Slavery and the Formation of the Atlantic World

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Slavery and the Formation of the Atlantic World

• Readings Spodek, pps. 486-490, 494-499, 547-548,
  548-550

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Slavery and the Making of an Atlantic Economy

• Coastal Africans so wealthy from slave trade, can
  keep Europeans out
• Do allow Europeans to establish forts along coast
• Slaves collected at prisons in these forts for
  overseas voyage
• Portugal, Spain, England, France, the Dutch all
  have forts

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Elmina Fort
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Atlantic Slave Trade

• 18th Century Alone
• 400,000 slaves imported into North America
• 1 million slaves imported into Spanish America
• More than 1 million slaves imported into the
  Caribbean, including the French Caribbean (Saint
  Domingue, Guadeloupe, Martinique)
• More than 3 million slaves imported into Brazil

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Impact of Slavery

• Europeans became very wealthy from slave trade
  alone
• Africans became enchained
• Many Africans die before arrival and many more
  very sick
• The attitude towards slaves was worse than
  animals
• Dead/rebellious slaves thrown overboardslavers
  collect insurance

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Across the Ocean

• Used for Agricultural Labor on plantations
  sugar, rum, cotton, coffee, tobacco, indigo,
  cacao (chocolate)
• Used also in mining (gold, silver, diamonds)
• Produced 1/3 of the Value of European commerce

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Saint Domingue (Haiti)

• Saint Domingue (Haiti) was maybe the worst
• Mostly produced sugar tobacco also important
• It was cheaper to work the slaves to death and
  buy new ones than to take care of them
• Main form of resistance creation of maroon
  societies
• It had heavy African influence

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Society in Saint Domingue

• Much race mingling
• Much emancipation on the death of slave owner
• Rise of free wealthy landowning Mulattos
• General George Dumas-freed slave, father of
  Alexandre
• Wanted preservation of slavery
• Wanted to be treated as equals of white planters
• Whites, especially poor whites, hated them

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Brazil

• Similar to Saint Domingue
• 17th C Main crop sugar, cashasa
• 18th C gold, diamonds
• 19th C coffee
• Worked slaves to death
• Early Slave revolt where the slaves refused to
  eat.
• Many new Africans
• Constant revolts--quilimbos
• Much race mixing
• Slavery abolished in 1888.

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Engenho Site of Sugar Production
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Prayer of St. Francis Bahian Chuches dedicated
to Saint Francis?

• Lord, make me an instrument of your peace, Where
  there is hatred, let me sow lovewhere there is
  injury, pardonwhere there is doubt,
  faithwhere there is despair, hopewhere there
  is darkness, lightwhere there is sadness, joy
• How did Portuguese Christians reconcile their
  religion with their treatment of slaves?

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Portuguese in the World Economy-Items found in
18th C Shipwreck Near Bahia
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United Statesthe South

• Big croptobaccothe sot weed later cotton
• Rice introduced by Africans
• Encouraged slave breeding so there was less
  direct African influence-few slave imports after
  the 18th century
• Compared to Saint Domingue and Brazil,
• Slave birth rates relatively high
• Slave death rates relatively low

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Was Slavery Better in the U.S.?

• Extreme open antipathy to race-mixing
• Anti-mescegination laws
• But .

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Impact of Slavery in the Americas

• Ecology
• Rice introduced from Africa
• Medicinal/healing plants
• Economy
• Plantation economy new crops
• Language
• Pidgeon
• creole

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Religious Impact in the Americas

• Saint Domingue/Haiti Vudon
• Cuba, Spanish America
• Santeria
• Brazil
• Macumba, Condomble, Islam, Catholicism (African
  Church Bahia)
• U.S. South
• Methodist Episcopal Church, Gospel Churches

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Religious Syncretism in Brazil

• Creation of new hybrid beliefs joining African,
  Christian, and perhaps some native religion
• Slaves from West Africans identified their
  deities (orixãs) with Christian saints
• Yemaja spirit of the seas associated with the
  Virgin Mary

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Xango God of Thunder
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African Influences in the Americas

• Dance Capoeira, Samba (Brazil), Tango
  (Argentina), Salsa, Merengue
• Music
• Reggae
• Much American folk music
• Blues
• Jazz
• Rock
• Hip Hop
• World Music

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Slavery and Racism

• Renaissance paintings include Africans as
  equals.
• Race became linked with color in the Americas.

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How Europeans justified slavery?

• The Bible Curse of the Sons of Ham, Noahs son
  descendants to be slaves of his brothers
• Economy/ Property
• Civilizing Mission
• Growing Racism

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Forces to end slavery

• Abolitionist Movements
• Slave Revolts
• Quakers
• Some Enlightenment Thinkers
• Economically unprofitable?
• Wars

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