It was because poor English settlers naturally wanted a better lifestyle once they had worked their necessary 7 years and moved on, that the new landowners thought they had better find a way of hanging on to the non-English workers. The Africans were too valuable to be allowed to return to Africa. They would be kept by force. This was negotiated and by 1641, slavery became law.
The very novelty of white folk coming across black folk probably allowed this heartless and unethical practice to happen. There was no knowledge or understanding that the Africans were suffering, or when it did become evident, the 'difference' allowed whites to give it only the same attention as they would to animals.
