Difference of Treatment between American and British Slaves in the Caribbean - Research Paper Example

? Thesis ment: The American Slavery and British Slavery were diverse in their own respect, yet they both comprise evident impact on their culture today. Introduction: Slavery is a process underlying which the populace taken care of as a mere property and the process of buying and selling carried out, the slaves are often forced or compelled to work against their will. Conventionally, slavery was acknowledged as an institutions found in many societies, in the current times the slavery has been regarded as against the law in societies, yet it is functional in some of them in the form of debt bondage, adoption, where children are forced to work or are placed in captivity. Slavery is considered to be illegal in many countries around the globe yet it is functioning with an estimate of 29.8 million slaves. This research is intended to look at the comparison among the slavery of America and British. The trend of slavery can be traced back since the beginning in both the countries, therefore, the trends have been different diverse in both the countries. At some point they have been extremely rigid and at times it have proven to be beneficial in the case of vegetation. The essential thing is that despite all the differences slavery has marked out the impacts in their culture even today. By the 1833 Parliament eventually eliminated slavery in the British Caribbean and the Cape. The slave trade was believed to be ceased in 1807; yet, it took another 26 years to influence the restraint of the imprisoned. Out of 16 million 10 million Africans sustained the journey to the New world, approximately one-third grounded in Brazil and among 60-70 percent ended up either in Brazil or the sugar colonies of the Caribbean (Higman 1995, 397)1. Among all of this merely 6 percent landed in United States. However, by 1860, round about two thirds of all New World slaves resided in the American South. Since a very long time it was broadly believed that southern slavery was unsympathetic and unkind as compared to the slavery in Latin America, where the church of Catholic emphasized had the right to get married, to request for leniency from an unsympathetic master and to buy their own sovereignty. Spanish and Portuguese colonists were considered to be comparatively less contaminated by ethnic prejudice than Latin American and North American slavery was considered to be fewer subject to the demands of an aggressive capitalist economy. In reality, nor the Church neither the courts endowed security to Latin American slaves. Right to use to sovereignty was larger in Latin America, however, in most of the cases masters untied, old age, smashed or merely unnecessary slaves in order to free themselves from the economic burden. Death rates amid slaves in the Caribbean were comparatively higher than that of South, and the trend of suicide were more common. Unusual the slaves in the South, the West Indian slaves were anticipated to make their own food whenever they had spare time and to take care for the elderly and the unwell. The biggest divergence amid slavery within Latin America and the South is based upon demographic. The population trend of slaves in Brazil and the West Indies consisted of fewer proportions of female’s slaves, a comparatively less birth rate and an elevated proportion of the immigrants from Africa. In a prominent distinction, southern slaves comprised of a fair ratio of sex, an increased birth rate and a principally American national populace (Lewis 2003, 299)1. The slave rate in the United States was mostly different in the capability of the population to raise its number by the process of natural reproduction. In the Brazil, Caribbean and Dutch Guiana, the death rate of the slave was elevated and the rate of birth rate of the slaves was low to such an extent that they themselves could not resist their populace devoid of imports from. The approximate number of children born in the beginning of 19th century of southern slave woman was about 9.2 as compared to others (Hagadorn 1851, 31)2. As in the Caribbean out of the entire population about 80-90 percent consisted of slaves, in comparison to that south comprised of only one third of the population as slaves. Due to these reasons the size of the vegetation also was different. In the Caribbean, comparatively slaves had bigger units, with vegetation’s and plantations holding of 150 or more than those slaves. On the other hand in the American South, just one slave owner comprised of more than one thousand slaves Africa. The trend in United States was that more than half of all slaves functioned on factions of twenty or less than that. The demographics distinction comprised essential social suggestions. In the American South, slaves resided by growing their own plantations and slaves were obliged to deal with their masters on daily basis. Subsequently after the journey of Columbus, word spread in all over the Europe of a plentiful new-fangled land that was awaited to be settled. As the Europeans desired to enlarge the lands they were in dire need for goods to trade, however, the chief European powers such as the Spanish, French and the Dutch transferred into the Caribbean. When the Europeans arrived there, they faced the conventional or traditional people who were already residing there. These people belonged to the Carib and Taino tribes, which were previously living peacefully and eventually turned out to be against each other. European didn’t find the tribes sufficient or capable enough for slave trade, result of that was they started exterminating most of the people. Slaves were sent through ships to the Western Coast of Africa where the slave trade was more vigorous and triumphant. The slave culture in the Caribbean developed as the slaves were brought in the Caribbean via Africa at a very fast speed, which depicted that the slave population formulated most of the Caribbean population which was about 85 percent which compared to the slaves of