Civilization as the Cause of Slavery and Slave Trade.
Introduction
There is a common misconception that associates black folk, particularly Africans, as slaves and white folk, particularly Americans, as slave masters. The concept came about when Africans were shipped by their colonial masters to the West to act as free laborers in the vast cotton fields and other plantations. The colonialists also forced the civilians of their colonies to work in poor condition then profited from their struggles. Other people believe that Christopher Columbus introduced slavery through the slave trade, and forcing the natives of the countries he captured to work in mines and plantations. Slavery existed long before colonialism and Columbus’ voyages. It originated from civilization which happened centuries before European colonialism in Africa. Moreover, slavery still impacts modern society despites its abolishment.
Literature Review
Slavery refers to an economic or legal system which applies the property law principles to humans. These principles allow slave owners to own, buy and sell slaves. Slaves, in this case, lack any rights and cannot leave these arrangements. Societies practiced slavery long before its evils were exposed. During the biblical times, kings had subjects who acted as slaves. A good example is during Moses’ era when the Israelites were slaves to the Egyptians. African societies such as Egypt also owned slaves in the pre-colonial period. War periods saw the triumphant parties capture the strong and non-disabled men and present them to their Kings or the rulers as peaceful gestures and war captures.
Gascoigne (2011) states that Babylonian slavery featured slaves as the valuable property of their owners in the eighteenth century BC. These slaves could own property and did not receive brutal treatment. During the 7th century, Greece relied deeply on slavery. The slaves lacked any rights, and their conditions varied based on the work they did. Slave owners mistreated miners to the point of death either through suicide or conditions such as insufficient food, brutal punishment, unsanitary conditions and work accidents. Slaves who occupied upright positions like in the police force or worked at homes as concubines, stewards or looked after children experience better treatment than the other slaves. Romans also owned slaves from the 2nd century BC and treated them like Greece slave owners. The above provides evidence that most societies practiced. Slave owners treated slaves inhumanely denying them basic right. The wealthy and those in high positions owned slaves while the poor or war conquests from other countries acted as slaves.
Slavery impacts the modern
society despite its eradication. Slavery bred racism (Acharya, Blackwell, &
Sen, 2016). Some people still view white people as more superior to their black
counterparts despite the campaigns for equality and the Universal suffrage that
enabled voting rights. More so, the citizens of these countries view
African-Americans, Mexicans and people from the countries that acted as slaves
as criminals and lowlifes. Some of the Mexican and African-American workers
still do menial jobs for minimum wages in European countries. To date, a
fraction of Blacks is contemptuous to the Whites because they blame them for
the slavery deeds. Slavery conceived the notion that the strong can control the
weak and that some are superior to others. The conception explains why some
people continue to practice slavery discreetly through human trafficking,
hiring people for poor wages and terrible working conditions. More so, some
American businesses relocate their factories to developing countries where the
worker enumeration is minimum wages. People worldwide still practice slavery
directly or indirectly despite its abolition.
References
Acharya, A., Blackwell, M., & Sen, M. (2016). The Political Legacy of American Slavery.
Gascoigne, B. (2011). HISTORY OF
SLAVERY. Historyworld.net. Retrieved 12 January 2017, from
http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ac41
References
Gascoigne, B. (2011). HISTORY OF SLAVERY. Historyworld.net. Retrieved 12 January 2017, from http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ac41
Acharya, A., Blackwell, M., & Sen, M. (2016). The Political Legacy of American Slavery. Scholars At Havard.
Annotated Bibliography
Marina Tiefenbach
DeVry
January 22, 2017
Slavery has been a matter of great interest amongst the general public and it is a practice that is largely frowned upon. In some instances, slavery has been brought about due to the innate need for civilization. In other cases, war has been the reason for the defeated party to be carted away into slavery. This annotated bibliography looks at two different works and how the writers depicted the slavery in the different societies. We see that civilization and development are the main reasons why slavery came into the scene.
Gascoigne, B. (2011). HISTORY OF SLAVERY. Historyworld.net. Retrieved 12 January 2017, from http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ac41
The writer, Gascoigne, depicts slavery as a by-product of civilization that started occurring very long ago. The writer takes a historical approach by looking at how different civilizations made use of slaves. He serves to show that slavery was present from a long time ago.
