The history of the United States cannot be fully understood without examining the phenomenon of slavery, its underlying causes, and long-term implications. It takes its origins in the colonial past of the country when many African people were forcefully brought to the newly established settlements. Overall, slavery can be regarded as a system of legal and ethical norms according to which people could be treated as property. In other words, it was based on the premise that some individuals could be denied the right to humanity. This assumption was often used to legitimize the existence of this social institution. In turn, the owners could treat the enslaved people according to their wishes. In the nineteenth century, many people could perceive slavery as something acceptable.
One should note that slavery existed in different parts of the United States, but it was mostly widespread in the southern parts of the country in which labor-intensive industries played a very important role. This argument is particularly relevant if one speaks about cotton industry in Arizona, Florida, or Mississippi. The use of forced labor was welcomed by many planters. The dominance of agricultural production in these areas was one of the reasons why slavery persisted in the South. In contrast, the rapid industrial development in the North gradually marginalized forced labor. This is one of the differences that should not be overlooked.
It is possible to say that the enslaved people could perform different kinds of labor. First of all, these people could work on cotton and rice plantations. For instance, one can speak about such activities as cane-cutting, planting, and manuring. In the long term, this work could completely undermine their health. Additionally, these people could act as skilled artisans. In particular, they could be engaged in shoemaking, carpentry, or tanning. Such people could create significant economic value. It should be noted that the work of female slaves had distinct peculiarities. In particular, they had to do a variety of house chores such as sewing or cooking. Moreover, they were partly responsible for rearing the children of their owners. Overall, they could be engaged in various activities that represented different areas. Moreover, the labor of slaves was vital for the economic development of many areas.
In order to understand the experiences of slaves, one should first take into account that the owners did not perceive slaves as equal human beings. To a great extent, they were viewed as sub-humans or even animals. Therefore, these people could be subjected to various forms of humiliation. For instance, they could suffer severe corporal punishment such as caning for any failure to follow the demands of their owners. Moreover, female slaves were often the victims of sexual abuse and rape. The most important issue is that there were no legal safeguards that could protect them. In fact, their owners could kill them without facing any persecution. Certainly, there were people who did not accept this legal and ethical system, but in many cases, they could not secure widespread support. Additionally, in most cases, enslaved people were denied the right to education. It is important to remember that very often, they could seek consolation in religion because it enabled them to forget about their difficulties, at least for a short time. These are some of the main aspects that can be identified.
In turn, the experiences of the owners could be very diverse. First, one cannot assume that leisure was the only concern of these people since this assumption is based on the stereotypes, rather than historical evidence. In fact, many of them were engaged in trade, production, or other economic activities. Additionally, they could get access to education which enabled them to acquire high social status. Thus, it is possible to say that their living conditions were much better, especially in comparison with the hardships faced by slaves. One can say that they perceived themselves as the rightful owners of slaves. Many of them did not even question the ethical aspects of their behavior. Thus, racism was an inseparable part of their value system.
Overall, these claims are based on various sources. First, there are many diaries written by escaped slaves, and these documents can throw light on the way in which these people could be treated. Moreover, there are documents written by people who supported the existence of slavery. These sources can show how slave owners perceived their victims. These primary sources are usually very informative because they were written by people who could directly observe various peculiarities of slavery. Moreover, the modern popular culture also explores various aspects of this social institution. For instance, one can mention such a film as 12 Years a Slave. Certainly, the accuracy of many popular culture works can be questioned, but they profoundly shape the views of many people. One can say that the legacies of slavery continue to affect the life of the American society nowadays. These are the main details that can be singled out.
A reform is a social movement aimed at making gradual changes in the society. Slavery began as a form of punishing criminals in the society and recovering debts. The two main reforms that Americans struggled for were racial justice and gender equality.
The movement began in 1830s in the countryside and towns of the north. The people involved came from rich and religious families. They believed that slavery was because of injustice and unfair treatment of human beings.
The colonizers felt that the movement was threatening their business and status in the society and began to ridicule and attack the families of the abolitionists. Nevertheless, the abolitionists did not loose hope. For example, William Lloyd Garrison, a Massachusetts printer and editor, struggled to liberate slavery by publishing the first issue of The Liberator, which formed the foundation of women right in New England.
He also formed the New England anti-slavery society to strengthen the movement. This movement was formed later in America in which unified west, New York and New England.
Later 1830 and 40s, the movement became stronger and began to gain support from many people. Unfortunately, the movement collapsed due to individual differences. Then later, women coming from prominent families began their movement on antislavery and equality of women.
Writers supported the abolitionist women by producing children books, hymns, and stories that encouraged the younger generation to prepare to fight for their rights and freedom. The women in the abolitionist group started to spread the need for women to speak publicly about their rights.
Sarah and Grimke became the first women lecturers. They began to write and speak on women rights to condemn the message from the General Association of Massachusetts about forbidding women from speaking in public. In 1870s, women were excluded in the right to vote during the amendments of the constitution. They continued to struggle but it took 50 years to be included in the amendments.
Change in the attitude of slavery, led to its decline in 1800s. The slaves began to seek for education, jobs and establish churches since were forbidden from interacting with the white people. This helped them improve their living standards and awareness of their capabilities. Samuel Cornish and John Russworn became editors. They started the first black newspaper, Freedom Journal in 1827.
The slaves began to cause threat, the country representatives decided to return some of the slaves to their homeland. Most of the slaves felt that United States was their new home. They became encouraged to put more efforts that resulted to many succeeding. They improved their status in the society and many white people began appreciating them as people with rights.
Today slavery is illegal in all countries except in Africa, Asia, and South America. The incidences are punishable by law hence it is in secret. Today women have acquired personal freedom and can involve themselves in any kind of job in the society.
Women deserved to gain equal rights since they suffered a lot in the hands of the colonizers. Women worked in the fields alongside men but did not rest as men since they performed all the household chores and weaving before going to bed.
Those who worked as house slaves had to stand through out when their masters are in the house, are starved, and forbidden from visiting their husbands. Pregnant women beatings increasing the chances of loosing their babies and when they gave birth, their children sold as slaves.
Conclusion
Social activists play the role of identifying and enforcing reforms. Slavery began to benefit the white people in farming, to punish the criminals in the society and to recover debts but it ended up going against the human rights. Law without mercy should punish anybody involved in this business today.
There is no use denying the fact that the issue of slavery is a very important question which should be studied for people be able to understand its origins and aftermath in order not to repeat the same mistakes again. That is why, there is a great number of different works devoted to this very issue. Slavery was practiced all over the world, however, there were regions which suffered from this issue most of all. That is why, the history of America is always connected with this issue and the works, which study it, have a great number of pages devoted to the analysis of slavery, its roots and its influence on the life of people and further development of the country.
Nevertheless, even in America, which could be characterized as one of the greatest areas where slaves were used, there were regions which were known as the places where the number of slaves was extremely high and the whole society was based on the issue of slavery. The Caribbean region was the area of this sort. Being famous for its sugar plantations, it was also known for a great number of black slaves who had to work there and promote development of the region.
That is why, it is not surprising that the book A Brief History of the Caribbean by Jan Rogonzinski also investigates this issue. There is a great number of the authors thoughts connected with the question of slavery, its roots and its unique character, which was formed under conditions of the islands where slaves had to work. Additionally, the author also wants to show some peculiarities of the mentality of slaves for a reader to understand the issue better. With this in mind, it is possible to analyze the book and the authors point of view comparing it with some other ideas presented in the works of other authors.
First of all, it is possible to outline the origin and the roots of the Caribbean slavery. Jan Rogonzinski in his book states the fact that slavery and its spread over this area was the result of blistering development of sugar industry. The climate of the Caribbean basin was ideal for this culture and very soon it became the main region where cane was cultivated. Europeans appreciated this good very much and due to this fact more plantations needed to fulfill the need of continental Europe.
Taking into account the character of these lands, the author states the fact that it was impossible to satisfy the demand for the workforce with the help of colonizers or local people. Additionally, the character of the work supposed hard labor and people from the continent were not interested in it. With this in mind, importation of the workforce was the only solution to existing problems. Moreover, there were regions where people for these works could be easily obtained.
That is why, the book A Brief History of the Caribbean states the fact the slaves were imported to this region mainly due to the great number of sugar plantations which created great demand for the workforce. Taking it into account, it is possible to say that the whole issue of slavery, peculiar to this region, is analyzed within the framework of sugar industry and attempts of the owners of these plantations to obtain cheap, though, strong and enduring people who will be able to perform different kinds of jobs.
