#6 (10/7: The Origins of American Slavery)

(Origins)

Ancient Greece + Rome context for slavery in European law

•  Ancient Greece + Rome – had slave society, enslaved many of the people captured in conflicts

•           Civil law (type of legal laws in ancient Rome) specifically included laws about Slavery

•           Common law (Ancient Greece) was heavily influenced by Roman laws and also used as basis for medieval Europe laws

• Many European nations Copy and pasted Roman law and then adjusted details: Netherlands, Portugal, Spain relied on some form of the Roman law.

          Moment European rulers began using roman law as basis, slavery related rules and slavery in general became apart of European laws

(Origins)

At this time Bibles pro slavery condoning message

•           Leviticus Bible story – pro slavery message

•           Noah – bible character, drank to much and passed out, Ham opened tent to check if he was okay – to check if his father is dead-taboo for son to see father naked.

•           When Noah learns Ham did this, he punished Ham, he cursed him, said you and your descendants will look different – marked difference and be forced to serve others. – Mark of Ham – When Europeans encounter Black people this was their justification for slavery

•           Onesimmus – enslaved person run away from master, Paul encounters him and talks to him about finding peace and salvation through Jesus Christ, instead of helping run away instructs him go back to his master gives letter to master and tells him to treat Onesimus well. His justification for this is that you have fufill your duty in your life so Onesimus has a duty to be enslaved and his master has a duty to treat Onesimus well.

(Origins)

Indentured servititude’s fostering and condoning of violence leading to slavery

•           English (people of northern Europe) – don’t have traditional model of slavery and look to other models

•           Slavery didn’t disappear in Europe from very beginning of development different ways of serving appeared – indentured servitude

•           Common in Europe/England – to take on a young person to teach a kid a skill/make into an adult and violently discipline them.

•           Creates cycle where young people go through abuse during the apprenticeship, get out, don’t like authority, take on apprentices and continue the cycle

•           Characterized by Unfreedom than freedom – lots of different types of slavery/different bondage’s/servitude

•           In absence of slavery the leap from where they are to now to slavery isn’t a big leap because they have so many laws in place condoning violence to the point so many people go through different types of abuse

Initial involvement in the slave trade and Portugal getting involved with the gold trade in Africa

•           Europeans has very little of what African traders have, how can they get involved in the gold trade

•           African kingdoms that are mining of gold have a shortage of workers 

•           Portuguese take captives in one part of Africa to another part to develop profit from it in making them work in the kingdoms that are mining gold.

•           Initial engagement of slave trade

•           As more workers are needed in different places in Europe, they turn to portuguals enslaved from Africa

(Origins)

Spanish starting initial buying of enslaved African people and -          Ownership of Enslaved African people becoming aspirational

•           Spanish need workers for mining of silver and people to populate colonies, and know where to get people, the portguese

•           16^th century – buying enslaved people from portguese and populating areas of the parts of South and North America they conquered

•           Other countries/kingdoms originally wanted to emulate Spain since that they are so powerful and see that they have slaves and make the connection Successful colonization/powerful = enslavement

•           There are enslaved people in America from before England stepped foot into America

•           Ownership of Enslaved Africans becomes aspirational

(Why African slavery?)

Counterfactuals

•           Counterfactuals – would’ve made sense to take poor people, prisoners in Europe, why did the load up black people and cross and ocean. Why couldn’t they start growing things and collecting resources in Africa rather than settling in America, why are the selling people across the sea.

•   Just because they thought it made sense and it happened does not make it logical

(Why African Slavery?)

Europeans binding sense of whiteness + African kingdoms

•    Binding sense of whiteness which is allowed protection – thinking different about European people/white from African people

•  European considering African people as different makes them ‘enslaveble’

• Believed Africans are inferior and enslaveable but African kingdoms are more developed with larger armies and more complex/strong metal tools. They cannot conquer because they are too powerful at the time, and because Europeans believe they are enslaveble this pushes them to enslave them more. Not rationally economic or politically all due to personal beliefs.

•           Europeans were only able to colonize Africa in the 19^th century due to development of guns

(Why African slavery?)

Stereotypes developed about African people and how that is reason for them to be enslaved

•           Since Africans live in tropical environment believe they can survive in different areas. Start to have ideas about African physicality, ideas about African intellect.

•           Develop ideas in Europe they are marked, and have low intellect and strong.

•           Created depictions at that time through illustration dehumanizing Africna people. Example shown: Depicted African as bruteish, and portray women with babies that are being breastfeed, (idea that women could breast feed with child on back), depicted women holding umbilical cord, women who just gave birth, and baby is so strong it’s able to feed after birth.

•           When people in Europe/parts of the world that see this type of image being depicted tells them labor is secured for generations to come.

•           Believed African women can reproduce and produce more enslaved people for generations to come.

•           Believed the African women don’t feel pain from childbirth, Eve in the bible’s curse was pain during childbirth- this adds to them not seeing African women as people.

• African women perceived as dual laborers, same as men- doing field work, men are doing all the other jobs stable jobs and cooks. Women produce more offspring. Origins of slavery highly gendered.

(Development)

Sugar production In Barbados + context for selling food

•           1625 – colonized by English, Spain left pigs there, and uninhabited.

•           Sell food – worked into economy

•           Early in 17^th century realize sugar grows well in the environment. “white gold”

•           Need lots of labor and machinery to get sugar.

•           Goes from exclusive luxury item to regular item.

•           Want to keep producing sugar – clear cut whole island, try to bring indentured servants but they couldn’t give land on small islands, then try to use prisoners of war (Irish/Scottish) some escape and complain to parliament about heavy abuse, and parliament says they have to treat the right and give them land, turn to using enslaved African labor, and rest of England/Europe sees on profitable Enslaved African labor is. – despite being expensive they work off their cost quickly and help accumulate profit

(Development)

Spread of slavery due to Barbados

•           Seed pod of slavery

•           During sugar boom/sugar revolution and more English went to Barbados then new England and Virginia combined. Large number of people go and realize they cant make profit since island is so small, but leave with knowledge of slavery.

•           1661Barbados passes comprehensive slave code – first time in English history creates governmental law legalizing and jsutifing slavery

•           Partas – title/worth of mother is the same title/worth of the person born – this law from England is adopted by other nations

•           Larger and larger amounts of trading of enslaved Africans from this onward

•           Early 1700:  2000-5000 Enslaved people imported per year.

•           Slavery providing solution for labor shortages idea stays in North America

•           Very early on there is African people who are born in places like Virginia, African American people were in America