United States, was way higher (Lewis Solow and L. Engerman 2004, 47)3. This element, among other elements as maintenance of tribal religion and lingo, and runaway plantation possession endowed for an innovative type of slave culture. Insurgence was the usual amid the slaves within the Caribbean, who took up various patterns such as escape, suicide, self-damaging and death of infants. The slave culture developed a lot within the Caribbean in many ways which could not have been flourished in the same way in the United States. Another difference was that the even though the slaves were taught in English, yet on many plantations within the Caribbean it was not prohibited to converse in their own native language at work. The slaves were also closely associated with an increased number of interactions amid them as the plantations were not large enough. In the United states the treatment that slaves got was usually and rude and ridiculing, thrashing, beatings, punishments and the rapes were quite common, yet the American slave culture developed all over the globe. The United States slave culture heavily depended upon various African tribal traditions which included the vigorous group worship and storytelling. The slaves were also prohibited to even read or write by the laws. They remunerated with the verbal types of communication, the storytelling and music trend. Eventually the slave culture comprised of the American Christian traditions (David Smith 1999, 76)4. Above all most the slaves also developed or comprised their own gardens; having trade by selling or buying or manufacturing but only if they got the approval or consent from their masters. Once they obtained this consent they employed different procedures to get their own self-determination. The slaves also had the concept of kitchen garden economy which was the concept in which a minute community produced something as in plantations within their own economy. The slaves were able to have financial dealings which each other because of which they were able to get freedom as well. The treatment as discussed above was also very rigid, the important thing was that the United Sates treatment for the slaves also differed depending upon place and time but broadly it was very discouraging and strict. Slavery comprised an entirely malevolent influence on the establishment of the African-American culture. Therefore, this influence gave birth to various elements, not merely to the solutions. The devastation of the former culture and the elimination from their heritage, their incapability to socialize as slaves and the influence of slavery subsequent to emancipation all of them had a negative impact on the African- American culture. Due to slavery, the Africans entirely mislead their legacy and their prior culture. They were departed from their families and other items related to their culture were to be taken away. The real meanings of the names and the named were also not considered. They were given new names by their ,masters and those names that the masters doled out to them were based upon whim devoid of any acknowledgement of their former name or what they wanted their names to be. They were not even permitted to perform their own traditions, customs and rituals on their religion. Each and everything that was previously a part of their culture would not be related to their present lives anymore (J. Davis 1995)5.The association or the communication was also disturbed among the slaves as they all belonged to diverse cultures and religions. Likewise, the slaves weren’t even permitted to utter or converse in their languages. This also caused a problem as they didn’t know much English so they communication among them was not effective. As the slaves were frightened that the capability to communicate and aptitude resulted in slaves to run away or revolt or raise conflicts, the slaves were not permitted to learn anything that would have possibly given them the advantage intellectually. After the emancipation of slaves, the slavery still continued to have a continuous spited influence on their culture. They based much of their music and arts on the slavery and the memories derived from the past of slavery. Slavery also gave rise to the racial issues and the racial disadvantage, which lead them to fight or struggle for over a century. The main impact is that they yet haven’t completely got over this issue. The racism that the American went through led them to be amalgamated together as a family. The influence of the memories and racism of slavery has made the Americans to formulate a culture depended upon their resistance and conquering racism, relatively than a general practice or general religion. Conclusion: Slavery has placed an impossible to remove the influence on African-Americans generally. Prevailing over such an issue is out of the mark, and reminiscences of slavery will always be with them. The elimination of their culture, the limitations as slaves and the influence of slavery subsequent to liberation all unenthusiastically exaggerated the culture they formulated. Even though the impacts of American culture are without a doubt prominent in modern-day Caribbean community, many of the African culture conveyed over by slaves still subsists and is foundation of respect for many Caribbean populations in the current times. Bibliography: David Smith, John. Slavery, Race, and American History: Historical Conflict, Trends, and Method, 1866-19531. M.E. Sharpe, 1999. Hagadorn, William. A Comparison of American and British Slavery. E. B. Thomas, 1851. Higman, B. W.. Slave Populations of the British Caribbean, 1807-1834. Press, University of the West Indies, 1995. J. Davis, Darien. Slavery and Beyond: The African Impact on Latin America and the Caribbean. Rowman & Littlefield, 1995. Lewis Solow, Barbara and Stanley L. Engerman. British Capitalism and Caribbean Slavery: The Legacy of Eric Williams. Cambridge University Press, 2004. Lewis, Linden. The Culture of Gender and Sexuality in the Caribbean. University Press of Florida, 2003. Read More