During the hunting and gathering times, it made no economic sense to own a slave, but once people started settling in towns and engaging in trade, slavery started. Wars were the main way to acquire slaves since the vanquished people were captured and taken away to be used in manual labor. In this case, the non-disabled people faced the highest risk of being carted away into a life of slavery. The writer is not very clear on slavery in Babylonian times, but the Code of Hammurabi is used to show that slavery was present. The slaves were even allowed to own property in Babylon during the 18th century BC. The writer takes us to Greece and shows us how the two states, Athens and Sparta, viewed saves. Slaves in Sparta are original owners of the land that has been conquered, and hence they enjoy individual rights. In Athens, slaves have no right, and some of the most unfortunate ones tend to be the miners who are forced to work in inhumane conditions. Others might be lucky to get the easier jobs such as concubines or even the police (the 300 Scythian archers). According to the writer, slavery was practiced in ancient Rome and there, just like in Greece, were free slaves there too. Secretarial staff belonging to the emperor were apparently treated in a better way compared to other slaves who worked the fields and mines. It is clear that slaves were the workhorses that helped the Greeks and Romans to build their empires since they practiced it quite extensively.
Acharya, A., Blackwell, M., & Sen, M. (2016). The Political Legacy of American Slavery. Scholars At Havard.
The authors bring out the state of slaves and their owners in the American south. The role played by slaves in the cotton fields as well as the repercussions of that on the political arena are explained in the paper. The authors attempt to explain slavery in America and how it relates to the different politics that are practiced in the country.
Despite its abolishment, the writer explains
why slavery is not yet over since it keeps manifesting itself in various ways.
Counties found in the American South were the most notorious for using and
owning slaves in their farms. According to the authors, whites who live in
areas that were predominantly owned by slave masters tend to be conservative
and show more resentment towards the blacks compared to their counterparts from
other different regions. Most prominent whites who owned the ‘Cotton Belt’ were
interested in maintaining the status quo since it meant that their farms had
sufficient labor. Some of them were powerful congressmen since cotton had a
huge bearing on the political landscape at the time. The fact that whites used
blacks as slaves tends to harbor historical animosity that emanates from the
latter’s view on the past injustices. Even after the Civil Rights movement and
other campaigns on equality, some people still consider whites to be superior
due to the history. The white slave masters were not pleased by the change
since slaves ceased to become their property and now they had to pay them some
wages (p. 633). Blacks were also able to start voting, and this did not sit
down well with the slave masters who feared the rising influence of the black
community. According to Dubois (p.633) blacks had become used to being treated
as an inferior people over a very long time and hence the stigma was always a
lingering presence. Modern day slavery is evident in the fact that menial jobs
are still performed by blacks and Mexicans since they occupy the lower levels
of the income scale.
References
Gascoigne, B. (2011). HISTORY OF SLAVERY. Historyworld.net. Retrieved 12 January 2017, from http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ac41
Acharya, A., Blackwell, M., & Sen, M. (2016). The Political Legacy of American Slavery. Scholars At Havard.
Annotated Bibliography
Marina Tiefenbach
DeVry University
Slavery has been a matter of great interest amongst the general public and it is a practice that is largely frowned upon. In some instances, slavery has been brought about due to the innate need for civilization. In other cases, war has been the reason for the defeated party to be carted away into slavery. This annotated bibliography looks at two different works and how the writers depicted the slavery in the different societies. We see that civilization and development are the main reasons why slavery came into the scene.
Angeles, L. (2011). On the Causes of the African Slave Trade and African Underdevelopment. mimeo.
The writer looks at the course of slavery in Africa and what led to the slave trade. The argument brought forward by the author is that the economic situation in Africa was the main reason why slavery took place with much intensity as the European Powers looked to expand their activities in the Americas. The dismal record of Africa when it comes to economic development meant that the continent did not have any voice in the world and was there to be controlled. The author argues that due to the development in terms of agricultural advancement of the European nations, Africans were seen as primitive and not civilized. Coupled with the notion that slavery is for outsiders (Africans were seen as outsiders in every society), Africa was seen and viewed as the only continent that would offer cheap labor. The lack of development meant that African people were seen as productive as slaves compared to free men and women in Africa.
