During colonial times, the role of each community member was valuable. Families like the Smiths needed the services of the tanner, blacksmith, and carpenter for items they could not produce on their own. This is called domestic interdependence. Colonists also depended on products from other countries, such as manufactured goods from Europe and sugar from the Caribbean. A system of international interdependence developed because other countries also relied on the colonies for raw materials and crops grown in the Americas. As the demand for cotton and tobacco increased in Europe, the indentured servants originally brought to the colonies for work were finishing their contracts. The colonists needed more workers in their fields and help at home. They depended on the transatlantic slave trade to supply manual labor. During the transatlantic slave trade, goods such as rum and weapons were traded in West Africa for slaves. The transatlantic slave trade was also called the “triangular trade” for the triangles formed by the trade routes. One set of routes carried sugar and molasses from the Caribbean to the New England colonies, where it was turned into rum. The rum was sent to Africa and traded for slaves. The slaves went to the Caribbean, where they worked on sugar plantations. Another set of routes sent the rum from New England to Europe, manufactured goods and weapons from Europe to Africa, and slaves from Africa to the colonies. View the map to see the locations of the slave trade routes and which industries needed slave labor. Having proven themselves capable workers on sugar plantations in the Caribbean, enslaved Africans were a commodity that colonists bought and sold. Stripped of their rights and freedom, slaves were beaten, separated from their families, and worked continually. In the New England and Middle colonies, most worked as butlers, sailors, launderers, and grooms. Slaves were also artisans such as carpenters, stonemasons, blacksmiths, and weavers. Extra! Extra! “Musician” was the most frequently reported occupation during the colonial era among New York slaves. Enslaved Africans created spiritual music, which later gave rise to blues music. These were two original African-American musical forms. Slaves in the Fields A large number of enslaved Africans in the Southern colonies worked in the fields harvesting cash crops such as tobacco, cotton, and rice. Crops grown for profit were common in the South, while crops grown and used by the farmer’s family, called subsistence crops, were more common in the North and among poor families in the South. Some Southern slaves were household slaves working jobs similar to those in the North. 19th century map of Colonial America displays images of four major crops: rice, indigo, cotton and tobacco. When you hover over South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia and Maryland, the following captions appear: Crop: Rice and Indigo State: South Carolina Caption: "Large rivers, swamplands, and rains necessary for cultivating rice and indigo were common in South Carolina. Large numbers of slaves worked on the plantations in this area."Crop: Cotton State: South Carolina, Georgi Caption: "Cotton grown in Georgia and South Carolina was plentiful due to the nutrient-rich, moist soil of these two colonies. Many slaves were needed to plant, pick, remove the seeds from, and bale the cotton for export to other colonies and countries."Crop: Tobacco State: Virginia, Maryland Caption: "Tobacco was a valuable cash crop, especially in Virginia and Maryland. High demand for tobacco in European markets led to greater imports of slaves who worked in the fields to plant and harvest the tobacco crop."The Economics of Slavery Enslaved Africans were an important part of the colonial economy. State and local governments made money on slavery by imposing taxes on all slave transactions and by collecting taxes from each plantation estate based upon the number of slaves living there. From picking cotton to rice and indigo, slave labor helped the colonial economies grow. Slavery appeared very early in colonial America as plantations started to grow valuable. These slaves played a vital role in the economic development of the United States. Location Contributions by African Americans to the development of the U. S. Economy As the smoking habit of Europeans spread, tobacco became the most valued export of Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina. Tobacco became a staple crop of the local economy and increased the need for more slaves, which helped the economy grow because slave labor was taxed. In South Carolina and Georgia, slaves contributed to the colonies by working in huge flooded fields where rice was raised. They also worked on plantations where indigo plants were cultivated, from which a valuable blue dye was made. During the colonial times, Spain and France ruled the lands along the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico from Texas to Florida.