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Economic effects of slavery in America
Summary of article The Case for Reparations
Negative economic effects of slavery
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Slavery, Colonialism and Neo- colonialism had caused immeasurable damage to billions of people throughout the world. The slave trade involved the brutal relocation of hundred-millions of people in which families, communities and societies were destroyed and millions lose their lives in harsher conditions. In the meantime, slavery became the fundamental element, which strengthened retail trade and the fast gathering of capital constructed the groundwork of development of the capitalist system. Colonialism further caused the oppression of enslaved people by capturing their lands and subjecting them to the rule of colonial powers. The article, “Caribbean Nations to Seek Reparations, Putting Price on Damage of Slavery”, by Stephen Castle, shows both the side of reparations in which Caribbean nations lawyer Mr. Martyn Day says that Britain has to pay for what they have done. On the other side, Mr. Hague says that Britain had already paid the compensation to the victims of slavery and Britain cannot see “Reparation is the answer” (4). In short, slavery and colonialism had created an enough wounds on the victim’s ancestors that today Caribbean nations are asking for reparations from Britain and France. This paper will discuss the reasons behind the demand for reparations that emerged from slavery and colonialism and will also highlight the current economic condition of the Caribbean nations.
Slavery was an atrocity born from the depth of the darkest part of Human soul. In the video “Egalite for All” we witnessed the emergence of the Haitian revolution, gigantic and massive protest against slavery. Nevertheless, this protest was created by colonizers because they were selling African men, women and children’s for their own benefits. They...
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... Caribbean nations.
In conclusion, by taking the reparations from countries like Britain, Spain and France, these Caribbean countries may be able to stabilize their current economic conditions. However, regretting is not enough for Caribbean countries because colonizers had already created instability in these areas, which needed to be remedied. Thus, reparation to the victim’s family is the only solution left for the colonizers.
Works Cited
Castle, Stephen. "Caribbean Nations to Seek Reparations, Putting Price on Damage of Slavery." Editorial. The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 20 Oct. 2013.
Fanon, Frantz. Black Skin, White Masks. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Print.
Life and Debt. N.d. DVR.
Prince, Mary. "THE HISTORY OF MARY PRINCE, A WEST INDIAN SLAVE. (Rated by Herself.)." The History of Mary Prince: A West Indian Slave. N.p.: n.p., n.d. 1-71.Print.
Ta-Nehisi Coates, author of the article “The Case for Reparations” presents a powerful argument for reparations to black African American for a long time of horrendous injustice as slavery plus discrimination, violence, hosing policies, family incomes, hard work, education, and more took a place in black African American’s lives. He argues that paying such a right arrears is not only a matter of justice; however, it is important for American people to express how they treated black African Americans.
A fifty-thousand French force of experienced soldiers arrives on the shores of Saint-Domingue. Not ready to give up their freedom and return to their previous servitude, the Africans of the colony defend themselves. Assisted by yellow fever and other diseases, they are a force to be trifled with. By November of the following year, the French surrender and within three months Jean-Jacques Dessalines declares independence from France and the new nation of Haiti is created. Frederick Douglass attributes their great success to the Negros themselves and their manhood, courage, and military skill in his Lecture on Haiti in 1893. He even solidifies these claims by pointing out how their intelligence and bravery has conserved their independence since 1804, almost ninety years prior to his lecture. By this time, Haiti has been around for almost a century and her supporters and opponents debate whether the Haitian revolution was a success or not. The citizens are labeled as lazy and superstitious, stereotyped in that neat little box with no room for movement. Douglass agrees that they can be a bit lazy and are ignorant, but they are not simple idle at all times. By this time, Haiti prospers on a coffee economy and continue to import and export goods from within her borders. Its important to recognize that this nation and its citizens were the first to fight and win their emancipation. The slave revolution in the former French colony of Saint-Domingue was a historic event that brought about universal liberties as other nations followed suit. In solidarity the slaves took up arms and fought until their chains broken. This should vindicate Haiti, at least in the eyes of Douglass. He believes that even though she has not yet met her full potential, she will become a
Last year, Ta-Nehisis Coates’ Atlantic article “The Case for Reparations” threw a national spotlight on a debate and movement that has been ongoing, yet for the large part unseen, for more than 150 years. Reparations suddenly became a topic of national debate, which like most things today focused on the merits of the idea versus proposing any real solutions to the issues. Coates’ article is no different, offering a litany of offensives without proposing any real solvency to the issues that have oppressed the black community in America for the past several hundred years.
Haiti is one of the most unusual countries in Latin America as it is the only French-speaking nation in the Caribbean as well as the first to receive its independence. Haiti’s most unique characteristic, however, is in regard to race. “The population of Haiti on the eve of the French Revolution was made up of over 90% black slaves, with whites numbering only about 40,000 out of a total population of 519,000” . This large disparity can be explained due to the fact that, at one time, Haiti was one of the wealthiest places in the world during French colonization. At the time of the French Revolution in 1789, the sugar production of Saint Dominique exceeded that of all the British West Indies, and on the eve of the revolution the colony accounted for more than one-third of the foreign commerce of France. “Saint-Domi...
