Many of the events which occurred in the Caribbean islands had important repercussions in the American Colonies.
A quarter of a century after Columbus had discovered the New World, the first African slaves were brought to the West Indies to supplement the inadequate labor supply.

The Indians who lived on the islands were few in number and had had no experience in plantation agriculture.

As the shortage of labor became severe, the plantation owners began to import criminals and were willing to accept the poor and the drunks who had been seized from the streets of European ports.
There was also a continual stream of indentured servants, but this influx was nowhere nearly large enough to fill the growing labor demands.

The advantage of African slaves over indentured servants was that they could be purchased outright for life.

Moreover, the Africans had no contacts in the European capitals through which they could bring pressure to bear against the abuses of the plantation masters.