Being quite clear and logic, this version though is not the only point of view on the issue and some objections are possible. Herbert Klein and Ben Vinson in their book African Slavery in Latin America and the Caribbean also investigate the issue of slavery, though the region is bigger. That is why, they take into account not only conditions of the Caribbean, but Latin America in general. Resting on this fact, they do not consider sugar plantations to be the only and the main factor which influenced great development of the issue of slavery on these islands. The authors tend to show that the stage of development of human society and beliefs of people who lived in Europe, combined with the ways in which colonization of America was performed, influenced creation of the unique phenomenon of the Caribbean slavery (Klein and Vinson 98).
The thing is that the Age of Discovery was characterized by a great influence of dominating noble class which determined the character of society. That is why, such issue as slavery had already existed in Europe. Additionally, new areas, where people could be obtained, were discovered. Taking into account the fact that it was impossible to replace working people from Europe to America because of the lack of workforce on the continent, blistering development of slavery was the only way to deliver working people to America. Besides, conditions of these new lands should also be taken into account. It was impossible to count on the natural growth of population as there were not enough settlers to fulfill the needs of rich and noble people who came to these lands attracted by new opportunities and possibilities for personal growth.
Moreover, it was impossible to transport great number of people across the ocean because of the capacity of ships which existed in those times. Additionally, each travel across the ocean was a risky issue and people could die during the voyage. Taking into account the fact that peasants were the property of rich landowners, they did not want to lose them. With this in mind, slaves became an ideal solution as they were cheap, they did not belong to a certain person and conditions under which they were transported were much worse that conditions for people from Europe. With this in mind, it is possible to say that a great number of sugar plantations was not the only reason of the blistering development of slavery in the Caribbean basin. Society of the Age of Discovery was unequal and needs of the dominating layer of society were the most important.
Being interested in high incomes with comparatively low losses, they promoted development of slavery as the cheapest way to find the workforce. Additionally, the character of these lands should also be taken into account because the natural growth of the population was comparatively low and immigration was the only source of the appending of human sources.
However, the issue of low birth rates among slaves, who lived in the Caribbean basin, is also touched in the book. The author states the fact that “death rates among Caribbean slaves always were much higher than birth rates” (Rogonzinski 126). There was a great number of factors which influenced low birth rates there. Rogonzinski points out that it could be connected with the poor conditions which were peculiar to sugar plantations and hard labor which slaves, no matter males of females, had to perform. It obviously had pernicious influence on the health of women who were able to give birth and, due to this fact, birth rates were low. Kenneth Kiple in his book The Caribbean Slave.
A biological history also gives this idea. He also takes into account horrible conditions under which slaves were transported from Africa on the Middle Passage. Very often, slaves were taken to Europe at first and then to America. It is obvious, that these trips were very difficult and risky, though they were complicated by horrible conditions. Resting on these facts, it is possible to say that women were not able to give birth. Additionally, men were also influenced and a great number of them became sterile (Kiple 87).
That is why, black people were not able to give birth to a child. However, Rogonzinski also suggests another point of view, which states that slaves did not want to raise children understanding their fate and seeing no point in creating another slave for their master. However, this version seems to be rather doubtful. It is rather difficult to suppose that people, who lived in that period of time, were concerned with such issues.
Segregation and social injustice were usual phenomena in those times. That is why, it is difficult to suppose that people could think about their children from this perspective. The life of peasants at the beginning of the Middle Ages was not much better, though their birth rate was rather high. That is why, this version seems to be not quite logic and plausible. Moreover, one more fact should be taken into account. Population looses in the Caribbean were also the result of exceptionally high rates of infantine mortality among the slaves (Richardson 66).
Conditions, under which slaves lived, hard labor and the absence of any qualified medical service resulted in a very low chances for an infant to survive. Richardson states that these facts could serve as characteristics of the British, French and Spanish Caribbean (Richardson 66). That is why, it becomes obvious that even if slaves did give birth to children, their chances to survive were extremely low. Due to this fact, Africa became the only source where new workforce could be taken.
Rogonzinski also states the fact that Africa was the main region from which slaves came to America. In his work, he underlines the fact that more than 12 million of slaves were transported from Africa to different regions of the New World (Rogonzinski 131).
The author underlines the fact that this region in Africa became the main area for the development of slavery because of the easiness of the access to human resources. This idea is also suggested by Klein and Vinson in their work African Slavery in Latin America and the Caribbean. They tend to think that the fact that America was discovered later than Africa was doomed the last one to be the main supplier of the workforce for the new lands (Klein and Vinson 34). Africa was discovered many years ago and people, who lived there, traditionally were taken as slaves. Even the period of Antiquity was characterized by such attitude towards African people. That is why European countries had the area with the aligned mechanism of the enslavement of people.
However, until America was discovered, there was no need in a great number of slaves as the demand for workforce of the industry of Europe was satisfied by local people. Besides, new lands promoted the appearance of new branches of industry and blistering development of the demand for workforce. That is why, African people had no chance. Additionally, local kings and people also influenced development of slavery taking it as the way to enrich themselves or get rid of some undesired people. Additionally, there is one more fact which should be mentioned. African people were much more enduring and prepared for the conditions which awaited them on sugar plantations. It was obvious that environment, in which they lived, influenced greatly qualities which these people obtained.
That is why, African people were more prepared for hard labor and horrible conditions of sugar plantations. Additionally, these people were already raised with the idea of the dominance of white people. Leading European countries had already had their colonies in Africa by the time America was discovered Due to this fact, people who lived there, were influenced by the idea that they should obey their masters and slavery was the usual practice. Additionally, changes in the mentality of people, who lived in Africa, could be taken as the roots of their exploitation in America. In A Brief History of the Caribbean the author states the fact that “by the 1750s almost nine of ten men and women were slaves on all the islands were sugar was grown” (Rogonzinski 125).
However, there were no serious conflicts or rebels on these islands. It is obvious, that soldiers had to control slaves. Though, Bergad suggests the idea that mentality was the main factor which restrained slaves and appearance of the signs of disobedience or different manifestations of dissatisfaction (43).
Being raised in similar conditions, people did not believe in possibility of better life or some changes for the better. Additionally, the power of slave owners and planters was absolute on these islands. With this in mind, different and severe punishment were used for delinquent slaves for the rest of them to understand uselessness of disobedience. Governments created laws to protect planters and their interests because they were interested in the products which were manufactured on these lands. The only thing these people could hope was their transportation from plantation to city where life of slaves were easier as they had to perform some other kind of activities.
Having analyzed the book A Brief History of the Caribbean by Jan Rogonzinski and the issue of slavery in the whole, it is possible to make certain conclusion. First of all, it should be said that the author tends to show readers that the issue of slavery had unique character on the islands of Caribbean basin. To prove his statement the author gives several reasons. First of all, he underlines a great number of sugar plantations and great demand for workforce as the result. Being not able to satisfy this need with the help of natural growth of population because of horrible conditions, planters had to buy new slaves. It resulted in transportation of over 12 million of people from Africa to America.
The author gives great number of different ideas connected with the roots of slavery and the life of slaves on these islands. Having compared his works with the works of other authors, it is possible to say that there are several points of view on this question. which represent different approaches to its investigation.
Works Cited
Bergad, Laird. The Comparative Histories of Slavery in Brazil, Cuba, and the United States (New Approaches to the Americas). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007. Print.
Kiple, Kenneth. The Caribbean Slave. A Biological History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Print.
Klein, Herbert and Ben Vinson. African Slavery in Latin America and the Caribbean. Oxford: Osford University Press, 2007, Print.
Richardson, Bonham. The Caribbean in the Wider World, 1492-1992: A Regional Geography (Geography of the World-Economy). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992. Print.
Rogonzinski, Jan. A Brief History of the Caribbean: From the Arawak and Carib to the Present. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007. Print.
Beginning in 1550, the Portuguese started to trade enslaved Africans because of two main reasons. First, the local inhabitants did not quickly acculturate and became increasingly cautious of the Portuguese; therefore, obtaining new local slaves was getting harder and harder.
Secondly, the Portuguese Empire had power over some phases in the commercial process of the African slave trade (Reis 1995). Consequently, this offered the Brazilian landowners the chance to bring in slaves from Portuguese trading stations in Africa. The ever-increasing demand for slaves made it possible for slave traders from Portugal, Africa, and Brazil to get high incomes.
Throughout the 15th century, subsequently recognizing the extension and value of slave dealing for the African financial system, the soldiers, explorers, and traders in Portuguese Empire were engaged in dealing in enslaved black Africans together with other tradable items. This was via the establishment of numerous coastal operation stations.
