Massachusetts

          Massachusetts Bay Colony was the first British colony to legalize slavery. That law extended to the Plymouth Colony in 1691, when the two colonies merged. Most of the 17th century slave trade in New England was based in Massachusetts,direct attempts were not successful until the latter part of the century. In 1676, Boston ships began working with slave traders and by 1678 were selling slaves to Virginians. Slaves imported to Massachusetts, were often Africans from more  West Indies that have already have worked as slaves. Some Africans that were deemed unsuitable for work in the West Indies were brought to Massachusetts.