“After 250 years of enslavement in America, African Americans were still terrorized in Deep South; they were pinned to the ghettos, overcrowded, overcharged, discriminated, and undereducated”. The best solution is to owe them reparations. To aid them out of their unjust inherit status. The novel is based on real life situations of many African Americans that had to face during slave, and post slave era in the United States of America. The purpose is to show that not having reparations for the African Americans lead to many downsides to the nation’s inequalities. In the novel “The Case for Reparations” by Ta-Nehisi Coates, he uses just ethics and remorse obligation, to demonstrate the nation should to pay for the damage done to the black community.
What’s far less certain, however, is what kind of debt is owed to the descendants of those slaves.” They also said “many groups of influential lawyers and scholars have profited from slavery.” This goes to show that the people responsible for the enslavement of hundreds of people are profiting from slavery, and that if they did want to pay reparations, they’re unsure how to give it. The article then goes on to mention other cases of reparation that have been paid, like Germany paying $60 billion to Holocaust survivors, and the United States paying $20,000 to over 100,000 Japanese Americans sent to internment camps during World War II. Ta-Nahesi argues that blacks today still bear the scars of slavery and the decades of discrimination that followed, and blames the institutions, not the individuals.
Reparations Although the talk of reparations of slavery has been in discussion for over a hundred years, it is beginning to heat up again. Within these discussions, the issue of the form of reparations has been evaluated and money has been an option several times. However, reparations in the form of money should not be obtained for several reasons. Firstly, it is not a solution to the problem, secondly monetary reparations have the ability to worsen discrimination, thirdly, who gets paid, and how is it regulated, and lastly, the money can be misused.
... The Economic History Review, by Behrendt, Stephen D. David Eltis, David Richardson that stated, “…second impact of Africans that goes beyond violence on slave ships followed from the natural Africans assumption of equal status in the trading relationship…came in the wake of holding Europeans…”(Source 9). The result of considering the equal status between the Africans and the Europeans from Africa’s point of view was the Atlantic slave trade which millions of African people’s live had been jeopardized and their fate had been seal to work in the fields for the rest of their lives.
2 John Bowe, author of Nobodies: Modern Slave Labor and the Dark Side of the New Global Economy said if he could sum up what his book was about it would be “we all seek control. Control equals power. Power corrupts. Corruption makes us blind, tyrannical, and desperate to justify our behavior” (268). He is writing about the slave trade happening in our own Land of the Free. He wants Americans to be aware of the slave trade and recognize that it is not only happening in other countries, but effects items we use in our everyday lives, like the clothes we wear and the food we eat. As he is an immersion reporter, he visits three different sites of slavery: Florida, Tulsa, and Saipan. The stories and facts in this book are all from people who experienced some aspect of the abuses he writes about, whether a victim, a lawyer, or just a witness to the heinous crimes. He is not satisfied with half truths, which seem to fly at him, especially from those who did the abusing he was talking about, he does his research well and I appreciated that while reading this book.
The majority of the nearly 500,000 slaves on the island, at the end of the eighteenth century endured some of the worst slave conditions in the Caribbean. These people were seen as disposable economic inputs in a colony driven by greed. Thus, they receive...
The San Domingo revolution led to the abolition of slavery, independence of Haiti from France and the proclamation of a black republic. However, unlike many historians, CLR James in his work, The Black Jacobins, does not depict the struggle for independence as merely a slave revolt which happened to come after the French Revolution. He goes beyond providing only a recount of historical events and offers an intimate look at those who primarily precipitated the fall of French rule, namely the black slaves themselves. In doing so, James offers a perspective of black history which empowers the black people, for they are shown to actually have done something, and not merely be the subject of actions and attitudes of others.
In the night of August 22, 1791, which initiated the Haitian Revolution, Dutty Boukman, a slave and religious leader gathered a gang of slaves and uttered one of the most important prayers in the Black Atlantic religious thought.1 The prayer embodies the historical tyranny of oppression and suffering, and the collective cry for justice, freedom, and human dignity of the enslaved Africans at Saint-Domingue. The Guy who is not happy with the situation tha...
The African Slave Trade had many dire consequences, and these include the loss of millions of lives, a large decrease in population, and loss of stability because remaining African kingdoms were destroyed. There was also a loss of heritage, because enslaved Africans lost their religion and way of life. Caribbean nations and Black people should receive reparations, because for hundreds of years the islands affected by the slave trade were left in a poor state with terrible developmental obstacles. It would be a moral act for the countries that took part in the slave trade to participate in repaying Black people and rebuilding the Caribbean nations. In relation to reparations, there is a legal requirement to send reparations to Black people
While many people think and talk about the positive impacts of Atlantic Slave trade on countries other than African countries, we should think of impacts that Atlantic Slave trade brought to people in African countries, too. The impact of the Atlantic Slave trade was greatest in Africa among three main continents that intervened in the trade, because Africa was severely harmed socially, economically and politically, rather than benefited from it. Millions of African people were sold as slaves to overseas and died during its harsh labor or while shipped. The Slave trade violated human rights of Africans. Among African regions, the effect was the greatest in West Africa since it supplied large numbers of captives to the New World. Selling millions
This class was filled with riveting topics that all had positive and negative impacts on Africa. As in most of the world, slavery, or involuntary human servitude, was practiced across Africa from prehistoric times to the modern era (Wright, 2000). The transatlantic slave trade was beneficial for the Elite Africans that sold the slaves to the Western Europeans because their economy predominantly depended on it. However, this trade left a mark on Africans that no one will ever be able to erase. For many Africans, just remembering that their ancestors were once slaves to another human, is something humiliating and shameful.