Slavery and the New World (1500 - 1800)

Flashcards about the origins, expansion, and impact of slavery in the Americas, covering topics from the reasons for slavery to resistance and abolitionist movements.

Slavery in Rome

Rome provided legal formulas and jurisdictions for modern slavery, offering a classical tradition of reconciling slavery with universal law.

Slave Society

A society in which slaves played an important role and formed a significant portion (over 20%) of the population.

Latifundia

Large-scale agricultural plantations in Southern Italy where influxes of slaves were funneled into during Roman imperial expansion.

Peculium

The temporary capacity of slaves to possess and enjoy a range of goods.

Encomienda

A semi-feudal or tributary labor system used in the Americas, initially relying on forced indigenous labor.

Arab Slave Trade

The long-distance slave trade developed by Arab and Muslim allies between the 7th and 20th centuries, primarily using sub-Saharan Africans.

Guanche Natives

The natives of the Canary Islands enslaved by Iberians for sugar production, serving as a model for Brazilian slavery.

Indigenous Slavery Problems

1. Agriculture seen as women's work. 2. Ambivalence in European opinion. 3. High susceptibility to Old World diseases.

Labor Shortage Solutions

The Ottoman Empire blocked access to Black Sea or Baltic Sea captives, and European nations no longer enslaved Christian prisoners of war.

Indentured Servitude

Temporary bondage widely used, but problematic as slaves became free and would not travel where labor was needed.

West Atlantic Slave Trade

Africa started to earn more from the export of slaves than precious metals and spices by 1700.

New World Slavery

Slavery's most distinctive character was its highly commercial nature. Scaled economies, exclusive use of Black slaves, and regimented labor raised profit.

Self-Sustaining Slave Populations

North America was unique in having a self-sustaining slave population, receiving only 5% of slaves in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.

Racial Intermixture in the Americas

North America was less tolerant of racial intermixture compared to Latin America and the Caribbean due to high availability of Black women and cultural mores.

Age of Emancipation

The abrupt end of racial slavery occurred from 1776-1888.

Ceuta

Islamic city captured by Portugal on the African coast in 1415, marking the beginning of Portuguese expansion.

Bartholomew Diaz

Rounded the Cape of Good Hope in 1487, paving the way for Portuguese access to India.

Spice Trade

The great lure overshadowing Africa in value and importance due to the necessity of spices to preserve meat over the winter in European agriculture.

Christopher Columbus

Sailed westwards across the Atlantic Ocean in 1492, discovering the Caribbean (West Indies) for Spain.

Cortes

Conquistador who destroyed the Aztec empire in Mexico by 1519, establishing 'New Spain'.

Pizzaro

Led the conquest of the Inca empire of Peru in 1530 for Spain.

Jacques Cartier

Sent by France to North America in 1534 to find a northerly alternative route to Asia.

Cartier's voyages

Voyages eventually failed to find a fabled kingdom and precious metals, leading to French disenchantment with the region.

John Cabot

Commissioned by Henry VII, explored Newfoundland for England in 1497, though no enforcement followed.

Irish Colonization Model

The English conquest of Ireland shaped attitudes toward American natives, with settlers viewing the Irish as backward and justifying violence.

Virginia Company and Jamestown

First English settlers arrived in Chesapeake Bay in 1606. Site was poorly chosen and strict military discipline was enforced.

Tobacco

Introduced by John Rolfe, it became the economic salvation for the Virginia colony.

Davis, David Brion

Historian who stated that slaves asserted their humanity and reinvented their cultures despite the hardships of slavery.

Las Casas, Bartolome de

Spanish priest who believed over 40 million Indians died by the year 1560 due to European settlement.

Colombian Exchange

Slavery is traceable to it, referring to the widespread transfer of plants, animals, culture, human populations, technology, diseases, and ideas between the Americas, West Africa, and the Old World in the 15th and 16th centuries.

Treaty of Tordesillas

Line of demarcation dividing exploration routes between Spain and Portugal, confirming Portugal's rights around Africa and Spain's claims to the Americas.

Requiremento

Pronouncement read by Spanish conquerors to defeated Indians, asserting religious and political authority and demanding acceptance of Spanish rule.

Laws of Burgos

Result of the 1st open protest against indigenous enslavement, containing 39 articles or rules to prevent abuse, though not enforced.

Council of the Indies

Wrote laws, served as a Court of Appeal, approved books, and heard complaints in Spanish colonies.

Repartimiento System

System by which the Spanish crown allowed colonists to enslave indigenous peoples for forced labor, also called mita in Peru or cuatequil in Mexico.

Encomienda System

Legal system by which the Spanish crown attempted to define the status of the indigenous population, granting conquistadors tribute from indigenous people in exchange for protection and Christian instruction.

New Laws of the Indies

Abolished indigenous slavery and ended the Encomienda system, though was revoked in 1545.

Hacienda System

System of landed estates where indigenous people worked for hacendados (landowners) in a perpetual state of debt.

Asiento System

Contracts forged between the Spanish Crown and companies or private persons which granted monopolies in the supply of African slaves to the Spanish colonies.

Brazilwood

Good exported in the early 16th century along with parrots and monkeys

Alvares Cabral

Encountered Indigenous in Brazil in 1500 and took ownership of the land for Portugal.

Middle Passage Mortality

About 10-20% of enslaved Africans died during the journey through the Middle Passage due to inhumane conditions.

Slave Work Hours

Plantation work required 12-hour daily labor, with additional night tasks like clearing fields or grinding maize.

Gang System

Slaves worked in unison, led by one or two who set the pace, from sunup to sundown

Task System

Set work quotas, after the work was completed the slaves’ time was their own

Slave Rations

Slaves were provided with weekly rations of fish, sweet potatoes, and maize (corn)

Maroons

Slaves who ran away from plantations and joined the Maroons living in the mountains in Jamaica.

Gullah

Creation of a unique language, Combination of European and African languages

The invention of the Cotton Gin

Led to mass production of cotton, and an increase in demand for slaves!

Fugitive Slave Act 1850

Act which stated that anywhere in US, slaves returned to owners