granting of patents for large tracts of land could not of itself fix the economic structure of the colony, could not, if all other conditions were favorable, prevent the establishment of small freeholds. rather than have their fields lie idle while the poor men who should have been cultivating them trooped out of the colony, the rich would gladly have sold them in small parcels at nominal prices. in the first half century after the settlement at jamestown, as we have seen, such a breakup of extensive holdings into little farms actually occurred. had similar conditions prevailed in the later period a like development would have followed. but in 1630 or 1650, when slaves were seldom employed and when tobacco was high, the poor[145] man's toil yielded a return so large that he could well afford to purchase a little farm and make himself independent. in 1680 or 1700, in the face of the competition of slave labor, he was almost helpless. even had he found a bit of unoccupied ground to which he could secure a title, he could not make it yield enough to sustain him and his family.[8-21]
in 1728 governor gooch wrote the board of trade that the former belief that large holdings of frontier land had been an impediment to settlement was entirely erroneous. it was his opinion, in fact, that extensive grants made it to the interest of the owners to bring in settlers and so populate the country. in confirmation of this he pointed to the fact that spotsylvania country, where many large patents had been issued, had filled up more rapidly than brunswick, where they had been restricted in size.[8-22]
in the first decade of the new century the emigration out of the tobacco colonies continued without abatement. with another disastrous decline in the price of tobacco following the outbreak of the wars of charles xii and louis xiv, so many families moved over the border that the board of trade, once more becoming seriously alarmed, questioned the council as to the causes of the evil and what steps should be taken to remedy it. in their reply the councillors repeated the old arguments, declaring that the lack of land in virginia and the immunity of debtors from prosecution in the proprietory colonies were responsible for the movement. but they touched the heart of the matter in their further statement that the great stream of negroes that was pouring into the colony had so increased the size of the tobacco crop that prices had declined and the poor found it difficult to subsist. not only "servants just free go to north carolina," they wrote, "but old planters whose farms are worn out."[8-23]
a year later president jennings stated that the migration[146] was continuing and that during the summer of 1709 "many entire families" had moved out of the colony.[8-24] in fact, although but few indentured servants arrived from england after the first decade of the century, poor whites were still departing for the north or for western carolina so late as 1730. william byrd ii tells us that in 1728, when he was running the dividing line between virginia and north carolina, he was entertained by a man who "was lately removed, bag and baggage from maryland, thro a strong antipathy he had to work and paying his debts." indeed he thought it a "thorough aversion to labor" which made "people file off to north carolina."[8-25]
it is impossible to estimate the numbers involved in this movement, but they must have run into the thousands. for a full half century a large proportion of the white immigrants to virginia seem to have remained there for a comparatively short time only, then to pass on to other settlements. and the migration to virginia during these years we know to have comprised not less than thirty or thirty-five thousand persons. in fact, it would seem that this movement out of the older colony must have been a very important factor in the peopling of its neighbors, not only western carolina and western maryland, but delaware and pennsylvania.
though many thus fled before the stream of negroes which poured in from africa, others remained behind to fight for their little plantations. yet they waged a losing battle. those who found it possible to purchase slaves, even one or two, could ride upon the black tide, but the others slowly sank beneath it.
during the first half of the eighteenth century the poor whites sought to offset the cheapness of slave made tobacco by producing themselves only the highest grades. the traders who dealt in the finest orinoco, which brought the best prices,[147] found it not upon the plantations of the wealthy, but of those who tended their plants with their own hands. "i must beg you to remember that the common people make the best," wrote governor gooch to the lords of trade in 1731.[8-26]
in fact, the wealthy planter, with his newly acquired gangs of slaves, found it difficult at this time to produce any save the lower grades of tobacco. the african was yet too savage, too untutored in the ways of civilization to be utilized for anything like intensive cultivation. "though they may plant more in quantity," wrote gooch, "yet it frequently proves very mean stuff, different from the tobacco produced from well improved and well tended grounds." "yet the rich man's trash will always damp the market," he adds, "and spoil the poor man's good tobacco which has been carefully managed."[8-27] thus the small farmer made one last desperate effort to save himself by pitting his superior intelligence against the cheapness of slave labor.