From around 1550, the Portuguese started to trade slaves from Africa to toil in the sugar plantations that they were building on in their newly found colony of Brazil. In spite of the fact that the Prime Minister of Portugal, Marques, had put an end to slave trade, it persisted in a number of Portuguese colonies.
This was more so in Brazil where slave trade continued up to its final eradication in the year 1888 (Conrad1972). Brazil was the very last country in the Western world to put an end to slavery.
The assistance of the slaves imported from Africa in the sugar cane plantations was far-reaching. One of the merits of using these slaves was that they were less susceptible to tropical illnesses. Slave trade involved almost all classes.
From the late 18th century up to around 1830, comprising the era of the Revolts in Bahia, the high and middle ranks were privileged to own slaves (Klein & Francisco 2010). The advantages of using the slaves from Africa significantly surpassed the charges to the owners.
In a period of two to three years, the slaves from Africa had reimbursed the cost of purchasing them, and the owners of slave plantations started to generate returns from them.
The owners of sugar cane plantations in Brazil made worthwhile profits for every year. There was strenuous labour in the plantations that engaged the slaves in digging up of trenches with the use of hoes. They then planted sugar cane in the dug trenches and spread manure with their naked hands.
Sugar and Slavery
The hunt for silver and gold was a regular subject in overseas development. However, there were other requirements that the New World as well gratified as they resulted in its growing participation in the Western-controlled world financial system.
Whereas Spanish America appeared to have mineral riches, Brazil, an American colony of Portugal, became the initial major plantation region, systematized to generate a tropical yield, viz. sugar, and meet an enormous demand and undersized supply in Europe (Schwartz 1977).
In spite of the fact that Portuguese had established tiny farming estates in some places like Sao Tome Island, the way to big farms in Brazil was slow but sure. The lack of great accomplishment made the Portuguese authority post a governor general in the year 1549.
In addition, there was the arrival of the Jesuit missionaries. By the year 1600, owing to martial activity, missionary action, or endemic illnesses, Indian conflicts commenced in a number of places. Great settlements were established alongside the coast region. The cities in the settlements, like Salvador, served the approximately 150 agricultural estates.
The number of the agricultural estates doubled, by the year 1630 (Schwartz1985). The slaves imported from Africa continued to be used to work in sugar plantations. The number of slaves had reached 15,000 in Brazil by the year 1600. By the same year, there had also been approximately 30,000 Europeans and 100, 000 dwellers.
The initial official Portuguese approach to the South American coast happened in the year 1500 after Pedro vares Cabral, head of a voyage to India, had discontinued for a short time on the tropical Brazilian coast, enjoyed a mass, and traded with the Indians.
Schwartz notes that, “there was not much at first to catch the attention of Europeans as they concern only the dyewood trees, which grew in the forests” (1996, p.89). Therefore, for a period of thirty years, the Portuguese crown did not consider Brazil, choosing instead to give permits to merchants who decided to make use of the dyewood to obtain tax advantages and services in return.
Force from French traders as well concerned with dyewood ultimately stirred the Portuguese crown to battle. The French had been driven away from the coast, and consequently, a different settlement structure was set up in the year 1532. A small number of Portuguese upper class members were provided with strips of land alongside the coast to take possession of and cultivate.
The upper class that held these captaincies merged broad, apparently feudal commands in a strong craving for commercial advancement. Most of them were short of adequate capital to perform the colonization, and several had continual difficulties with the indigenous Indian inhabitants.
In some regions, towns were set up, and colonists were taken over. Associations with the Indians were moderately nonviolent, and most significantly, sugar planters had initially used Indians, but afterwards they began importing slaves from Africa. According to Nishida, “transportation of the bought slaves from Africa to Brazil was made by ship where they were suffering in chains and put in packed conditions” (1993, p.315).
Throughout most of the subsequent century, Brazil took its place as the chief sugar producer in the world. Sugar cane necessitated processing in the field, cutting down and squashing in huge mills. The juice obtained was afterwards heated before it could form sugar crystals.
The dual practice of industry and farming in the agricultural estates called for large quantities of capital and amounts of labour for the strenuous work. Although there were also some trained employees or artisan professions, slaves did the majority of the labour. All over the 17th century, “there was importation of approximately 7000 slaves every year from Africa” (Leslie 1986, p.167).
By the end of the century, about half of the population in Brazil was made of slaves. Anchored in a sole product made by slaves, Brazil turned out to be the primary large plantation colony and a pattern that could be taken up by different European states in their individual colonies later on.
Brazil’s community continued to reflect its agricultural estates and slave sources even subsequent to the Brazilian financial system becoming more diverse. Slavery and agricultural estate structure imposed a sturdy social chain of commands. Families of the white farmers became nobility that had power over local political and social life.
Connected by concern and marriage to local traders and to the small number of Portuguese representatives and bureaucrats, this class dictated local establishments. Slaves were at the bottom of the community rank, differentiated by their skin colour and servile state as property (Bethell 1970).
Nonetheless, there was a rising section of the inhabitants constituted of individuals of collective origins, this was the product of miscegenation involving whites, Africans, and Indians who (in conjunction with inferior whites, liberated Indians, and freed blacks) served like small planters, liberated labourers, and herdsmen. In numerous ways, community as a whole echoed the hierarchy of the agricultural estate.
Similar to Spain, Portugal generated a bureaucratic arrangement that put together this colony within a royal system. The widespread sugar mills backed the building of learning institutions and churches, in addition to organising missions for Indian dwellers.
The Portuguese Empire comprised colonies and settlements in Brazil, Africa, and Asia. Progressively, Brazil developed into the leading colony of Portuguese in the 17th century. Sugar cane plantations typified Caribbean and Brazil by means of enslaved labourers (Graham 2007).
Though morally wrong in some aspects, the use of slaves in the sugar cane plantations conveys a representation of the situations in areas that also used slaves, for example, other agricultural estates not dealing with sugar cane.
Despite the fact that sugar from Brazil was characterized by excellent quality, the industry encountered a crisis at some point in the 17th and 18th centuries while the French and Dutch begun producing sugar in the Antilles, which situated much nearer to Europe, thus making the sugar prices drop (Doyle 2006).
Conclusion
Growing of sugar cane took place in large agricultural estates (plantations). Processing of sugar cane to sugar was also made within the plantations in houses where there were milling of sugar cane and refining of sugar. To begin with, the Portuguese depended on indigenous slaves to work in sugar cane plantations during planting, harvesting, and processing. Nevertheless, they soon started bringing in slaves from Africa.
Portugal possessed a number of commercial amenities in Western Africa. This is where buying slaves from African traders took place. Other European colonial authorities developed such a plan while colonising American tropical regions. Legal ending of slavery in Brazil happened in 1888 when an officially authorized act had been passed.
Reference List
Bethell, L 1970, The Abolition of the Brazilian Slave Trade: Britain, Brazil, and the Slave Trade Question, 1807-1869, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Conrad, R 1972, Destruction of Brazilian Slavery, 1850-1888, University of California Press, Berkeley.
Doyle, A 2006, ‘The dynamics of slavery in Brazil: Resistance, the slave trade and manumission in the 17th to 19th centuries’, CEBRAP, vol. 2 no. 74, pp. 107-123. Graham, M 2007, Journal of a Voyage to Brazil, and Residence there, during part of the Years 1821, 1822, 1823, Hurst, London.
Klein, S & Francisco, L 2010, Slavery in Brazil, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Leslie, B 1986, The Cambridge history of Latin America: Colonial Latin America. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Nishida, M 1993, ‘Manumission and Ethnicity in Urban Slavery’, The Hispanic American Historical Review, vol. 73 no.16, pp. 310-317.
Reis, J 1995, Slave Rebellion in Brazil: The Muslim Uprising of 1835 in Bahia, The Johns Hopkins University Press, London.
Schwartz, S 1977, ‘Resistance and Accommodation in Brazil’, The Hispanic American Historical Review, vol. 57 no. 6, pp. 69-74.
Schwartz, S1985, Sugar Plantations in the Formation of Brazilian Society: Bahia, 1550-1835, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Schwartz, S 1996, Slaves, Peasants, and Rebels: Reconsidering Brazilian Slavery, University of Illinois Press, Urbana.
The process of “internal colonization” in Britain and Ireland
Internal colonization is the process by which a country manipulates a part of its territories by withholding some important resources from the territory. Great Britain is one of the major nations that had the greatest shares during the colonization period that ended in the 90th century. The empire that is mostly referred to as the United Kingdom was made of a number of countries, including Britain, Scotland, and Ireland. The Kingdom Head Quarters are in London, Britain.
