USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Until the transatlantic slave trade was abolished in 1807, over 12 million Africans were transported to the ‘New World, ’ and over 90 percent of them went to the Caribbean and South America, to work on sugar plantations.

Detailed explanation-2: -In the lower South the majority of slaves lived and worked on cotton plantations. Most of these plantations had fifty or fewer slaves, although the largest plantations have several hundred. Cotton was by far the leading cash crop, but slaves also raised rice, corn, sugarcane, and tobacco.

Detailed explanation-3: -Plantation slaves lived in small shacks with a dirt floor and little or no furniture. Life on large plantations with a cruel overseer was oftentimes the worst.

Detailed explanation-4: -Throughout colonial and antebellum history, U.S. slaves lived primarily in the South. Slaves comprised less than a tenth of the total Southern population in 1680 but grew to a third by 1790. At that date, 293, 000 slaves lived in Virginia alone, making up 42 percent of all slaves in the U.S. at the time.

Detailed explanation-5: -Most plantations are clustered along a stretch of the Mississippi River in Louisiana. You could stop at one or two of them en route to New Orleans, or visit on a day trip from the city. Another option is to stay overnight at one, which gives you a chance to explore Plantation Country in more depth.