I.The
Slave Trade as part of the Atlantic Triangle in European Colonial System
A.Modern
period of enslavement begins: Spanish and Portuguese in 14th century
B.
8-10 million African slaves brought to Western Hemisphere, about 5% to
N.America
C.
slavery before colonialism,but powerful sys needed for massive transcontinental
transfer
D.
slave trade outlawed by England and U.S. in 1808
E.If
no more than ½ million brought to U.S., why 4 million slaves by
1860?
II.What
caused slavery?
A.Why
slavery in South Africa, West Indies, southern U.S., but not in Europe
itself?:
Economics
rather than prejudice explain:
1.
Slavery develops where land is abundant and labor scarce
2.Profitable
Cotton, sugar, and tobacco require back-breaking gang-type labor
a.Where
land available for squatting, wages for labor driven up
1.Involuntary
labor therefore needed for profitable plantations
b.unskilled,
gang-type labor easily supervised by horseman with a whip
1.Not
for delicate, interdependent, easily sabotaged work (factory)
B.Why
were Blacks (Africans) enslaved?: power/privilege(control,security, profit)explain
1.White
involuntary labor (indentured servitude) volatile: potentially dissatisfied
Class
of whites dangerous; also fraternized with blacks to escape, rebel
2.Preference
goes from white to black involuntary labor because of control, profit
A.
Control:Blacks can’t escape to Africa;don’t know terrain;easily identified
B.Profit:
growth of slave trade makes cheaper; own for life plus children
3.Indian
slavery in South Carolina (1/3 of slaves in early 1700s) not successful
A.Overblown:
nomads poor slaves; many Indians engage in agriculture
B.Security
problem: know terrain, can escape to tribe; military threat
III.Institutionalization
of Slavery
A.First
blacks indentured servants; four decades before become slaves
B.Slave
system: slavery for life/inherited; property to be sold; no rights; based
on force
C.Slave
codes: control belies ideology of “happy” slaves; white fear of rebellion,
escape
1.
Dependence: slaves can’t buy/sell, inherit, make contract, have will or
property
2.
Slave cannot quarrel with or use abusive language toward whites
3.Cannot
travel without pass
4.Fear
of blacks organizing: against law to teach to read, even Bible, or write
D.
Slave Breeding: especially after trade banned in 1808, becomes very profitable
source
E.Major
economic engine: 12,000 Southern plantations (12% of total) have ½
of slaves
1.White
big landowers profit;poor scared by prospect of cheap labor pool if freed
F.Not
simply prejudice of individuals, but institutionalized at core of American
society
1.
Constitution counts slaves as 3/5 of person
2.
Fugitive slave law of 1793 required all citizens to help return slaves
G.
Economics supercede Northern conscience in shaping Civil War
1.
William Lloyd Garrison represents minority; abolitionists not free of prejudice
2.Northern
factories and import barriers conflict with Southern-European trade
3.
Emancipation Proclamation does not include 800,000 slaves in border states
H.Political
and economic forces shape slavery: belief in happy slave did not reflect
reality
1.
Numerous slave revolts: New York City 1712, Cato 1739, Nat Turner 1831