Internal colonization was vibrant in Ireland as a result of the language difference. The state experienced an inadequate development plan, given that it contributed highly in terms of the taxes to the kingdom. The unequal development led to an imbalance in the economy of the two nations. The resources were taken from the Irish people and were used for the development of the British. The act of alienating Ireland in the development process brought the distinction in the collaboration. The Irish and the British people drew a line between each other. The internal colonization process became established when the British began to give orders to Ireland that threatened their relationship. Ireland retaliated by announcing that they get out of the kingdom.
The ongoing alienation of Ireland in terms of economic alienation became politicized, and the Britain administration began to threaten the Irish workers. The workers were forced to work long hours, and their efforts were not adequately compensated. The Irish workers became irritated, and they revolted against the kingdom. They finally quit for a self-rule. Internal colonization has been witnessed in other parts of the world, such as the French-Algerian relationship.
The role of slavery within the British Empire
The British Empire is well known for the slavery activity in Africa, North America, and in the European continents. The trade that flourished until the end of the 18th century was beneficial to the British people especially traders. The economy of the country also benefited from the trade as they had an open source of labor that had no cost.
The role of slavery in the British Empire was commonly attached to the production system. The British Empire had huge tracks of land in the Caribbean colonies where sugar and tobacco were produced. The North America too was an important destination for the slaves where the American settlers used them in the production of the raw materials that were used in the British industries. Slaves were forced to work on the land, and their effort led to increasing in the production of the commodities.
The British ships transported the sugar and tobacco on their return journey to Europe. The raw materials that were mostly cotton were too formed part of the commodity that goods are taken to Europe for industrial production of textiles. In addition, slaves were part of the trade and the British people who engage themselves in the trade benefitted from the huge profits they made. Their collaboration with the African chiefs enabled them to acquire the slaves at a cheap prices. The traders sold the slave at a higher value due to great demand. The profit made was used in the development of the British economy.
Slave trade contributed to the growth of the economy of the British Empire via the production of the raw materials and finished products that were used in the Empire. They offered a free source of Labor for that British land. They also boosted the economy via the trade itself.
The relationship between nationalism and empire
Nationalism and imperialism are the different mode of governance that have for a long time been under a controversy. Nationalist leaders have a characteristic that is different from the imperialist leaders. The nationalist leaders consider the population needs in their leadership. They will discuss the issues that are affecting their subjects, and their leadership involves the various strategies that they can employ to overcome them.
They are elected by the subjects concerning the policy considerations that they will employ in tackling the problems. On the other hand, the imperialist leaders are the leaders of an empire. An empire is a territory that is established as a kingdom with the king or the queen at the peak of leadership. In an empire, the king is the sole decision maker and will induce laws that will only benefit him. The laws may have good or bad effects on the residents of the nation. The reason is that no one will have been consulted in the process of its establishment. Therefore, the imperialism is not widely appreciated as a form of governance.
The nationalist are a country’s citizens who take pride in their nation. They mainly focus on making the lives of their subjects better than the imperialists. Imperialists focus on abducting other countries so that they can increase their territory for the purpose of increasing taxes. The taxes collected mainly benefit the a small group of leaders. At most of the time, nationalists have attempted to change the focus of imperialists by ensuring that good governance prevails in the nation.
The interpretation of Whitfield’s beliefs and the duties of Christians
Whitfield believed in compassion and mercy. Whitfield’s belief system was anchored in the idea that Christians served a merciful and compassionate God. Also, helping the poor and the oppressed is a Christian’s duty. Fighting for the rights and welfare of the downtrodden is a Christian’s duty.
Whitfield’s purpose in writing the article
Whitfield’s article attempted to open the eyes of the Christians to the sins that were committed against the Negro slaves. The article was written to focus the spotlight on inequality and injustice in American society during this particular period.1 Whitfield’s article was an expression of his disapproval of how slave owners treated their slaves.
The historical significance
Whitfield’s article came at a critical time in the history of America. Less than a hundred years after he wrote the said article, the United States went through a bloody Civil War.2 The nation was divided with regard to the right of slave owners to acquire and use slaves. Whitfield’s article strengthened the resolve of those who fought for the abolition of slavery.
Contribution to the understanding of the historical period and the thought process of the people in this period
The article sheds light on divergent ideas regarding the ownership of slaves.3 The article suggests that some treated slaves like beasts of burden. On the other hand, there were slave owners who wanted to treat slaves as human beings. The article exposes the conflicted thought process of the people in the said era. Some people viewed slavery as a necessary evil.
Questions after reading the article
It is interesting to find out how the slaveowners tried to compartmentalize their feelings with regard to the ownership of Negro slaves. It is also important to find out how they tried to maintain discipline without losing their humanity.4 It is also interesting to find out why the slaves were unable to revolt against their slave masters.
Whitfield’s vs. Kidd’s article
Whitfield’s article admonished slave owners for the way they treated their slaves. Thomas Kidd’s article, on the other hand, criticized Whitfield’s ownership of slaves. Whitfield’s article held slave owners to a higher moral standard because they professed belief in Christianity.5 However, Thomas Kidd’s article held Whitfield to a higher moral standard because was a preacher of the gospel.6
The contents of these two articles were different because the authors criticized the behavior of slave owners from their own historical perspective. Whitfield criticized slave owners on the ethical framework that was based on the humane treatment of slaves. Thomas Kidd criticized Whitfield’s ownership of slaves. Whitfield was unable to go beyond his criticism of the slave owner’s behavior because he believed that there was no practical solution to the labor problem that existed in the South.
The hypocrisy of George Whitfield
Whitfield is not a hypocrite because he did not denounce the institution of slavery. The economic and social disaster that engulfed the Southern states in the aftermath of the Civil War was a powerful counterargument to the abolition of slavery. Without doubt, slavery was a necessary evil. Although it is important to abolish slavery, the drastic eradication of a system that ensured the steady supply of workers was an issue that abolitionists did not consider in greater detail.
Bibliography
Bear, Dale. Exploring the American Past. Tillerman Press, 2007.
Douglas, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas, an American Slave. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
Eyerman, Ron. Cultural Trauma: Slavery and the Formation of African American Identity. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001.
Washington, Booker. Up from Slavery. New York: Penguin Books, 2000.
George Whitfield. “George Whitfield Admonishes Southern Slave Holders.” In American Perspectives: Readings in American History, edited by William Hening, 125-136. New York: Pearson Custom Publishing, 2008.
Footnotes
Frederick Douglas, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas, an American Slave (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999), 65.
Ron Eyerman, Cultural Trauma: Slavery and the Formation of African American Identity (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001), 90.
Dale Bear, Exploring the American Past (Tillerman Press, 2007), 12.
Booker Washington, Up from Slavery (New York: Penguin Books, 2000), 100.
George Whitfield, “George Whitfield Admonishes Southern Slave Holders,” in American Perspectives: Readings in American History, ed. William Hening (New York: Pearson Custom Publishing, 2008), 125.
Thomas Kidd, “George Whitfield’s Troubled Relationship to Race and Slavery,” The Christian Century, 2015. Web.
The study of the history of the development of America reveals the issue of race as being central in the economic, social and political development of the nation. The phenomenon of racial slavery in America emerged with the demands in the Southern states concerning the economic viability of controlled and bound labor.
The existence of norms and values that restricted the free citizens from exploiting each other initiated the emergence of racial exploitation. The discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus provided a new source of labor upon which America’s prosperity would thrive.
An analysis of the social and economic structure of the colony of Virginia illustrates that the distortion of the indentured servant system in the colony made the concept of racial slavery considerably attractive.
The separation of indenture servants and English landowners marked the onset of racial slavery with Massachusetts becoming the first colony to legalize slavery in 1641 (Dattel, 2009). In Virginia, laws on slavery stated that the child of a slave was automatically subject to enslavement, which made slavery a generational phenomenon.
The story of the seizure of Anthony Johnson’s land following a declaration by a jury in Virginia that the government could reposes Johnsons’ land because he was a negro promoted the acceptance of racial exploitation directed towards Negros, mulattos and Indians.
IN 1672, the king of England embarked on a venture to feed the increasing demand for slaves and charted the Royal African Company, which was at the center of British slave trade.
The 1698 declaration by the England Parliament that any Briton was at liberty to trade in slaves marked the onset of a period of 50 years during which millions of Africans in slave ships reached the coasts of North and South America.
