Instructions: Investigate the history of slavery and discuss the ways in which this history impacts contemporary society
History of slavery.
Introduction
The history of slavery is entangled in theories, findings and claims of its impact in today’s society. This can be proven by the large historical literature on the causes and consequences of the history of slavery. The annotations of Acemoglu Daron, Garcia-Jimeno Camilo & James Robinson (2012), Heather A. O’Connell (2012), and Graziella Bertochi & Arcangelo Dimico (2013) offers a better understanding of the influence of historical slavery in the contemporary society.
Acemoglu, D., García-Jimeno, C., & Robinson, J. A. (2012). Finding Eldorado: Slavery and long-run development in Colombia. Journal of Comparative Economics, 40 (4), 534-564. doi:10.1016/j.jce.2012.07.003
This article offers an in-depth discussion of the historical influence of slavery on the long-run development of today’s society. It draws it research, examples, and findings from the case of Gold mining in Colombia between the 18th and 19th century. During this period, goldmine owners enslaved many people to work in the mines. The period and practice led to an increase in the number of slaves in Colombia.
The main argument by the authors is anchored on the idea that, gold-mining led to the rise of slavery in the country. This case was due to the increased demand for labourers to work in gold mines. Their findings clearly depict how the societies back then used slavery for exploitation purposes. The article offers more information by comparing the impact of slavery in municipalities that had goldmines and those that did not have gold mines. Through this approach, the article asserts that slavery still has a long-run effect on the development capacities of municipalities that had a higher number of slaves.
Through the provision of robustness exercise and specification on the main contemporary developments, the article links long-term effects of slavery to poverty, low public provisions, reduced school enrolments and contemporary land inequality in modem Colombia. The article enables us to understand the role played by slavery practices in the past in shaping economic aspects today. Through its methodologies, clear explanations and findings, the article definitely qualifies as a research material on ancient slavery and its prolonged impact on modern society.
O’Connell, H. A. (2012). The Impact of Slavery on Racial Inequality in Poverty in the Contemporary U.S. South. Social Forces, 90 (3), 713-734.
In her article, Heather O’Connell offers a critical analysis that links slavery to underdevelopment and poverty in the U.S. From her point of view, historical slavery has influenced the development of racial inequality and poverty in the contemporary society. This contribution was attributed to the fact that, during this period, most of the slaves were black, and their masters were mainly white people. Through this dominant fact, the article links the effects of slavery to modern racial threats, wealth disparities and economic conditions. Heather argues that it is through the practice of slavery that the racial gap and discrimination still exists between different races. To prove her claim, she incorporates findings form the 1850’s slavery in Southern U.S.A by deeply examining the relationship between slavery and racial inequality. According to her, the slave legacy drawn from the south largely contributes to the existing racial inequality in the country. Her analysis and findings enable us to clearly understand the relationship between slavery and modern racial inequality. This proves that slavery is the cause of the high numbers of black-white inequalities seen in economic gaps, poverty, and other racial determinants.
Heather’s use of regression and spatial data analysis techniques brings up facts accordingly and links slavery to modern day racial discrimination and inequality practices. Insights derived from this article enables us to clearly understand, reflect and relate to the connection between ancient slavery and modern racial inequality. This aspect makes her article a reliable source in slavery and racial inequality research.
Bertocchi, G., & Dimico, A. (2012). The racial gap in education and the legacy of slavery. The Journal of Comparative Economics 40 (4), 581-595. doi:10.1016/j.jce.2012.04.001.
In this article, Bertochi and Dimico explain the evolution of racial education inequality in the U.S. while using slavery as an instrument for their research. They investigate the effects of slavery on the current economic performance of the U.S. The two argue that counties that that had a high number of slaves were unequal and not necessarily poor. The article compares different scenarios and proves that the poverty levels were and continue to be higher in counties that had the high number of slaves as compared to those that had a lower number. By doing so, they prove that income growth is negatively affected by the initial racial gap in education and that slavery affects growth indirectly through this channel. They employ the use of alternative theories such as land inequality theory, racial discrimination theory, and human capital theory, to arrive at their findings. These theories, help Bertochi and Dimico to prove that; current inequality has been influenced by slavery through unequal education attainment in the past. The article attests to the fact that human capital accumulation is the main channel through which slavery manifests its legacy. Its findings prove that the legacy of slavery still plays a major role in the U.S economy and society.
With its unique
approach based on alternative theories, this article enables readers to have a
broad view of the role played by slavery in shaping contemporary aspects today. Therefore, its depth and credibility
as a peer-reviewed article makes it essential for research on slavery and its
impact from then to date.
References
Acemoglu Daron, G.-J. C. (2012). Finding Eldorado. Slavery and Long-run Development in Colombia, 534-564.
Bertocchi, G., & Dimico, A. (2012). The racial gap in education and the legacy of slavery. The Journal of Comparative Economics 40 (4), 581-595. doi:10.1016/j.jce.2012.04.001
O’Connell, H. A. (2013). Social Forces. The Impact of Slavery on Racial Inequality ,In Poverty In the Contemporary U.S. South, 713-734.