Europe has had an advantage over the Africans in that it had developed in all industrial technologies especially in textile. The Africans were limited by the fact that some of their technologies were behind those of the Europeans and also primitive. The transport sector was also behind that of the Europeans. This meant that the Europeans would move at a faster rate than Africans, which made it easier for Europeans to be seen as more superior than the Africans. The author looks at the growth of sugar industry in Europe as well as that of tobacco and cotton lead to the use of slaves. It can be noted that no skills were required to work on these farms in the Americas.
Guasco, M. (2014). Slaves and Englishmen: Human Bondage in the Early Modern Atlantic World. University of Pennsylvania Press.
In this book, the author looks at the connection between English and slave trade where he argues that the Englishmen were involved in slavery more than writers acknowledge. He argues that the industrial revolution in Britain was one of the main reasons as to why the Englishmen engaged in slavery. The economic development of the continent and the industrial revolution is cited as one of the main reasons why Europeans and in specific the English engaged in slavery. The author argues that the plantation farmers in the Americas were looking at ways through which they would expand production in order to satisfy the demand of the companies and consumers in Europe. For example, the sugar and tobacco, as well as cotton industries, were doing very well in Europe, which means that demand was increasing. It was this civilization and economic development that made communities in Europe engage in the slave trade in order to meet the labor needs and expand the plantations in America. On the same note, the author argues that the African continent was behind in terms of economic development, which means that they could not stand the influence that the Europeans were putting on the continent. Moreover, lack of civilization meant that the Africans had no idea of what they were to do in the Americas and could, therefore, be captured and sold at will. They were seen as more productive while working in the plantations as compared to when they were free in Africa.
Top of Form
Sheridan, R. B. (1994). Sugar and slavery: An economic history of the British West Indies, 1623 – 1775. Kingston: Canoe Press.
Bottom of Form
In this book, the author looks at the history of slavery and the sugar farming in the Americas. The author provides a clear analysis of some of the factors that led to the start of the slavery and the increase in the demand for the slaves in the region.
In particular, the author explains that the main reason as to why the Europeans were successful in getting access to slaves was because of the control that they had over the Transatlantic trade that was the connection between Europe, Caribbean, Americas, and Africa. The trade was under the control of the Europeans. The author proposes that industrial revolution in Europe and the civilization that came with economic development meant that the Europeans were way above everyone who took part in the trade. The Africans were the ones that were left behind as compared to all the others, which mean that lack of civilization and development led to their manipulation.
The book provides a good analysis of how the development of
companies in Europe and the demand for sugar in the continent led to an
increase in the demand for slaves as farm owners looked forward to increasing
their production. Consequently, the fact that Europe was scientifically
developed in terms of means of transport favored them when it came to the
transportation across the Atlantic Ocean into America. African slaves were seen
as productive in comparison with the other slaves and free workers as they were
resistant to tropical diseases and could work for long hours. This book
provides a clear understanding of how development was one of the main factors
that led to the development of slave trade in the Americas.
References
Angeles, L. (2011). On the Causes of the African Slave Trade and African Underdevelopment. mimeo.
Guasco, M. (2014). Slaves and Englishmen: Human Bondage in the Early Modern Atlantic World. University of Pennsylvania Press.
Sheridan, R. B. (1994). Sugar and slavery: An economic history of the British West Indies, 1623 – 1775. Kingston: Canoe Press.
Solution.
Civilization as the Cause of Slavery and Slave Trade.
Slavery is an old practice that has been in place since civilization. For example, the biblical times sights Israelites as former slaves to the Egyptians at the time. They were subjected to hard labor and no pay. What they were provided with was just food to allow them to survive the hard labor. Consequently, there are recordings of slaves being used in Babylon, by the Romans, the Greeks, and the Egyptians. Arabs were also involved in slavery as they captured and transported thousands of East Africans to Arabia during the time. One thing that is important to note from all the said areas where slavery was practiced is that these were areas with early civilization. In most cases, slaves were gained through a war where the losers were imprisoned instead of being killed. The civilization of some areas led to the institution of slavery (Acharya, Blackwell, & Sen, 2016). This means that slavery cannot be disconnected from civilization as this was one of the reasons as to why it came into existence. The European economies in the 1500s depended on slavery in order to meet the increasing demand of raw materials for the companies in Europe. For example, tobacco and cotton were some of the best industries that were doing well at the time. The demand led to an increased demand for labor that could only come from Africa. This paper will argue that slavery should be blamed on civilization, as it was the main reason as to why it came to place in the first.