but his case was hopeless. as slavery became more and more fixed upon the colony, the negro gradually increased in efficiency. he learned to speak his master's language, brokenly of course, but well enough for all practical purposes. he was placed under the tutelage of overseers, who taught him the details of his work and saw that he did it. he became a civilized being, thoroughly drilled in the one task required of him, the task of producing tobacco. thus the rich planter soon found it possible to cultivate successfully the higher grades, and so to drive from his last rampart the white freeholder whose crop was tended by himself alone.
placed at so great a disadvantage, the poor man, at all times in very difficult circumstances, found it almost impossible to exist whenever conditions in europe sent the price of tobacco down. in the years from 1706 to 1714, when the tobacco trade was interrupted by the wars of charles xii in the baltic[148] region and the protracted struggle known as the war of the spanish succession, he was reduced to the utmost extremities.
virginia and maryland were learning that a prosperity founded upon one crop which commanded a world market was in unsettled times subject to serious setbacks. it was a long cry from the james and the potomac to the baltic ports, yet the welfare of the virginia and maryland planters was in no small degree dependent upon the maintenance of peaceful conditions in poland and sweden and russia. a war which seriously curtailed the exportation of english leaf to the northern countries would inevitably react on the price and so bring misfortune to the colonial planters. when called before the board of trade to testify as to the decay of the tobacco trade, the manufacturer john linton declared that the baltic countries, which formerly had purchased thousands of hogsheads a year, now took comparatively few. "the russian trade is ruined," he said.[8-28]
the war against france and spain, coming at this unfortunate juncture, still further restricted the market, sent prices down to new depths and filled to overflowing the planters' cup of misfortune. "the war has stopped the trade with spain, france, flanders and part of the baltic," colonel quary reported in a memorial to the board of trade, "which took off yearly 20,000 hogsheads of tobacco. now our best foreign market is holland."[8-29] the pamphlet entitled the present state of the tobacco plantations in america stated, in 1708, that france and spain alone had imported 20,000 hogsheads, but that both were now otherwise supplied. "the troubles in sweden, poland, russia, etc., have prevented the usual exportation of great quantities to those ports. virginia and maryland have severely felt the loss of such exportation, having so far reduced the planters that for several years past the whole product of their tobacco would hardly clothe the servants that made it."[8-30]
[149]
their misfortunes were accentuated by the fact that the dutch took advantage of the european upheavals to gain control of a part of the tobacco trade. upon the outbreak of the war with louis xiv, england prohibited the exportation of tobacco either to france or to spain, but holland, despite her participation in the struggle, apparently took no such action. on the contrary she strained every nerve to entrench herself in the markets of her ally before peace should once more open the flood gates to virginia and maryland tobacco. with this in view the acreage in holland devoted to the cultivation of the leaf was rapidly extended. "the dutch are improving and increasing their tobacco plantations," wrote john linton in 1706. "in 1701 they produced only 18,000 hogsheads. last year it was 33,500 hogsheads." plantations at nimwegen, rhenen, amersfoort and nijkerk turned out 13,400,000 pounds, while great quantities were raised on the main, in higher germany and in prussia.[8-31]
the dutch mixed their own leaf with that of virginia and maryland in the proportion of four to one, subjected it to a process of manufacture and sent it out to all the european markets.[8-32] in 1707 a letter to john linton stated that they had from thirty to forty houses for "making up tobacco in rolls," employing 4,000 men, besides great numbers of women and girls. their baltic exports were estimated at 12,350,000 pounds; 2,500,000 pounds to norway, 1,500,000 to jutland and denmark, 4,000,000 to sweden, 2,350,000 to lapland, 2,000,000 to danzig and k?nigsberg.[8-33]
with the continuation of the war on the continent dutch competition became stronger and stronger. in 1714, when peace was at last in prospect, they seemed thoroughly entrenched in many of the markets formerly supplied by the english. "the planting of tobacco in holland, germany, etc.," it was reported to the board of trade, "is increased to[150] above four times what it was 20 years ago, and amounts now to as much as is made in both virginia and maryland." the tobacco trade, which had formerly produced some ￡250,000 in the balance of trade, had declined to about half that figure, exports of manufactured goods to the chesapeake were rapidly dwindling, the number of ships engaged in carrying tobacco was greatly reduced, the merchants were impoverished, the planters were ruined.[8-34]
