Moreover, because their sole interest in the
islands was economic profit, they could make a double profit by
selling their seasoned slaves as well as selling their plantation
produce. While the Africans' stay in the Caribbean, obviously, was
not part of their African heritage, it was part of the experience
which they brought with them to the Colonies. Many of the events
which occurred in the Caribbean islands had important
repercussions in the American Colonies.
A quarter of a century after Columbus had discovered the New
World, the first African slaves were brought to the West Indies
to supplement the inadequate labor supply. The Indians who
lived on the islands were few in number and had had no
experience in plantation agriculture. As the shortage of labor
became severe, the plantation owners began to import criminals
and were willing to accept the poor and the drunks who had been
seized from the streets of European ports.
There was also a continual stream of indentured servants, but
this influx was nowhere nearly large enough to fill the growing
labor demands.
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