Slavery was used primarily to support tobacco plantations in the Chesapeake Bay. Malnutrition, disease, and death were prevalent in the Chesapeake. Slaves were an abundant and cheap resource, which could be easily replaced at any time. The Chesapeake took advantage of the use of black slaves just as many other parts of the world would do at the time. The Chesapeake colonies of Virginia and Maryland were founded in the early 17th century. Life for the early settlers was extremely difficult and many colonies failed to survive. The colonists initially thought of using the natives as slaves. The colonists decided not to enslave the Native Americans because they proved too difficult to fight. Another reason Native Americans made bad slaves was because plantation owners could treat their slaves any way they liked, no matter how cruel. Many colonists saw Africans as savages destined to serve only because the African empire was falling apart, 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, religion and skin color. Africans were thought to be cursed by the Bible, due to their darker skin color. Because of the fear that the Africans instilled in the colonists, laws were enacted to take away all rights from the slaves. Eventually the laws were given the name Slave Codes which removed all rights that Africans had and further restricted Africans from any rights. The code stated 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 do to that slave. Slaves who had previously been freed were not allowed to vote, beat a white person, or own property