"it is hardly possible to imagine a more miserable spectacle than the poorer sort of inhabitants in this colony," the council wrote in 1713, "whose labour in tobacco has not for several years afforded them clothing to shelter them from the violent colds as well as heats to both which this climate is subject in the several seasons. the importation of british and other european commodities by the merchants, whereby the planters were formerly well supplied with clothing, is now in a manner wholly left off and the small supplies still ventured sold at such prodigeous rates as they please. many families formerly well clothed and their houses well furnished are now reduced to rags and all the visible marks of poverty."[8-35]
this unfortunate period was but temporary. with the conclusion of peace english tobacco was dumped upon the european market at a figure so low as to defy competition. and when once the hogsheads began to move, the reaction on virginia and maryland was rapid and pronounced. soon prices rose again to the old levels, and the colony entered upon a period, for the larger planters at least, of unprecedented prosperity.[8-36] but the eight years of hardship and poverty made a lasting imprint upon the poorest class of whites. coming as they did upon the heels of the first great wave of negro immigration, they accelerated the movement of the disrupting forces already at work. it was not by accident that the largest migration of whites to other settlements occurred just at this[151] time and that the inquiries as to its cause are most frequent. the little planter class never fully recovered from the blow dealt it by the temporary loss of the larger part of the european tobacco trade.
the small freeholders who possessed neither servants nor slaves did not disappear entirely, but they gradually declined in numbers and sank into abject poverty. during the period of spotswood's administration they still constituted a large part of the population. the tax list for 1716 in lancaster, one of the older counties, shows that of 314 persons listed as tithables, 202 paid for themselves only.[8-37] making ample deductions for persons not owning land it would appear that more than half the planters at this date still tilled their fields only with their own labor. at the time of the american revolution, however, the situation had changed materially, and a decided dwindling of the poor farmer class is noticeable. in gloucester county the tax lists for 1782-83 show 490 white families, of which 320 were in possession of slaves. of the 170 heads of families who possessed no negroes, since no doubt some were overseers, some artisans, some professional men, it is probable that not more than eighty or ninety were proprietors.[8-38] in spotsylvania county similar conditions are noted. of 704 tithable whites listed in 1783 all save 199 possessed slaves.[8-39] in dinwiddie county, in the year 1782, of 843 tithable whites, 210 only were not slave holders.[8-40] apparently the virginia yeoman, the sturdy, independent farmer of the seventeenth century, who tilled his little holding with his own hands, had become an insignificant factor in the life of the colony. the glorious promises which the country had held out to him in the first fifty years of its existence had been belied. the virginia which had formerly been so largely the land of the little farmer, had become the land of masters and slaves. for aught else there was no room.
[152]
before the end of the eighteenth century the condition of the poorest class had become pitiable. the french philosopher chastellux who spent much time in virginia during the american revolution testifies to their extreme misery. "it is there that i saw poor persons for the first time since crossing the ocean," he says. "in truth, near these rich plantations, in which the negro alone is unhappy, are often found miserable huts inhabited by whites whose wan faces and ragged garments give testimony to their poverty."[8-41]
philip fithian, in his journal, describes the habits of this class and is vigorous in his condemnation of the brutal fights which were so common among them. "in my opinion animals which seek after and relish such odius and filthy amusements are not of the human species," he says, "they are destitute of the remotest pretension of humanity."[8-42] even the negroes of the wealthy regarded these persons with contempt, a contempt which they were at no pains to conceal.
the traveller smyth thought them "kind, hospitable and generous," but "illiberal, noisy and rude," and much "addicted to inebriety and averse to labor." this class, he says, "who ever compose the bulk of mankind, are in virginia more few in numbers, in proportion to the rest of the inhabitants, than perhaps in any other country in the universe."[8-43]
but it must not be imagined that slavery drove out or ruined the entire class of small farmers, leaving virginia alone to the wealthy. in fact, most of those who were firmly established remained, finding their salvation in themselves purchasing slaves. few indeed had been able to avail themselves of the labor of indentured servants; the cost of transportation was too heavy, the term too short, the chances of sickness or desertion too great. but with the influx of thousands of negroes, the more enterprising and industrious of the poor planters quite frequently made purchases. although the initial outlay[153] was greater, they could secure credit by pledging their farms and their crops, and in the end the investment usually paid handsome dividends and many who could not raise the money to buy a full grown negro, often found it possible to secure a child, which in time would become a valuable asset.