The negative effects of slavery came to be seen during the transatlantic slave trade in which millions of Africans were taken to the Americas where they worked as slaves. Researchers argue that some of the economies in the world or some civilizations were built out of slavery. The industrial revolution in Europe is what led to increasing in the demand for slaves across the globe (Guasco, 2014). The industrial revolution led to the development of voyages that discovered the Americas and Africa. similarly, the demand for raw materials and other goods like sugar and tobacco in Europe led to the increase in the amount of land that was put under cultivation in the new world. Were it not for civilization in Europe, there would not have been massive cultivation in the Americans as well as any subsequent enslavement of Africans.
The first people to use slaves in the Americas were the Spanish and the Portuguese especially in the Caribbean and Brazil respectively. They were soon joined by other European powers following the Agrarian Revolution in Europe (Acharya, Blackwell, & Sen, 2016). Migration of the Europeans to new lands after the agrarian revolution was coupled with the emergence of different industries in the continent. Consequently, the demand for sugar, tobacco, and cotton led to the need for the farmers in the Americas to increase the sizes of their farms. This could not have happened without a source of cheap labor. In the first instance, the native Indians were used as slaves in these plantations. However, they were not many and they kept on dying as a result of the European diseases and the oppression. It is important to note that some nations such as Spain passed laws prohibiting the use of Indians as slaves as they were endangered based on their small number. Africa was therefore seen as the only source of cheap labor and laborers who are able to meet the demands of the farms without being affected by the diseases. The fact that Africa is a tropical continent meant that the blacks were better positioned to work in the sugar plantations. Their endurance to heat made them likable by the plantation owners (Guasco, 2014).
The disparity in civilization can be seen by the organization of governance at the time. While the Europeans were organized in nations governed by a central government, Africans were divided into tribes and clans as well as chiefdoms. In most cases, these chiefdoms were under chiefs who did not have the affairs of their people at heart. It is for this reason that most of the chiefs have been quoted to have taken in the slave trade by selling their people to the European masters. This is one of the reasons as to why civilization and the economic situation are blamed for slavery (Angeles, 2011).
Africans were viewed as primitive in the way that they lived. It was perceived that they did not have any civilization and the world was better putting them into slavery. It is important to note that in most cases, the Indians or the native Americans were the first to be put into slavery when the Europeans arrived. However, the Indians were not reliable as slaves as they were not tolerant to various diseases as well as hard labor (Angeles, 2011). This led to the European masters turning to Africa as the main source of slaves. Most of them were taken to work on sugar and tobacco plantations that were in plenty in the Americas. Africans were viewed as more resistant to tropical diseases, which made them ideal to work in areas where the Indians died of these diseases. Similarly, the conditions in Africa were viewed as ideal in the preparation of one for manual labor. This meant that African slaves became more popular than their Indian counterparts (Sheridan, 1994). On the same note, Africans slaves were easy to capture as they were available in large numbers. The civilization in Europe allowed Europeans to have a lot of gifts that were given to the Africans. This Africans capture their fellow Africans and sell them as slaves. Consequently, it can be argued that the economic situation that faced most of the Africans made them unable to defend themselves against being captured and sent to slavery. The economic superiority of the Europeans allowed to pay the rich people in Africa a lot of goods in exchange. The demand for slaves was increasing in the Americas, which means that the business was lucrative (Guasco, 2014). The Europeans were better positioned to gain the slaves because of their civilization that came in terms of weapons, means of transport and trade goods. Most of the Africans who sold others to slavery did so for economic gains from the Europeans. This means that economy and civilization played a major role when it comes to slavery and slave trade.
