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The causes and effects of slavery
The effects of slavery
Impacts of slavery
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Robinson (1984) affirms that there exists a close relationship between the growth of capitalism and slavery. Slaves were the property of slave owners; slaves were dehumanised because they were commodities that were sold and they represented unfree labour (Robinson, 1984). According to Marx (1984, 45), the profits made by the slaves were prime to the primitive accumulation which then led to the growth of manufacturing and industrial capitalism. The value created by slave labour was appropriated by the metropole, and this created immeasurable disparities of wealthy between the colonies and the metropole, both historical wealth and contemporary wealth (Robinson, 1984). For example, the raw material used in production of textiles, which led the Industrial Revolution in Britain, was slave-produced. Robinson (1984:46) argues that the economic footing of slave labour and slavery formed the economic basis of the political ideologies that emerged from the French Revolution, i.e. liberty, equality and fraternity – thus the economy and politics are inseparable. One may thus argue that when colonialism (politics) was established, then capitalism (economy) was expanded, for example, the more colonies Britain had, the more capitalism grew. Slavery, says W.E.B du Bois, was a significant subsystem of capitalism and that at the centre of the economics of slavery was the idea of the racial superiority of non-black people (Robinson, 1984: 61). The underlying principle for the development of capitalism was slavery and it was thus not coincidental (Robinson, 1984: 47). Furthermore, the relationship between slave labour and the growth of capitalism resulted in the colonial conquest of Africa by Europe. South Africa is a geological area that was drast... ... middle of paper ... ...k force was not based on any biological facet or on a dual economy by rather by contrived factors such as slavery and colonialism. It is evident that the inequalities in capitalism between the racial groups is based is due to slavery and colonialism. Works Cited Alexander, N, (2002) “’Race’ and class in South Africa historiography: An overview”, An ordinary country, Scottvile: University of Natal Press. Independent Online SA, (2012) “Lonmin massacre: a timeline”, 17 August [online] available at www.iol.co.za (Accessed: 25 April 2014). South African History Online, (2005) “History of slavery and early colonisation”, 31 January [online] available at http://www.sahistory.org.za/south-africa-1652-1806/history-slavery-and-early-colonisation-sa (Accessed 07 March 2012). Robinson C.J. (1984) “Black Marxism: The Making of the Black Radical Tradition”, London: Zed Books.
Capitalism has always been a double edge sword for the United States. It began as the driving force in pushing along economic growth, but it came at the price of the African society. It was implied, and enforced, that Africans were of a lesser class through the means in which they were "used" by the slave owners to promote their wealth and stature. The larger their plantation, the wealthier and more successful people were seen. But in order to do this, the plantation owners needed workers, but if they had to pay workers reasonable wages, they could not yield a profit. Also, in the South, it was hard, rough work in the hot sun and very few whites were willing to do the work, therefore, most plantation owners purchased slaves to work the land. The plantation owner gave the slaves shelter and a small food allowance as a salary. Thereby, the plantation owner "saved" his money to invest in more land, which of course required more slaves to continue to yield a larger profit. An economic cycle was created between plantation owner and slave, one that would take generations to end. Slaves were now a necessity on the larger plantations to work the fields. They were pieces of property that quickly transformed into required elements of plantation machinery. African slaves were regarded as a large, dependable, and permanent source of 'cheap labor' because slaves rarely ran away and when caught they were severely punished. The creation of the plantation system of farming were essential factors in maintaining the idea of slavery.
The first arrivals of Africans in America were treated similarly to the indentured servants in Europe. Black servants were treated differently from the white servants and by 1740 the slavery system in colonial America was fully developed.
“These men rose to power in a region embedded in a capitalist country, and their social system emerged as part of a capitalist world.” However, that does not indicate that the South was capitalist. Genovese argues the opposite that the Antebellum South was rather pre-capitalist. “Their society, in its spirit and fundamental direction, represented the antithesis of capitalism”. Slavery inhibited the economic development of the South and endangered the social stability of the South due to their irrational tendencies. These irrational tendencies allowed them to maintain the master-slave relationship but allowed the South to fall behind the North. Genovese states that “the capital outlay is much greater and riskier for slave labor than for free” and “the sources of cheap labor usually dry up rather quickly, and beyond a certain point costs become excessively burdensome”. Why maintain a labor system that is unstable? With the increase of production and slaves results in a labor system that the South cannot sustain. The slaves’ production was also inefficient. However, Slaves were found to be efficient “in hemp, tobacco, iron, and cotton factories” and “received a wide variety of privileges and approached an elite status.” The South could have industrialized and expanded the economy with these factories but the master-slave relationship if disturbed can lead to a power shift in the South. If the blacks approached
Eltis, David. "The Importance of Slavery and the Slave Trade to Industrializing Britain." The Journal of
Slavery became of fundamental importance in the early modern Atlantic world when Europeans decided to transport thousands of Africans to the Western Hemisphere to provide labor in place of indentured servants and with the rapid expansion of new lands in the mid-west there was increasing need for more laborers. The first Africans to have been imported as laborers to the first thirteen colonies were purchased by English settlers in Jamestown, Virginia in 1619 from a Dutch warship. Later in 1624, the Dutch East India Company brought the first enslaved Africans in Dutch New Amsterdam.
