A Thousand Words
The picture on page 432 of our textbook says it all. Looking at the faces of the two slaves, I see fear, uncertainty and anguish in their eyes. Their expressions seem to plead for mercy, and the outstretched arm tells me that the one slave is asking for help or perhaps begging not to be sold. The well-dressed African merchant is selling the two slaves to a businessman, who has one finger up in the air indicating that he wants only one slave; however the two slaves are shackled together indicating that they are to be sold in pairs.
Global Commerce is chapter fifteen’s title, and it is hard to fathom that trading, selling, buying of human beings was a contributor to the globalization of the early modern world. Yes, there were other factors that led to globalization – spice, textile, silver, furs - and chapter fifteen covered those topics too, but slavery still cuts through me very deeply.
Do I understand the slavery issue better after reading this week’s reading? A little, but I still have questions as to why people would treat other human beings as subhuman. I know that there are forms of slavery as well as other inhumane practices in the world today, but we talking about a commerce that helped grow America, and at the expense of other human beings.
Slavery dates back to the start of civilization and was seen across many societies like Mesoamerica, Russia and the Middle East. It was considered a normal human enterprise that was often linked to warfare and the subsequent capture of prisoners. However, as we read, slavery found in America was more distinctive than in the past. For one, the sheer size of the enterprise was the largest seen. In a span of 400 years, over 11 million Africans were sold into slavery. There were devastating effects on Africa’s economy from losing this many people to this horrific venture. In the New World, slaves were considered dehumanized property - they had no rights and once they were slaves, their family and offspring were also slaves. There was no chance for freedom and a slave had little or no hope that they would ever become a free person. For me, the biggest distinction was that slavery had now become a “race” issue. Being African, you were black and black meant that you were a slave or destined to be a slave. There, it was said - slavery, race and African. Perhaps it has been said before, but I have never read the origins of slavery and race. I felt saddened and embarrassed by what I had read, especially given my European roots.
The biggest question that I have is why were African people targeted and not some other “barbaric” degenerate to work the sugar fields and tobacco plantations? Why not use white, yellow, brown or red prisoners or less desirable members of society? Why not allow freedom to the slave after that person gave a certain length of time to the success of the plantation? Why did people have to treat slaves like animals, living in squalor? Strayer tells us that marginal Europeans, who were predominantly Christian, couldn’t become slaves because Christians were “exempt” from becoming one, and that European indentured servants were expensive and temporary. Why Africans? Geographically, the people along the west coast of Africa were relatively close, readily available, and had a large population base. Africans were not Christians and so there was not any “religious” backlash from enslaving them. They were also good farmers, and were used on agricultural plantations where their expertise was put to good use. Most importantly, Africans were immune to the tropical and European diseases that had affected the Native American populations. But, Strayer tells us again, that race, that ugly four-letter word, was at the heart of the issue. In a nutshell, for whatever reason, Europeans saw African people as an inferior race of people and exploited them. It was wrong back then, and it is still wrong today. The African elite and merchants did not help their people and society either, selling people into slavery but they were coerced and mesmerized by the wealth and prosperity it gave them; globalization at its finest hour.
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