Angeles (2011) asserts that Africa had a dismal economic performance and in the process lacked a voice in the world. The implication is that the continent was there to be controlled. The superior civilization of the Europeans allowed them to be better positioned to control the affairs of the African continent. Africans had primitive agricultural processes that were inferior to those of the Europeans. This meant that Africans were seen as more productive while working in the sugar and tobacco plantations in the Americans than as free people in Africa. There was also the notion that slavery was for outsiders. Africans were seen as outsiders in almost all the societies, which made Africa be viewed as the only continent that could offer cheap labor. Guasco (2014) outlines the role played by the economic development of Europe and the industrial revolution in Britain. In particular, it becomes clear that the economies of Europe at the time demanded more supplies that could only be produced from the new lands in America. The plantation owners were also determined to make a lot of profit from the sale of the agricultural goods that they produced. This meant that they had to look for cheap labor that would allow them to increase the production while reducing the cost of production. The increased demand for sugar, tobacco, and cotton in Europe increased the demand for labor that could only come from Africa, which was by then backward in terms of economic development as well as technological advancements (Sheridan, 1994).
The connection between slavery and civilization cannot be underestimated. It is important to note that civilization comes through enlightenment. When the slaves were brought to the Americas, they were subjected to oppression in order to ensure that they did not regroup and revolt against their masters (Angeles, 2011). The passing of the slave codes at the time is one of the things that kept the slaves at bay and without any civilization. The slave codes meant that the slaves were not allowed to possess any weapons. The implication is that the slaves could not at any instant revolt against their masters. On the same note, the slaves were prohibited from accessing any education. The masters were aware that education would have civilized the slaves and made them vibrant in asking for freedom as equal members of the society. Education would have allowed them to learn about ways through which some other people across the globe were able to get freedom. In the end, revolts would have emerged that would have devastated the whole concept of slavery (Gascoigne, 2011).
One of the effects of slavery today is the concept of racism. Different races do not want to see each other as equals in everything that they do. There is a lot of prejudice that surrounds the issue of race and in particular the concept of blacks and whites. There are some whites who have always seen Africans and other blacks across the globe as inferior beings and not worth of recognition as equal members of the society (Gascoigne, 2011). This can be seen by the fact that it was only in the last five decades that blacks have been allowed to vote in the USA. This ill-feeling emerged as a descendant of slavery. On the other hand, the blacks view or see the whites as the perpetrators of their suffering and the pain that they have had to go through for years. The same way that blacks were seen as primitive and uncivilized is the same way that they are seen today by some parts of the world. There are also some researchers who argue that Europe was the main reason why Africa is behind the rest of the world in terms of development. The reason brought forward by these researchers is that Europeans captured all the best and healthy people from the continent. These are the people who could have moved the economy of the continent forward (Angeles, 2011).
In
conclusion, it is evident that economic disparity and civilization are the main
reasons as to why slavery began. In most cases, those enslaved usually come
from the weaker societies. In the ancient times, those enslaved were captives
of war. On the same note, it becomes evident that Africa did not have a voice
in the world and was, therefore, there to be controlled by the rest of the
world. In particular, the Europeans controlled the Transatlantic Trade that
connected America, Europe, and Africa. All their profits of the trade went to
Europe as every avenue was under their control. It is important to note that
the economic power of the Europeans allowed them to manipulate some of the
Africans to act as merchants who captured and sold their fellow Africans to the
European masters. Lack of civilization in Africa meant that they did not have
stable governments that could counter the influence and power of the Europeans.
Most of the chiefs were there to enrich themselves at the expense of their
people. The slaves were not allowed to access any education or carry any weapon
that would have led to them revolting against their masters. This means that
civilization of some communities is what led to the oppression and slavery of
other communities across the globe.
References
Acharya, A., Blackwell, M., & Sen, M. (2016). The Political Legacy of American Slavery. Scholars At Havard.
Angeles, L. (2011). On the Causes of the African Slave Trade and African Underdevelopment. mimeo.
Gascoigne, B. (2011). HISTORY OF SLAVERY. Historyworld.net. Retrieved 12 January 2017, from http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ac41
Guasco, M. (2014). Slaves and Englishmen: Human Bondage in the Early Modern Atlantic World. University of Pennsylvania Press.
Sheridan, R. B. (1994). Sugar and slavery: An economic history of the British West Indies, 1623 – 1775. Kingston: Canoe Press.
