Slavery was hard for people from Africa. Slavery started in the early 16^th hundred when a Dutch ship brought about 20 African slaves to North American to pick tobacco in plantation. In the 17^th and 18^th centuries was when slavery really started. If there were no slaves American now would not be a country and it would not be the richest country in the world because the slaves helped the people pick crops and build the economy. In the 17^th century it was legal to have a slave helping you pick crops.  Today, slavery is illegal all over the world. In the 17^th century there was a machine called the cotton gin and people would use the machine to pick cotton and they would need more people to package the cotton to sell so they need more slaves. Sometimes the owner of the slaves would trade the slaves for Tobacco, cotton and sugar. The slaves also got treated badly suck as being hit by whips and they had to were shackles. This is why slavery was hard for people from Africa.