Slavery was primarily used to support tobacco plantations on the Chesapeake Bay. Malnutrition, disease, and death were widespread in the Chesapeake. Slaves were a cheap and abundant resource that could be easily replaced at any time. The Chesapeake profited from the use of black slaves, just as many other parts of the world would have done at the time. The Chesapeake colonies in Virginia and Maryland were settled in the early 17th century. Life for the early settlers was extremely difficult and many colonies failed to survive. The colonists first thought of using the natives as slaves. The settlers decided not to enslave the Native Americans because they were proving too difficult to fight. Another reason why Native American men made bad slaves was because plantation owners could treat their slaves however they wanted, no matter how cruel. Many colonists viewed Africans as savages meant only to serve because the African empire was collapsing and so they seemed weak and narrow-minded. Slave traders who went to Africa thought they were some sort of devil worshipers because of their rituals, their religion, and the color of their skin. Africans were thought to be biblically cursed due to their darker skin color. Because of the fear that Africans instilled in the settlers, laws were passed to remove all rights to slaves. The laws eventually became known as the Slavery Codes, which removed all rights that Africans had and further restricted Africans from any rights. The code stipulated that slaves were prohibited from owning property, gathering in large groups, marrying, and leaving plantations without the direct permission of their “owner.” If a slave ran away, the slave owner had the right to do whatever he wanted to that slave. Slaves who had previously been freed were not allowed to vote, beat a white person, or own