Slavery was the main resource used in the Chesapeake tobacco plantations. The conditions in the Chesapeake region were difficult, which lead to malnutrition, disease, and even death. Slaves were a cheap and an abundant resource, which could be easily replaced at any time. The Chesapeake region’s tobacco industries grew and flourished on the intolerable and inhumane acts of slavery.
In British colonial America, indentured servitude was borne from the Virginia Company out of a need for cheaper labor, and was gradually replaced by African slaves in the 17th and 18th centuries for the same reason. The growth of slavery in America was not a result of racism or intent, but of economic opportunism. Both were exploited for profit to the maximum of the free planters ability, which in the slave’s case, was much more, because there were little to no laws protecting them, and sometimes even laws targeted against them.
Modern American imperialism continues to thrive on the racial domination and national oppression of African Americans, albeit in a different way. The historical relationship between slavery and capitalism is important because the racial context of American capitalism continues to be staggeringly evident in our society today. African Americans can no longer be bought and sold as slaves, but they are the ones most affected by our current economic crisis. They suffer higher unemployment rates, sharp declines in household wealth as well as losses of homes, health services, and pensions. According to The State of Working America, in 2010, 27.4% of African Americans lived in poverty, compared to the overall U.S. poverty rate of 15.1%. In addition
In Bales and Soodalter’s essay, they explore the ways of modern slavery. The two authors claim that modern slavery is an example of “capitalism at its worst.” By definition, capitalism is an economic system in which trade, industry and the means of production are controlled by private owners with a goal of making profit in a market society. Taking modern slavery into context, it can be determined that both capitalism and slavery maintain the same principles. Where as slavery is an economic system in which the trade of human beings creates profit of their owner and eventually their new owner. Modern slavery is truly capitalism at its worst because it demonstrates the true nature of how slavery can be financially successful in the modern day, how money rather than fair treatment is idolized, and the lack of obstacles that perpetuates the life of slavery.
The British arrived in South Africa a year after the Dutch East India Company went bankrupt, (1795). Initially, they held little to no control over its inhabitants due to the protection being offered by the French with whom Britain was warring. Twenty years later, once conflict had ended the British officially controlled the Cape-this was finalized in 1815. The British made many changes to the colony, several of which enraged the Boers. The abolishment of slavery, enforced use of En...
Davidson, Basil. Modern Africa A Social and Political History. Ney York: Longman Group UK Limited, 1983.
McCann, Lucy, comp. Catalogue of the Archive of the Anti-Apartheid Movement, 1956-98. 2002. Bodleian Library, University of Oxford. 5 June 2006 .
Everyone has felt proud or even been encouraged to be prideful of themselves or groups they are associated with. The media constantly tells us to be proud of who we are and aim for high self-esteem and self-confidence. There are numerous self-improvement books that supposedly help people become comfortable in their own body and accept who they are as a person. Even at Northwestern University, people proudly show their school spirit while wearing shirts with the words “purple pride” written on them. In these scenarios, pride is viewed as feeling satisfied from a deserving achievement or a characteristic. One could argue that being proud of who you are and what you represent is harmless and could not be considered as a moral failing. However,
Cuthbertson, Gand Jeeves, A." The Many-sided struggle for Southern Africa, 1899-1908" South African Historical Journal 41 (Nov, 1999), pp 2-21.
In the early period of the nineteenth century, there were great social and political transformations occurring in southern Africa, which became known as the Mfecane. The period was characterized by historian Elizabeth Eldredge as one of “tremendous demographic upheaval and revolutionary and social change”. The period of the Mfecane consisted of vast migrations, random raids, battles and recurring periods of hardships and scarcity for many indigenous people in the region. The Mfecane over the years has become a very debatable topic amongst historians, who considered the causes that led to the mass migration, its importance on Africa’s more current history, and whether it even sanctions an account on the developing history of South Africa. Unfortunately, with the lack of first hand evidence, the Mfecane is still considered an evolving history, but as time passes, new sources are being discovered. Most historians believe and agree that the social disruption of the Mfecane came from the expansion of the Zulu Kingdom, which conquered their neighboring competition the Ndwandwe. By doing so, they were able to set the stage for the first modern African state. However, historians are questioning the reasons behind the expansion of the Zulu kingdom.