Hugh Thomas begins his comprehensive book, The Slave Trade, with a piteous scene at a slave auction in Lagos, Portugal in 1444. The witness, a courtier of Prince Henry of Portugal, describes slaves being disembarked and taken into a field. The slaves, mostly from Azanaghi, and from a variety of ethnic backgrounds, some being mulatto, blacks, Ethiopian, and white are thus split up to be sold. This disembarkation resulted from the first serious venture to Africa for slaves by the Portuguese. In reality, a piteous trend was beginning.
Two beliefs punctuated the thoughts of the origins of slavery in the middle 15th century: captives owed their fate to the sings of their supposed ancestor Ham, and that if people did not have laws, and if they did not live peacefully under a government, they were more beasts than human.
The origins of slavery go well beyond that day in 1444. Indeed, the textbook From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African Americans suggests that slavery had existed in Africa since the earliest known history of the great continent.
Slaves were noted as helping to build the great pyramids and the hydraulic system of China. Even the ancient king of Babylon, Hammurabi, had laws on slavery. Aristotle also believed that “human beings may be enslaved without injustice, because they are slaves by nature.”
Romans established the status of slave by law, distinguishing slaves from serfs. I find it interesting the difference: serfs were agricultural laborers working a lord’s estate, while slaves were objects, unable to make a will, bear witness, or make criminal charges.
Throughout antiquity, civilization one after another made laws regarding slavery, without ever questioning the institution of slavery itself. The Catholic Church never questioned the institution, but encouraged manumission.
However, not all civilizations continued slavery. Prior to the 11th century, slavery had almost vanished from Northern Europe. It was noticed in France, that serfs performed better than slaves and needed no permanent guards. Manumission was common.
Religion is inherently linked with slavery. With the rise of Islam in Spain, a large ethnic diversity of slaves appeared. Islam accepted slaves and slavery as routine human organization. Slaves became a priority. Some believed that through slavery Muslims learned glory and blessings by being exposed to divine providence. Would these same people still have that belief if it were they being enslaved? I doubt so. The Muslims of Spain raided neighboring countries and pirated the Mediterranean for slaves. Spain had an insatiable thirst for slaves. There was a two-way commerce between merchants in Europe and Muslims of the Mediterranean over slaves and African products, in return for European treasures.
Even though Henry the Navigator’s voyages may have been sporadic and not well thought out, he helped Portugal accelerate the transatlantic slave trade.
In search of gold, grain, and most importantly, slaves, Henry the Navigator embarked on the exploration of the west coast of Africa. He seized Maderia and the Azores and funded many expeditions.
For several reasons, the Portuguese were the first Europeans to embark on slave-seeking journeys to Africa. First, Portugal was the closest country to Africa and not embroiled by war at the time. Secondly, the Portuguese had become extremely proficient at maritime expeditions. Not only could the Portuguese explore in a southern direction down the coast of West Africa, but they could now turn around and sail against ocean currents and wind. Portugal was also home to many affluent merchants. In the 15th century, the African slave trade was a money-making bonanza. In addition, the Pope gave Portugal rights over African discoveries, including slaves. The belief was that by taking African slaves, the Portuguese could convert the Africans to Christianity, thus saving them from a fate worse than death.
With the exploration of the African coast, several islands were discovered in the process. Maderia, Santiago, San Tome`, and the Canary Islands all became depots for slaves in the African slave trade. As well, these islands began producing sugar. For instance, in 1484, slaves were used on a large scale in the Canary Islands to produce sugar. This era began the link between sugar plantations and African slaves.
At the turn of the 16th century, expeditions to the “New World” were common. This new world also came with its own slave population, Native Americans. These Native Americans joined Africans in the slave markets of Southern Europe.
Shortly after the discovery of the New World, sugar cane arrived on the scene. Native Americans were put to work as slaves on the sugar plantations in the Caribbean. However, it was soon realized that the Native Americans were not cut out for labor on sugar plantations. First, they were overworked. A Native American slave could not keep pace with a stout African male slave. In addition, the Native Americans were susceptible to European diseases, unlike Africans. King Ferdinand 1st soon ordered African slaves to be taken to the New World. It is interesting to mention that some African slaves had already been shipped there, but not on royal orders. Around 70% of all African slaves sent to the New World were destined to work in sugar.
When Brazil was discovered in 1511, sugar cane arrived soon after and flourished. The indigenous peoples of Brazil weren’t cut out for sugar plantations, either. They were said to be “unused to such continuous and back-breaking toil. In addition to the diseases which these inferior races always acquire upon contact with the white, the ill treatment which they received was a cause of illness and death.”
The native Brazilians were replaced with African slaves. In all, four million Africans landed on the shores of Brazil.
Thomas maintains that the development of sugar plantations in Brazil mark the beginning of the American sugar revolution, instead of the Caribbean, like many assume.
It was not until the middle of the 16th century before the institution of slavery was called into question. Christianity, even, was considered an unjust reason for taking a slave. In this century, had the question of slavery not fallen on deaf ears, generations of Africans and African descended peoples could have been spared the violence and legacy of slavery.
Bibliography
Dutra, Francis A. “Review.” Review of Prince Henry ‘The Navigator’: A Life. Peter Russell. The Internation History Review 23, no. 3, (Sept., 2001): 639-641.
Franklin, John Hope., Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham. From Freedom to Slavery: A History of African Americans. The McGraw Hill Companies, Inc., 2011.
Heath, Malcolm. “Aristotle on Natural Slavery.” Phronesis 53, no. 3 (2008):243-270.
Rawley, James, A, “Review.” The Slave Trade: The History of the Atlantic Slave Trade 1440-1870. Hugh Thomas. The Journal of Southern History 65, no. 2 (1999):336-337.
Thomas, Hugh. The Slave Trade: The History of the Atlantic Slave Trade 1440-1870. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1997.
Walvin, James, “Review.” The Slave Trade: The History of the Atlantic Slave Trade 1440-1870. Hugh Thomas. Research in African Literatures 29, no. 4 (1998):184-187.
No comments:
Post a Comment