this movement may readily be traced by an examination of the tax lists and county records of the eighteenth century. in lancaster even so early as 1716 we find that the bulk of the slaves were in the hands, not of wealthy proprietors, but of comparatively poor persons. of the 314 taxpayers listed, 113 paid for themselves alone, 94 for two only, 37 for three, 22 for four, thirteen for five, while thirty-five paid for more than five. as there were but few servants in the colony at this time it may be taken for granted that the larger part of the tithables paid for by others were negro slaves. it would seem, then, that of some 200 slave owners in this country, about 165 possessed from one to four negroes only. there were but four persons listed as having more than twenty slaves, william ball with 22, madam fox with 23, william fox with 25 and robert carter with 126.[8-44]
nor did the class of little slave holders melt away as time passed. in fact they continued to constitute the bulk of the white population of virginia for a century and a half, from the beginning of the eighteenth century until the conquest of the state by federal troops in 1865. thus we find that of 633 slave owners in dinwiddie county in 1782, 95 had one only, 66 had two, 71 three, 45 four, 50 five, making an aggregate of 327, or more than half of all the slave holders, who possessed from one to five negroes.[8-45] in spotsylvania there were, in 1783, 505 slave owners, of whom 78 possessed one each, 54 two, 44 three, 41 four, and 30 five each. thus 247, or nearly 49 per cent of the slave holders, had from one to five slaves only. one hundred and sixteen, or 23 per cent, had[154] from six to ten inclusive.[8-46] the gloucester lists for 1783 show similar conditions. there were in this country 320 slave holders, having 3,314 negroes, an average of about 10-1/3 for each owner. fifty had one each, 41 had two each, 9 had three, 30 had four and twenty-six had five. thus 156, or about half of all the owners, had from one to five slaves.[8-47] in princess anne county, of a total of 388 slave owners, 100 had one each, 56 had two each and forty-five had three each.[8-48]
records of transfers of land tend to substantiate this testimony, by showing that the average holdings at all times in the eighteenth century were comparatively small. in the years from 1722 to 1729 spotsylvania was a new county, just opened to settlers, and a large part of its area had been granted in large tracts to wealthy patentees. yet the deed book for these years shows that it was actually settled, not by these men themselves, but by a large number of poor planters. of the 197 transfers of land recorded, 44 were for 100 acres or less and 110 for 300 acres or less. the average deed was for 487 acres. as some of the transfers were obviously made for speculative purposes and not with the intent of putting the land under cultivation, even this figure is misleading. the average farm during the period was probably not in excess of 400 acres. one of the most extensive dealers in land in spotsylvania was larkin chew who secured a patent for a large tract and later broke it up into many small holdings which were sold to new settlers.[8-49]
this substitution of the small slave holder for the man who used only his own labor in the cultivation of his land unquestionably saved the class of small proprietors from destruction. without it all would have been compelled to give up their holdings in order to seek their fortunes elsewhere, or sink to the condition of "poor white trash." yet the movement was in many ways unfortunate. it made the poor man less industrious[155] and thrifty. formerly he had known that he could win nothing except by the sweat of his brow, but now he was inclined to let the negro do the work. slavery cast a stigma upon labor which proved almost as harmful to the poor white man as did negro competition. work in the tobacco fields was recognized as distinctly the task of an inferior race, a task not in keeping with the dignity of freemen.
jefferson states that few indeed of the slave owners were ever seen to work. "for in a warm climate," he adds, "no man will labour for himself who can make another labour for him."[8-50] chastellux noted the same tendency, declaring "that the indolence and dissipation of the middling and lower classes of white inhabitants of virginia is such as to give pain to every reflecting mind."[8-51]
slavery developed in the small farmers a spirit of pride and haughtiness that was unknown to them in the seventeenth century. every man, no matter how poor, was surrounded by those to whom he felt himself superior, and this gave him a certain self-esteem. smyth spoke of the middle class as generous, friendly and hospitable in the extreme, but possessing a rudeness and haughtiness which was the result of their "general intercourse with slaves."[8-52] beverley described them as haughty and jealous of their liberties, and so impatient of restraint that they could hardly bear the thought of being controlled by any superior power. hugh jones, anbury, fithian and other eighteenth century writers all confirm this testimony.