As the European empire expanded, the colonization of America brought with it vast tracts of land that required intensive labor. The arrival of a Dutch ship loaded with slaves from Africa provided a solution to the problem of working on the harsh conditions that had proved unfavorable for the natives.
The fluctuation of tobacco prices eased the demand for slaves, which later increased with the invention of the cotton gin and the replacement of tobacco with cotton as the main cash crop. The expansion of plantations in America in the 18th century demanded an increase in the supply of laborers causing a peak in the transatlantic slave trade.
The demand for laborers in the South increased with the invention of the cotton gin, which increased the cultivation cotton on a large scale due to the enhanced processing capability. In this regard, the South became a major hub for the slave trade and cotton-growing regions experienced an explosion of the slave population.
The impact of slavery is evident in the transformation and equalization of economies in both low country and upcountry because it had become easier to process both the long staple and short staple cotton grown in the two regions respectively.
However, political inequality persisted as evident by the fact that the electoral value of the salves in the upcountry was only three-fifths of a vote.
Slavery played a key role in the Westward expansion because the land seized from the Indians provided new settlements in which cultivation of tobacco and cotton blossomed. The territorial expansion of U.S involved the movement of American settlers with their slavers into news territories as evident by the case of Texas.
The ban on slavery in Texas by the Mexican government, aimed at taming the influence of Americans, faced considerable opposition by slave owners who forced freed slaves into signing life indenture contracts.
Tension between the Mexican government and American settlers caused an outbreak of a rebellion, which eventually led to the annexation of Texas and the concession of New Mexico and California. The onset of the demise of slavery began with the establishment of an anti-slavery movement spearheaded by William Wilberforce and the Quakers.
The growing unease regarding the slave trade even among key participants such as Europe saw Denmark take a leading step in abolishing slave trade in 1792 (Horton & Horton, 2005). In 1807, Britain enacted regulations that stipulated stiff fines on any individuals found guilty of importing slaves into Britain.
Slavery was a central theme in the years following the break of the Civil War, which although having began as a struggle to prevent the segregation of the North and the South, tilted towards the freeing of slaves.
In the early years of the War, a large number of Southern slaves escaped to the North, which was a favorable occurrence for the Union considering that the slaves served as cooks, guards and soldiers.
The slaves were escaping oppression and exploitation in the North, which included physical and sexual abuse as evident by the narrations of Harriet Jacobs in the book “Life of a Slave Girl”. The status of a slave as property meant that plantation owners could use them in whatever way they wanted including sexual exploitation of women and the sale of salve family members.
Harriet’s narrations bring to light the cruel and sadistic treatment of slaves, which thrived on proclamations such as the 1857 Scott Decision by the U. S Supreme Court categorizing slaves as subhuman property devoid of any rights whatsoever.
Narratives, such as “Life of a Slave Girl” played an important role in changing the perspective of the whites on slaves because the affluent middle class had the time and resources to read the literature.
The fleeing of slaves from the South was detrimental to the chances of the Southerners winning the Civil War and the desperation for soldiers forced the Confederate army to begin enlisting African Americans.
However, the decision came late and the Union army, which had a large number of volunteers and fleeing slaves from the South, gained an edge over the Confederate army. The enactment of laws demanding the seizure and freeing of slaves as part of the property of dissidents in the South was a step forward towards the abolishment of slavery.
According to the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, slaves in the rebelling states would gain outright freedom in a hundred days starting from September 22, 1862 (Ward, 2008).
The ease on regulations restricting blacks from joining the U.S Army and creation of units such as the Colored Troopers created a system through which freed slaves influenced the outcome of the Civil War.
The end of the Civil War in 1865 provided an opportunity for individuals in the Congress and other anti-slavery groups to champion for the adoption of the 13th Amendment, which constitutionally outlawed slavery in America and strengthened the ban on slave trade that had been in place since 1807.
References
Dattel, E. R. (2009). Cotton and race in the making of America: the human costs of economic power. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee.
Horton, J. O., & Horton, L. E. (2005). Slavery and the making of America. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Ward, A. (2008). The slaves’ war: the Civil War in the words of former slaves. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.
Like in other continents, slavery forms a major component of the African history. Encompassed with a myriad of intertwined factors, slavery in Africa was viewed from different perspectives. With several decades having passed since the abolition of slavery in most parts of the world, historians carry the historic memories of slavery in Africa.
Ranging from slave trade to child slavery, Africa witnessed countless atrocities, which were mainly perpetuated by powerful countries from Europe and among African communities. In understanding slavery in Africa, it is important to consider its origin and its greatest impact on the continent. This research paper analyses slavery in Africa, detailing its causes, dimensions and abolition among other major aspects of the slavery.
Background
Europe started exploring ways of establishing relationships with Africa through trade between 800 and 1500 AD. It was during this time that Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese and English traders sailed to access many countries in Africa to find market for their products which they bought from Europe and Asia.
In their initial efforts, Europeans were interested in the trading of gold, ivory tusks, feathers and other metals that were considered valuable (Claude 23). During this commercial interaction, many European countries discovered that African leaders were willing to exchange some of their people as slaves for other supplies.
Several trade routes were also established by colonies in the Atlantic to facilitate trade between several points. According to historic revelation, 1535 AD was the year when the first group of people left Africa for Americas in exchange for several business commodities (Manzo 394).
In exchange for slaves, European countries supplied ammunition, riffles and other goods to African kings. After an agreement was reached between Europeans and African leaders, slaves were packed in huge sailing boats and taken to different American colonies and to the Caribbean Island. While in these Islands, the slaves were traded for molasses, tobacco, sugar and cotton before they exchanged what they received back for guns from Europe (Claude 21).
This was the origin of what was later to be known as the Triangle Trade Route which contributed to the sale of at least ten million people from Africa. This practice continued and spread around Africa and other parts of the world before several countries joined efforts in illegalizing slave trade.
For the case of the United States, the country had to engage in the famous Cold War until 1865 AD when the trade was officially illegalized. It is for this reason that there are men and women in South and North America of African descent (Miers and Kopytoff 11).
Although there has been no consensus on the actual factors that led to the rise of slavery in Africa, many scholars concur that the need for agricultural labor was a major reason that contributed to the rise and escalation of slave trade in Africa. As it shall be noted later, other people have postulated the role of commerce and politics as key players in African slavery.
To the contrary, some anthropologists have argued that there were no sufficient reasons to support African slavery, having in mind that most people depended on gathering and hunting as a major source of food. From all directions, Africa as a continent was connected with slavery to the rest of the world as they were key players in the civilization process (Manzo 398).
In the northern part of Africa, slavery was mainly practiced in Sahara desert and in those lands which bordered it to the south together with the current Western Sahara, Algeria and Morocco. In addition, Tuaregs practiced slavery in the Central Sahara. The institution of slavery was also common among the Ethiopians, Sudanese, Egyptians and among the Somalis. Slavery was also known in several states from West Africa.
Dimensions of Slavery
There were two main dimensions that were directly linked to slavery and slave trade in Africa. These were external and internal dimensions. In general, the external dimension involved the trading of slaves across the Sahara, Red Sea, Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean worlds (Marcus 66). Although this trade commenced in ancient times, history reveals that it continued after colonial periods.
During early years, African slaves were found working in Greece, Rome, Europe and in the Islamic world among other places. The capture of Constantinople by Ottoman in 1453 led to a stop of the movement of slaves from the Balkans and the Black Sea region. This resulted into disconnection of the Mediterranean from its principal source of slaves, leaving the region with no other option but Africa, which became its new source of slaves (Marcus 66).
The last period of the external slave trade took place between the 15th to the 19th centuries, involving Atlantic, Oriental and the Islamic worlds. Notably, the Islamic world was sophisticated and selective as slavery served both economic and social functions. Due to this complexity of the market, African slaves were not as valuable as those from Georgia and Circassia.
Although these girls were on high demand in most parts of the world including Morocco, they were scarce and expensive (Marcus 67).Arabs valued Ethiopian slaves more than any other man because they were believed to be refined and intelligent and therefore they were not suited for heavy duties.
On the other hand, external slave trade was mainly conducted within the African continent. The trade was divided into sections; North Africa traded with West Africa while the Southern part of Africa traded mostly with Central and Eastern regions.
Ghana was a key player during this period and was highly valued because of its richness in gold that was found in Offin and Pra rivers, which had a high concentration of this valuable mineral. A part from gold, Ghana was also a source of ivory and kola nuts. The Savanna region was a major source of millet, ostrich feathers, sorghum, ivory, wheat, slaves, livestock, cloth and gum (Marcus 68).
