In the English colonies in the 1600's the role of Africans shifted from that of indentured servants to slave for life because

African shifted from indenture servants to slavery because of the growth of the plantation economy and the tremendous needs of worker in Southern English America. Since before, there were no machines to use in plowing the field, cultivating and harvesting, or doing other planting works, Human labor was in demand. Because of this demand, Virginia and Maryland operated the "Headright System" in where they provided their planters to import workers. For every imported workers, their laborers brought, they gave 50 acres of land.