Nonetheless, the heterogeneous nature of the dominant psuedo-English people precluded the possibility of serious discrimination against the Germans and Jews, and the ethnic diversity among the Europeans proved to be a tempering cultural influence just as it does today. .
Yet the experience of African slaves and the Native American Indians starkly contrasts with that of the European immigrant groups, and describes a second, darker facet to American culture that still exists today. Beginning around 1680, the practice of slavery became increasingly widespread in the American colonies. Largely, this was due to a shortage of European indentured servants, an end to the Royal African Company's monopoly over the slave trade (competition among slave traders led to a decrease in slave prices), and a realization among the colonists that slaveholding was far more profitable than the employment of indentured servants. The years from 1700-1750 saw a dramatic rise in the African slave population, with more than 250,000 being forcibly transplanted to the American continent. The demographic impact cannot be overstated: southern colonies that were almost completely devoid of Africans in 1680 were 30-40% slaves by 1770. Even in northern colonies, where slavery was rare, slaves constituted anywhere from 5-15% of the population by the end of the period. Indians, on the other hand, experienced a dramatic depopulation during the same period as a result of disease, warfare with both whites and between tribes, and the destruction of the natural wilderness by white farmers and subsequent depletion of game. From 1680-1770, the overall east coast Indian population declined 50-75%, with many tribes disappearing altogether. .
While Africans and Indians had different fates (the Africans continued to exist "albeit enslaved "while the Indians died out), their mistreatment at the hands of the European settlers stemmed from a single phenomenon "ethnocentrism.