Acquisition of Slaves
Slaves in Africa were basically acquired through fives ways which were: warfare, raiding and kidnapping, pawning, market supply and tribute paying. The main slavery output emanated from prisoners of war (Marcus 68).Warfare was quite common among the forest and Savanna states of East, West, South and Central Africa. Jihads were also influential as they enslaved people ranging from the Red Sea in the east to the Senegambia in the West.
On the other hand, slave markets were established depending of the sizes of the regions and members of royalties as they were allowed to move freely to any part of the markets and purchase slaves. Caravan routes offered the best sites for the establishment of these markets, while West and North Africa considered Trans-Saharan routes to be imperative during slave trade (Marcus 70).
Similarly, raiding and kidnapping were common practices used to acquire slaves from a particular region. It is believed that these practices were well institutionalized in the Bambara Society while the Berbers and Tuaregs were well known for raiding their neighbors who were found to the south.
This method of slave procurement was also utilized by the Damagaram, inhabitants of Northern Nigeria. However, in other regions like Sokoto Caliphate and Nilotic Sudan, the exercise was considered to be a state affair (Miers and Kopytoff 12).
Many other slaves were obtained through paying of tribute (Miers and Kopytoff 171). Yoruba of Nigeria are extensively known for having employed this method. Additionally, the Sokoto Caliphate always ordered tribute from subjects and this was only honored using slaves as the key commodity recognized by leaders and empires.
The last method applied in slave acquisition was pawning. This referred to cases where a slave was given out to serve as security for borrowed money. The pawn therefore served as a commitment to settle the debt and was expected to work for the creditor and be taken care of by the host until the debt was cleared. Although pawning was not a direct form of slavery, non-redeemed pawns ended up serving as slaves for the rest of their lives and were common in Ghana, Nigeria among the Igbo and in Mozambique among the Sena (Marcus 67).
Roles of slaves
Slaves were mainly needed as a major source of labor in agriculture, industry and trade. However a few slaves were employed in administration of the state, empires and kingdoms. Other slaves were used to perform domestic duties, in the military and for personal satisfaction.
Agriculture, Trade and Industry
Slave labor was necessary for several economic activities among African communities. These activities included hunting, fishing, farming and animal rearing among others. Slaves were also played a major role in collection of food plants like coconuts, shea butter, oil palm and kola nuts (Marcus 70).
With regard to trade, slaves mainly served as trading agents, merchants or porter, working for the state and also for individuals. In some cases, slaves took charge of trade roots and were expected to collect taxes as directed by the authority. In addition, slaves worked in several industries including gold mining, cloth weaving, iron working, art and craft industries and salt making.
Administration and Military
Slaves were highly needed to provide security to kingdoms and empires as well as to serve during warfare. Others served as bodyguards to chiefs and kings whereas a few trusted slaves were entrusted with command responsibilities during battles. During entertainment, slaves were horn blowers and drummers and served as caretakers of the Royal Mausoleum. They also engaged in other departments like finance and kitchen among others (Marcus 71).
Domestic chores
Both male and female slaves performed domestic roles in shrines, palaces and individual households, engaging in washing, cooking, cleaning, sweeping and fetching of water and firewood. Other slaves were sacrificed mainly during major functions and ceremonies in accordance with traditional beliefs and practices. This was also common as occasioned by death of prominent personalities (Marcus 67).
Effects of Slavery in Africa
Slavery in Africa had numerous effects ranging from positive to negative, with the latter dominating. The first effect of slavery revolves around the manner in which most slaves were procured by communities and empires. As a key method of acquiring slaves, raiding propagated hostility among villages and other attacking groups (Nunn 139).
As a result of this animosity, involved parties had to break alliances, agreements, trading relations among other forms of association. Consequently, conflicts between communities were common as each fought towards protecting their own interests.
As mentioned before, slavery in Africa presented itself in two dimensions, involving slavery activities within and outside the continent. The trans-Atlantic trade which has deeper roots in African Slavery led to the exportation of at least ten million people from Africa to Europe and other continents.
Notably, this number does not account for countless slaves who died during raids or during long journeys to the coast before they were shipped and ferried to various European destinations (Nunn 139 It therefore suffices to mention that these practices turned against different communities as they became impediments towards economic development and social strengthening.
Ethnic Fractionalization
Raiding and kidnappings, which were core methods of capturing slaves, had detrimental impact on most African societies. Since the attacks happened among African communities, the continent felt the entire impact of slavery (Nunn 141).
Accordingly, hostility rose as every community wanted to domineer and protect its people against unauthorized slavery. Several contacts that had promoted peace between communities got broken by insecurity, banditry, and massive suspicion whose main origin was slavery that had escalated to every part of the continent during the 19th century.
This discouraged the formation of larger communities and identities and explains why Africa as a continent is fragmented into countless ethnic groups, some of which do not have broader identities. Viewed from a development point of view, ethnic fragmentation significantly hampered development in most African ethnic communities that was contributed by raids and insecurity (Nunn 141).
Weakening of states
High level of insecurity among communities resulted into high demand for weaponry like knives, firearms and swords for the defense of communities. These items were only found in Europe, forcing African kings to export slaves in exchange of these devices that were considered to be very important. The “gun slave cycle” continued as acquisition of firearms increased both insecurity and the need for high-level security protection (Nunn 142).
There was heightened animosity among states as Europeans benefitted from the supply of slaves to meet their needs, causing political instability of not only ethnic groups but also the entire state. In extreme cases of political instability and increased cases of insecurity, governments disintegrated and got replaced by weak and smaller kingdoms.
There is documented evidence about the existence of well established political structures, which stagnated and collapsed at the arrival of the Portuguese in the 15th century. In addition, this fragmentation further determined ethnic and language homogeneity among African communities (Nunn 142).
Besides these factors, deterioration of legal institutions as people adopted enslavement to be the main method of enforcing the law. Traditional methods like punishment, exiles and compensation were substituted with slavery through paying of tributes (Miers and Kopytoff 171).
With slavery having dominated Africa for years, the nurtured society led to a prevalent predatory behavior among most communities that was accompanied with low production. People believed in raiding and forceful acquisition of wealth, which can be linked to continued war in some parts of the continent. On the other hand, some historians argue that slavery led to the introduction of better breeds of animals and crop varieties that promoted high food production (Nunn 143).
Conclusion
With reference to the above analysis of slavery in Africa, it is clear that these practices had significant impact on the entire African society with some of the effects being felt today. From disintegrated governments to collapsed judicial system, Africa suffered severely in the hands of slavery which was promoted by both external and internal factors. With most societies having been left under insecure governments and unstable social structure, Europe highly benefited from the slavery as it dominated the trans-Atlantic Trade.
Works Cited
Claude, Melliassoux. “The slave trade and development.” Diogenes 45.3 (1997): 23-30.
Manzo, Kate. “Exploiting West Africa’s children: trafficking, slavery and uneven development.” Area 37.4 (2005): 393-401. Print.
Marcus, Colchester. “Slave and enclave.” Ecologist 23.5 (1993): 66-74.
Miers, Suzanne, and Kopytoff Igor. Slavery in Africa: historical and anthropological perspectives. Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press, 1979. Print.
Nunn, Nathan. “The Long-Term Effects of Africa’s Slave Trades.” The Quarterly Journal of Economics 1.1 (2008): 139-176.
Townsend, Cummins. “Keeping score: Winners and losers in the transatlantic slave trade.” Reviews in American History 21.3 (1993): 379-405.
For many historians, modern Brazilian history begins with the abolition of slavery. Talks of transition from slavery to freedom always take centre stage1. In most parts of America, the legislation to abolition slave trade was greatly opposed by big plantation owners who needed the services of slaves and knew that the legislation to end slavery was a major barrier to the success of their plans.
Most of them hoped to expand their plantations further and the law to abolish slavery would bring this dream to a stop2. However, although opposed to the move to abolish slave trade, slave owners never resisted with military force. They instead chose to lobby support from other people so that together, they would fight against the abolition3.
The Origin of Brazilian Slaves
Various studies have indicated that the slaves who came to Brazil originated from African countries such as Congo, Angola, Benguela and the East African Coast. These slaves were exchanged between colonial masters and were chosen very carefully4.
Even though a license to trade slaves between Mozambique and Brazil was granted in the year 1645, activities of slave trade begun when the Portuguese finally got rid of restrictions that once existed between the two countries5. Familiarity to English norms was one of the criteria used to select slaves. The slaves were imported mainly to supply the much needed labor for plantations6.
