The 17th century was an altering time in history. Britain's population had grown to an unmanageable amount and the poverty and unemployment were at an all time high. The poor needed a second chance in life. The word spread around Britain about a "New World" offering this second chance to those willing to go. It was the opportunity that many indignant poor people within Britain were looking for. In 1607, hundreds of families left their lives and set sail to Jamestown, Virginia. They built new homes, farms and a new way of life. By 1610, Virginia had suffered a hard summer and winter which took a toll on the new colonists. Unable to cultivate the land the settlers faced starvation resulting in them eating their livestock and ultimately eating one another just to stay alive. By 1611, only 60 of the new colonist were living.
             The failure of the first colonists did not stop the hopes of Britain for a new beginning. By 1613, over 200,000 people left their old way of life to travel to the New World. Desperate to find an edge for economic growth, they discovered that the lands favored the seeds of tobacco. They created plantation throughout Virginia and sold their goods to England. As time went on more and more people left the poor economy of Britain for America. They were unemployed servants given the promise of freedom from poverty if they worked a tour of several years as a servant in the "New World". This promise would guarantee them food, sheltered and clothes in exchange for their work. Once their work tour was completed the servants were granted their freedom. The opportunity was too good to pass up.
             As the demand for more exported goods grew in American the need for more laborers grew also. The rich plantation owners began looking for alternative methods for obtaining workers. In 1619, a Dutch ship landed in Jamestown in need of food and supplies. They had captive Africans on b...