despite the persistence of the small slave holder it is obvious that there were certain forces at work tending to increase the number of well-to-do and wealthy planters. now that the labor problem, which in the seventeenth century had proved so perplexing, had finally been solved, there was no limit to the riches that might be acquired by business acumen,[156] industry and good management. and as in the modern industrial world the large corporation has many advantages over the smaller firms, so in colonial virginia the most economical way of producing tobacco was upon the large plantations.
the wealthy man had the advantage of buying and selling in bulk, he enjoyed excellent credit and could thus often afford to withhold his crop from the market when prices were momentarily unfavorable, he could secure the best agricultural instruments. most important of all, however, was the fact that he could utilize the resources of his plantation for the production of crude manufactured supplies, thus to a certain extent freeing himself from dependence upon british imports and keeping his slaves at work during all seasons of the year. before the eighteenth century had reached its fifth decade every large plantation had become to a remarkable degree self-sustaining. each numbered among its working force various kinds of mechanics—coopers, blacksmiths, tanners, carpenters, shoemakers, distillers. these men could be set to work whenever the claims of the tobacco crop upon their time were not imperative producing many of the coarser articles required upon the plantation, articles which the poor farmer had to import from england. for this work white men were at first almost universally made use of, but in time their places were taken by slaves. "several of them are taught to be sawyers, carpenters, smiths, coopers, &c.," says the historian hugh jones, "though for the most part they be none of the aptest or nicest."[8-53]
the carpenter was kept busy constructing barns and servants' quarters, or repairing stables, fences, gates and wagons. the blacksmith was called upon to shoe horses, to keep in order ploughs, hinges, sickles, saws, perhaps even to forge outright such rough iron ware as nails, chains and hoes. the[157] cooper made casks in which to ship the tobacco crop, barrels for flour and vats for brandy and cider. the tanner prepared leather for the plantation and the cobbler fashioned it into shoes for the slaves. sometimes there were spinners, weavers and knitters who made coarse cloth both for clothing and for bedding. the distiller every season made an abundant supply of cider, as well as apple, peach and persimmon brandy.
and the plantation itself provided the materials for this varied manufacture. the woods of pine, chestnut and oak yielded timber for houses and fuel for the smithy. the herd of cattle supplied hides for the tanner. the cloth makers got cotton, flax and hemp from the planter's own fields, and wool from his sheep. his orchard furnished apples, grapes, peaches in quantities ample for all the needs of the distiller. in other words, the large planter could utilize advantageously the resources at hand in a manner impossible for his neighbor who could boast of but a small farm and half a score of slaves.[8-54]
it was inevitable, then, that the widespread use of slave labor would result in the gradual multiplication of well-to-do and wealthy men. in the seventeenth century not one planter in fifty could be classed as a man of wealth, and even so late as 1704 the number of the well-to-do was very narrowly limited. in a report to the lords of trade written in that year colonel quary stated that upon each of the four great rivers of virginia there resided from "ten to thirty men who by trade and industry had gotten very competent estates."[8-55] fifty years later the number had multiplied several times over.
thus in gloucester county in 1783, of 320 slave holders no less than 57 had sixteen or more. of these one possessed 162, one 138, one 93, one 86, one 63, one 58, two 57, one 56, one 43 and one 40.[8-56] in spotsylvania, of 505 owners, 76 had sixteen or more. of these mann page, esq., had 157, mrs. mary daingerfield had 71, william daingerfield 61, alexander[158] spotswood 60, william jackson 49, george stubblefield 42, frances marewither 40, william jones 39.[8-57]
the dinwiddie tax lists for 1783 show that of 633 slave holders, no less than 60 had twenty-one or more negroes. among the more important of these were robert turnbull with 81, colonel john banister with 88, colonel william diggs with 72, john jones with 69, mrs. mary bolling with 51, robert walker with 52, winfield mason with 40, john burwell with 42, gray briggs with 43, william yates with 55, richard taliaferro with 43, major thomas scott with 57, francis muir with 47.[8-58] the wealth of the larger planters is also shown by the large number of coaches recorded in these lists, which including phaetons, chariots and chairs, aggregated 180 wheels.