Brief History of Brazil at the Time of Abolition
During the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte, the Portuguese royal family relocated to Brazil for fear of being attacked. They later established their rule in Brazil7. Even though Pedro II was such a conservative ruler, he realized that slavery was hurting his subjects and started looking for ways to rescue them from the unfair treatment8.
With this conviction, Pedro II slowly passed laws that sooner or later would lead to the abolition of slavery. Afraid of the repercussions of Pedro’s legislations, Brazilian land owners together with the military did not support his ideas wholeheartedly. They were very much aware that with abolition of slavery, slave owners would be required to spend quite heavily on production as their plantations were quite huge.
While away on a trip, Pedro returned to find that his daughter, Princess Isabel, had already passed a law to abolish slavery on May 13th 1888. Although the enactment of this law brought honor to the Brazilian royal family, the unhappy land owners started opposing the monarchy9.
According to Liberal Brazilians the period between 1822 and 1855 marked an era of action, reaction and transaction and the subject of slavery was regarded as being an ethnic, racial, and cultural rather than a political and economic problem10.
Reasons Why Brazil was the Last Country to Abolish Slavery
The delay in ending slavery in Brazil is partly linked to the fact that Brazilians were in tight collaboration with the Portuguese. The fact that the British had no legal authority to search Portuguese colonies, made it easy to move slaves to Brazil while challenging for the British to stop the advancement of slavery.
The problem was later dealt with when the British slowly loosened the interpretation of the treaties, creating room for British ships to check all Portuguese vessels11.
Another reason that must have led to the delay in abolishing slavery in Brazil is the heavy dependence on slavery to provide labor for the country’s huge plantations and other sectors of the economy.
Brazilian slavery cut across all parts of its economy and was critical to the existence of almost all social institutions and in particular families. The ownership of slavery was open to all Brazilians in the countryside as well as in the cities12.
In 1770s, planters in Brazil ventured into coffee farming to generate income. Just like slaves, the coffee crop also had its roots in Africa. This decision led to an increased demand for cheap labor and made it quite difficult for opponents of slavery to succeed in the fight against slave trade. Proponents who included both growers and politicians strongly resisted the abolition of slavery knowing clearly, the repercussions of the act13.
When slavery was at last abolished in 1888, proponents made various attempts to regain the control they earlier had wielded but is was all in vain as slaves had declared themselves free and were determined to leave their masters14.
Arguments for and Against Abolition of Slavery in Brazil
According to Pedro II, slavery was subjecting his subjects to great injustice and had to be brought to an end. For the plantation owners, however, the end of slavery would mean hard economic times as operational costs would increase. Clearly, financial benefits or fear of losses influenced the actions of slave owners.
Brazil Today
Modern day Brazil is multi-racial and according to research, Brazil’s racial climate is the most tolerant in the world. Unlike societies such as the United States, Brazilians do not practice any form of racial segregation. Both blacks and whites in Brazil receive equal treatment. Some people have categorized Brazil as a racial democracy in which even during slavery, whites treated blacks better than anywhere else in the world15.
Over the years, Brazil’s economy has kept growing. Complete with natural resources and a large international market, Brazil is a home to large global corporations and is identified by many as an emerging super power. The country still continues to draw a lot of attention from international observers16.
The greatest desire for Brazil is to be self sufficient. To accomplish this, the country’s leaders have always focused on creating state led development policies17. Obviously, ideas such as offering subsidies to farmers to enable them use modern fertilizer inputs played a big role in growing the country’s economy18.
Although Brazil’s economy is mainly based on cultivation and export of sugar and coffee, stakeholders want to transform it into a more modern industrial and service economy19.
The Influence of Slavery on Brazil’s Culture
Slavery greatly shaped the culture currently witnessed in Brazil. As slaves were brought into Brazil, they came along with their cultures and these slowly permeated into the Brazilian society influencing especially religion, music and dance, as well as food and eating habits20.
Unlike in the United States where the separation between blacks and whites is crystal clear, Brazilians regard all citizens the same way regardless of what their origins are. Every person is entitled to equal treatment and no race is considered inferior or superior to others21. With the abolition of slavery, slaves received their freedom but knew no other home apart from Brazil.
Consequently, they settled in the country and although initially they operated ambiguously as both slaves and freed men and women, they slowly became legal citizens working and living in Brazil22. The diverse religious beliefs in Brazil are also seen as resulting from the influence of slavery on the Brazilian culture23.
The eradication of racism in Brazil was eventually realized by the change of the terminology color after the abolition took place, decline in slavery, opportunities for slaves to be free, the disappearance of the aging population of African origin and the expansion of free Brazilian born population of African background24.
In the years following the abolition and immediately after the abolition, Brazilian elites embarked on addressing the issue of race and made race and slavery to be national symbols to define national culture and identify25.
For many Brazilians, race was a great concern not only in the post abolition era in Brazil but also in other societies that were in similar situations26. There were competitions between systems of slavery and those of free labor on one hand and the place of race in determining social status on the other hand27.
Conclusion
The involvement of Brazil in slavery brought great benefits to the country and helped to boost the economy and social standing of the country. In the early days of its development, slaves provided cheap labor that supported the growth of the Brazilian economy. Although many people were affected by the abolition of slavery, this did not have a serious negative impact to the economy as the country’s economy was already on the rise.
Baronov, D, The abolition of slavery in Brazil: The “Liberation” of Africans Through the Emancipation of Capital, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2000.
Bergad, LW, The comparative histories of slavery in Brazil, Cuba, and the United States, Cambridge University Press, 2007.
Brainard, L, Brazil as an economic superpower?: understanding Brazil’s changing role in the global economy, Brookings Institution Press, 2009.
Clarke, PB, New trends and developments in African religions, Greenwood Publishing Group, 1998.
Curto, JC & Soulodre-LaFrance, R, Africa and the Americas: interconnections during the slave trade, Africa World Press, 2005.
Davis, DJ, Slavery and beyond: the African impact on Latin America and the Caribbean, Rowman & Littlefield, 1995.
DeFord, DH, Life under slavery, Infobase Publishing, 2006.
Ellis, HS, The Economy of Brazil, University of California Press, 1969.
Frey, SR & Wood, B, From slavery to emancipation in the Atlantic world, Routledge, 1999.
Gordon, L, Brazil’s Second Chance: En Route toward the First World, Brookings Institution Press, 2001.
Hamilton, K & Salmon, P, Slavery, diplomacy and empire: Britain and the suppression of the slave trade, 1807-1975, Sussex Academic Press, 2009.
Hanchard, M, Racial politics in contemporary Brazil, Duke University Press, 1999.
Kraay, H, Afro-Brazilian culture and politics: Bahia, 1790s to 1990s, M.E. Sharpe, 1998.
Levine, RM, The history of Brazil, Palgrave Macmillan, 2003.
Mattoso, K M, To be a slave in Brazil, 1550-1888, Rutgers University Press, 1986.
Meade, TA, A Brief History of Brazil, Infobase Publishing, 2009.
Moraña, M, Jáuregui, CA, Revisiting the colonial question in Latin America, Iberoamericana Editorial, 2008.
Nishida, M, Slavery and identity: ethnicity, gender, and race in Salvador, Brazil, 1808-1888, Indiana University Press, 2003.
Scott, RJ, The Abolition of slavery and the aftermath of emancipation in Brazil, Duke University Press, 1988.
Tosto, M, The meaning of liberalism in Brazil, Lexington Books, 2005.
Footnotes
Baronov, D, The abolition of slavery in Brazil: The “Liberation” of Africans Through the Emancipation of Capital, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2000, p. 2.
Scott, RJ, The Abolition of slavery and the aftermath of emancipation in Brazil, Duke University Press, 1988, p. 37.
Scott, p. 37.
Mattoso, KM, To be a slave in Brazil, 1550-1888, Rutgers University Press, 1986, p. 46.
Curto, JC & Soulodre-LaFrance, R, Africa and the Americas: interconnections during the slave trade, Africa World Press, 2005, p. 44.
Moraña, p. 96.
African American Registry, Brazil Abolishes Slavery, John Wiley & Sons, 1999, p. 1.
African American Registry, p. 1.
African American Registry, p. 1.
Tosto, M, The meaning of liberalism in Brazil, Lexington Books, 2005, p. 23.
Hamilton, K & Salmon, P, Slavery, diplomacy and empire: Britain and the suppression of the slave trade, 1807-1975, Sussex Academic Press, 2009, p. 68.
Moraña, M, Jáuregui, CA, Revisiting the colonial question in Latin America, Iberoamericana Editorial, 2008, p. 96.
