Slave Trade
Annotated Bibliography
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.
Solution.
Annotated Bibliography
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.
