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THE REALITIES OF SLAVERY
Introduction
There is no consensus on what the slave trade is or how it can be defined. However, the general agreement regards slaves as a mere property possessed by an individual. Slavery was a kind of dependant labor undertaken by captives whose rights were not more than the owner. In ancient days, slaves were acquired either by capture in a war or as an incentive to warriors. Others were sold into slavery by their kin to clear debts or avoid a punishment. In modern society, child forced labor, child sex trafficking, unlawful recruitment, and use of child soldiers are some form of modern slavery. Since it is not voluntary, slavery has negatively affected individual lives and causes civil unrest in most communities. This paper, therefore, Intends to discuss the basis of slavery in the American colonies, the reality of slavery and its role in causing civil wars.
The American Colonies and slavery
Slavery has been there throughout the world from ancient times and is equally universal. According to Las Casas, It was Spaniard’s poor treatment of the Indians that brought about the scheme that Spanish was vicious and inhumane. English critics then seized the initiative to back their colonization project by pinning down the Spanish to justify their effort as civilized (Bartolome, 1542). However, all colonizers had no regard for Indians. Indians were not the only supply of affordable labor; Africans, too, became a reliable source of cheap labor. Hundreds and thousands of Africans supported the establishment and survival of colonies in America and the New World. In the 17th century, European settlers in North America, who viewed Africans as non-Christians, chose to enslave Africa as a cheaper labor supply (Bartolome, 1542). The desire for slavery was chiefly shaped by the need for inexpensive labor to produced raw materials for the European market. Various crops grown in America were not found in other parts of Europe, and trading such crops to New World proved lucrative. Thus, West Africa became a prime source for enslaved cheap labor to meet and produce a reliable supply of beneficial cash crops.
The realities of slavery
Treatment of slaves varied by time and place but was usually brutal, particularly on farms where molestation and rape were frequent. They had no power over their lives, and those who resisted were physical, mental, and sexually abused. According to Las Casas, slaves were sometimes required to whip other slaves, whether family members or not. Women were valued for their fertility and projected the value of the future increase (Bartolome, 1542). Their owners legally used enslaved women as sex objects with those who tried to resist sexual attacks meeting their deaths. Slavery was a diverse economic institution with diversity reflected in their prices, and they understood that they were like commodities (Bartolome, 1542). Sexual relations between master and a slave to sire slave children was a common practice with women who were in a position to sire many children getting favors.
Role of slavery in causing the civil war
Rebellions among enslaved people did occur. The uprising that terrified enslavers was witnessed in 1831 in Southampton County, Virginia, led by Nat Turner (Broxton, 2010). The incident put fear among the natives resulting in even harsh laws against slaves. It intensified the splint between slaveholders and anti-slave crusaders who were advocating for free speech, free labor, and free men. The laws enacted in the aftermath of the rebellion forced widespread illiteracy among the slaves; movement and assembly of slaves were also prohibited.
On the other hand, the rebellion put to an end the notion that slaves were contented, and cannot rebel. The long term consequence of Nut Turner’s rebellion was that it set a stage in the United States by strengthening abolitionists and enslavers (Wish, 1937). The increased oppression of black people fueled the growth of the abolitionist movement, which gained strength between the years 1830 to 1860. The campaign was led by Fredrick Douglas, who urged that slavery was a sin and had no economic sense.
In as much as a debate on the abolition of slavery is continuing, modern slavery is still in increase. It must sink that men are all equal and were all created with some unalienable rights. All efforts must now be put to ensure that this illegal and inhumane practice ends. By this, slavery will only remain within the history books.
Work cited
Bartolomé de Las Casas’s A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies, written in 1542 and published ten years later, detailed for Prince Philip II of Spain how Spanish colonists had been mistreating natives.
Benjamin Franklin, A Narrative of the Late Massacres, in Lancaster County, of a Number of Indians, Friends of this Province, By Persons Unknown. With some Observations on the same. (Philadelphia, 1764).
Buxton, Thomas Fowell. The Remedy: Being a Sequel to the African Slave Trade. Cambridge University Press, 2010.
Wish, Harvey. “American Slave Insurrections Before 1861.” The Journal of Negro History 22.3 (1937): 299-320.