DeFord, DH, Life under slavery, Infobase Publishing, 2006, p. 42.
Bergad, LW, The comparative histories of slavery in Brazil, Cuba, and the United States, Cambridge University Press, 2007, p. 12.
Levine, RM, The history of Brazil, Palgrave Macmillan, 2003, p. 13.
Brainard, L, Brazil as an economic superpower?: understanding Brazil’s changing role in the global economy, Brookings Institution Press, 2009, p. 1.
Brainard, p. 5.
Ellis, HS, The Economy of Brazil, University of California Press, 1969, p. 226.
Gordon, L, Brazil’s Second Chance: En Route toward the First World, Brookings Institution Press, 2001, p. 2.
Davis, DJ, Slavery and beyond: the African impact on Latin America and the Caribbean, Rowman & Littlefield, 1995, p. 28.
Frey, SR & Wood, B, From slavery to emancipation in the Atlantic world, Routledge, 1999, p. 9.
Kraay, H, Afro-Brazilian culture and politics: Bahia, 1790s to 1990s, M.E. Sharpe, 1998, p. 12.
Clarke, PB, New trends and developments in African religions, Greenwood Publishing Group, 1998, p. 33.
Nishida, M, Slavery and identity: ethnicity, gender, and race in Salvador, Brazil, 1808-1888, Indiana University Press, 2003, p. 153.
Hanchard, M, Racial politics in contemporary Brazil, Duke University Press, 1999, p. 123.
Meade, TA, A Brief History of Brazil, Infobase Publishing, 2009, p. 83.
The collision of culture started when the English invaded and settled in America and the Atlantic slave trade followed, resulting in the interaction of Native American, European, and African customs. Unfortunately, the Africans were at a greater disadvantage because cultural components were superimposed on them; hence, they had to adopt new cultures while retaining some of their old cultural norms1. The Native Americans on the other hand retained their cultural autonomy, and they also had an influence on the African culture. The process of cultural change and assimilation of a new cultural orientation was challenging for the older Africans compared to the younger ones, who easily acquired the new European culture. Hence, this paper aims to discuss the cultural consequences of slavery in the U.S. between 1620 and 1870.
The first Africans arrived as slaves for the Spanish, and they are referred to as ladinos in various literal sources. As more Africans were transported as slaves, an African-American culture developed in a give and take process influenced by the “degree of interaction with the whites, class status back in Africa, age, and isolation from countrymen.”2 Young Africans adopted to the new culture more readily than the older ones; hence, they easily learned the new language: English. African slaves in the plantation fields did not assimilate the Western culture as easily as the African slaves in urban settings. The Africans were imported to help meet the growing demand for labor as the Europeans strove to make more profits from their production. In addition to the African slaves, there were White slaves who had to work for several years to attain their freedom, and their interaction with the Africans predominantly gave rise to a new generation of African-Americans.
As slaves, it was necessary to understand the commands that were delivered in a European style; thus, learning a new language to allow communication was essential. However, the slaves compared syntax of the new language and their local African languages and designed syntax around familiar pattern in view of their local African languages. This comparison led to the creation of a new language, referred to as Creole that was characterized by a great deal of African vocabulary: the African-American speech. Despite the fact that it can viewed as a form of assimilation of the Western culture, retention of African patterns helped the Africans to reserve their identity and gave them a feeling of ethnic consciousness.3 In the same way that the African had adopted the new language and devised their own language, the Whites began to be influenced by their style of talking and their speech began to be corrupted by the African-American pronunciation, accent, and dialect. Hence, law forbidding the literacy of the African slaves were enacted and as a result learning took on a new form. Education became a communal endeavor in that children learned from fellow slaves, friends, parents, and relatives. It was not until the American Civil War that African-American began to make strides towards achieving education.4 It was feared that the growing number of slaves would bring about war and violence in America
The African-American slaves did not give up their pursuit for freedom and neither did they seek to relinquish their status. Instead, they expressed themselves through music and dance during their free time. Since education was denied to the slaves in fear that their identity would corrupt that of the Whites, they engaged in music and dance to show case their creativity and cultural heritage. Other than music and dance, the African American were talented in creating artifacts, such as baskets, jewelry, quilts, and pots to bring hope to the harsh world in which they were living. 5 Initially, the African-American slaves engaged in secular songs that told of their deplorable lives, not in a sorrowful manner, but in a manner that ridiculed and commented on inhumane and immoral behavior. The African instrumentation, which included drums, rattles, banjos, and tambourines, was integrated into the European’s flutes, horns, and flutes. However, the Europeans’ dislike for the drum discouraged its use and Europeans styles and tunes were readily adopted. In order to make up for the drum, the African-American vibrant and energetic dancing styles became the people’s favorite to the extent that it shaped American dance. On a different note, the Whites considered the African-American dance movements as indecent and lewd. The blacks were metaphorical in speech, and they used this technique to describe the cannibalism, black greed, and kidnapping cases that led to their enslavement in a satirical manner. An example of such satirical language is
Boccarorra (meaning White men) make de black man workee, make de Horse workee, make de Ox workee, make ebery ting workee; only de Hog. He, de hog, no workee; he eat, he drink, he walk about, he go to sleep when he please, he libb like a Gentleman.6
The metaphorical African language found its way into the mainstream American language, for example, the metaphorical implication of a rabbit was derived from the African tales.
The extended family structures began to be eroded after Africans were forcefully transported to America as slaves. The traditional guidance and inclusion of kinsmen when making marriage choices. Unfortunately, due to their poor living conditions, and the fact that they were deemed mere property and commodity, the African Americans could not get into marriage. Even though they entered into relationships, these were null and void because they were not protected by state laws.7 There were informal marriages between the White laborers and African slaves resulting in varied outcomes but individuals that were able to stay together as a couple adopted the European-American style of marriage where monogamy, importance to nuclear families was considered as well as bilateral inheritance. These practices opposed those of the African norms that encouraged polygamy and traced ancestry through one line only: the patriarchal ancestry. In addition, the African set-up gave importance to extended families. Considering their servitude, the African-Americans considered marriage as a social contract that was susceptible to dissolution due to sale of spouses to other masters. The European masters used this strategy to ensure that the African-American did not get comfortable; hence, one spouse would have several partners at different areas.8
Originally, the Africans were agrarian by the mere fact they came from agriculturalist societies. Men worked in the farms while women cooked and helped in planting. As African from various descents meet in a common place, they exchanged their former ways of doing things, including recipes. Hence, there was a shift in the foods prepared by the Africans while in the New World compared to those they prepared while in their home countries. Native American, also taught the Africans to prepare food using native plants. During their time in slavery, the Africans consumed small cornmeal cakes and molasses for breakfast, and this was meant to sustain them as they worked from dawn till dusk. New recipes sprang up during this period to fill in the gap of limited supplies, such as jambalaya, which entailed “herbs and rice alongside ham, sausage, oysters, shrimp, or chicken.”9 The African moved from a culture where food was in plenty to one where they had to hunt and fish to supplement the little ration provided by their masters. Despite all their suffering, the Africans and African-Americans, they never engaged in private warfare against the Whites. Instead, they used “intellectual and social skirmishing.”10
The religion of African was largely entwined in ancestor worship that was largely characterized by magic, rituals, and devotion to spirits. A majority of the Africans subjected to slavery were from West Africa, which until now, was predominantly influenced by Islam that coexisted with the various polytheistic religions. The Western African slaves believed in the existence of a Supreme Creator among lesser goods, to whom prayers and sacrifices were offered. Religion in West Africa enabled the individuals to seek balance between natural and spiritual worlds; music and dance was an integral part of their worship. While in the New World, the African slaves kept their religion orientation through songs and stories.11 Even after education was prohibited, the church was fundamental in providing informal lessons of teaching the Bible to the slaves, and in this way, Christianity slowly gained form in the African sphere. In the beginning of the 1770s, the first independent black congregation occurred in South Carolina.
In conclusion, it is evident that slavery had great adverse effects of the lives of the slaves, who included both white and Africans, giving rise to a new generation: African-American generations. The African had to learn a new language and even though they were denied education, they learned the English language through informal means and those that had earlier learned the language were able to pass it down to their children. The marriage institution was disrupted as guiding norms were not available and the slaves engaged in demeanor that was loathe by the European masters. All the same, the African embraced their cultural heritage, and this enabled them to survive. They were able to use their cooking backgrounds to improvise new recipes, and their art gave them hope. There was a change in religion as Christianity cleaved into the African and African-American way of worship. Even though, they had to adopt a new cultural, they strived also sought to maintain some elements of their African culture.