thus it was that the doors of opportunity opened wide to the enterprising and industrious of the middle class, and many availed themselves of it to acquire both wealth and influence. smyth tells us that at the close of the colonial period there were many planters whose fortunes were "superior to some of the first rank," but whose families were "not so ancient nor respectable."[8-59] it was the observation of anbury that gentlemen of good estates were more numerous in virginia than in any other province of america.[8-60]
in fact the eighteenth century was the golden age of the virginia slave holders. it was then that they built the handsome homes once so numerous in the older counties, many of which still remain as interesting monuments of former days; it was then that they surrounded themselves with graceful furniture and costly silverware, in large part imported from great britain; it was then that they collected paintings and filled their libraries with the works of standard writers; it was then that they purchased coaches and berlins; it was[159] then that men and women alike wore rich and expensive clothing.
this movement tended to widen the influence of the aristocracy and at the same time to eliminate any sharp line of demarkation between it and the small slave holders. there was now only a gradual descent from the wealthiest to the poor man who had but one slave. the spotsylvania tax lists for 1783 show 247 slaveholders owning from one to five negroes, 116 owning from six to ten inclusive, 66 owning from eleven to fifteen inclusive, and seventy-six owning more than fifteen.[8-61] in gloucester 156 had from one to five slaves, 66 from five to ten inclusive, 41 from eleven to fifteen inclusive, and fifty-seven over fifteen. thus in a very true sense the old servant holding aristocracy had given way to a vastly larger slave holding aristocracy.
it is this fact which explains the decline in power and influence of the council in virginia, which was so notable in the eighteenth century. this body had formerly been representative of a small clique of families so distinct from the other planters and possessed of such power in the government as to rival the nobility of england itself. now, however, as this distinction disappeared, the council sank in prestige because it represented nothing, while the house of burgesses became the mouthpiece of the entire slave holding class, and thus the real power in the colonial government.
historians have often expressed surprise at the small number of tories in virginia during the american revolution. the aristocratic type of society would naturally lead one to suppose that a large proportion of the leading families would have remained loyal to the crown. yet with very few exceptions all supported the cause of freedom and independence, even though conscious of the fact that by so doing they were jeopardizing not only the tobacco trade which was the basis[160] of their wealth, but the remnants of their social and political privileges in the colony. when the british ministry tried to wring from the hands of the assembly the all-important control over taxation which all knew to be the very foundation of colonial self-government, every planter, the largest as well as the smallest, felt himself aggrieved, for this body was the depository of his power and the guardian of his interests. a hundred years before, when the commons rose against the oppression and tyranny of the government, the wealthy men rallied to the support of sir william berkeley and remained loyal to him throughout all his troubles. in 1775 there was no such division of the people; the planters were almost a unit in the defense of rights which all held in common.
it is obvious, then, that slavery worked a profound revolution in the social, economic and political life of the colony. it practically destroyed the virginia yeomanry, the class of small planters who used neither negroes nor servants in the cultivation of their fields, the class which produced the bulk of the tobacco during the seventeenth century and constituted the chief strength of the colony. some it drove into exile, either to the remote frontiers or to other colonies; some it reduced to extreme poverty; some it caused to purchase slaves and so at one step to enter the exclusive class of those who had others to labor for them. thus it transformed virginia from a land of hardworking, independent peasants, to a land of slaves and slave holders. the small freeholder was not destroyed, as was his prototype of ancient rome, but he was subjected to a change which was by no means fortunate or wholesome. the wealthy class, which had formerly consisted of a narrow clique closely knit together by family ties, was transformed into a numerous body, while all sharp line of demarkation between it and the poorer slave holders was wiped out. in short, the virginia of the eighteenth century, the[161] virginia of gooch and dinwiddie and washington and jefferson, was fundamentally different from the virginia of the seventeenth century, the virginia of sir william berkeley and nathaniel bacon. slavery had wrought within the borders of the old dominion a profound and far reaching revolution.
