Slavery in Early American History - Coursework Example

SLAVERY IN EARLY AMERICAN HISTORY Introduction The need for slavery in America was majorly due to the labor shortages and the need for economic survival. Slavery which began slowly as an economic necessity in the1600 and 1700’s over the time has lead way to oppression and hatred towards men of different beliefs, appearance and practices. Slavery was not immediately established in early America and the details of the process cannot be reconstructed. Slave trade origins, impacts and the racial discrimination factors are discussed. The ugly face of slave trade especially on the slave ships are analysed. The unthinking decision The decision to enslave the Negros was based on capitalism ideas. The reason that capitalism grew is majorly due to slave trade in the early 1700. The objective of slave trade was expansion of the trade and the major factor for making the decision was the population of the blacks. Once the Africans become slaves the Americans looked down upon them (Jordan, 1974) though the Africans were the major reason for the industrialization in America. When the Englishmen crossed the Atlantic to settle in America they were under strain themselves as many had died within a year and they were in an alien place cut off from all familiar things, friends and family. There was great pressure built up within them. The land was plentiful and the resources were abundant in American and the only thing missing was the labor power. There were many forms of labor prevalent but the one most rooted in the American history is slavery which began in the 1600’s. The slave lost all his freedom and though it did not say anything about life term labor it finally ended up that way. Though the economic and capitalistic ideas were the basic forces behind slavery, the difference in all aspects from the physical to the individual intellects and beliefs were the major factors that led to degradation of Africans in English America (Jordan, 1974). In the cultural aspects the Negros were helpless in the face of the European technology and aggressiveness. The pressing situation as far as the Americans were concerned was shortage of labor and when they found they had a major human resource they could utilize the slavery regime started. The heathen condition of the Negros seemed to be the important factor behind the enslavement. The greatest factor which differentiated the African from the Americans other than the color was religion. The Englishmen were Christians and there are reported incidents on conversions on a mass scale of African slaves even from the 1600’s. Also most of the slaves were not able to ward of the masters that is the Englishmen even if they wanted to and heathenism was associated in the minds of the enslavers in the early stages if African slavery. Evolution of the slave ship European rulers used the revolutionary technology to travel the sea to great distances, the ship as an enslavement device. The ship was central to the economic advancements of the English Men and this is the manner in which the English men landed in America after crossing the Atlantic Ocean (Jordan, 1974). The slavery in ship had its origins owing it to the economic needs and urgencies which existed in America in the early 1700’s. European servants the Negros were purchased by planters and were brought in large numbers ship after ship in large numbers for production purposes. The production unit was assembled using slaves in large numbers and the slaves operated under close and violent supervision. The politics of the slave ship was a complex one and it was dominated by violence according to Rediker. Often the crew itself was treated as poorly as the slaves themselves. Slaves who did not obey and got out of the line were killed most disgracefully and thrown in holds in the ships as a warning to the other slaves. Ship captains wielded the ultimate power over the slaves and the stench in the ship was unbearable. “Slavery is a big part of our history. Its legacy has racial extremes and inequality. I believe we have to face it” Rediker says. The slave ship was an instrument of terror and it became a floating dungeon of horrors. The merchants required mass human labor and so slaves were transported from their home land especially Africans in large numbers and were assembled in the plants. The supervision of the slaves was very strict and the punishments given out to slaves not abiding by the rules were horrific. Killing a slave was not considered a violation of the law, so one can imagine the extent to which the slaves were oppressed. The merchants did not even treat the slaves like human beings. They were just workers to be discarded if found to be of no use or killed if found to not do what they are told to work on. A large number of the slaves suffered extreme terror and many died in horrific conditions that one finds hard to even imagine. Before the purchase of a slave the master did an examination of the physique of the slave. Many Africans have stood up against the slavery system and a man who refused to do so got ferocious whipping with a cutting Manatee strap. But the man in this particular incident took it all without showing the pain he was suffering. He is referred to as Captain Tomba and he was a leader for amongst his fellow slaves. But eventually he was bought by a merchant and after that his fate remains unknown. The way the death sentence was given out to the slaves was a cruel one. The slaves who disobeyed were whipped and slashed with knives before the others until they died. There were sharks in large numbers and the killed slaves were thrown over unceremoniously to be ripped apart by sharks. Flogging was the main way used by the merchants to make the slaves work until they died. The tormentor tongs was heated to extremes and placed on the body of the slaves to make them work faster. Conclusion Slavery though it started with an economical outlook due to the pressing conditions later took an ugly form in America. The major factors which led to slavery were economic reasons, the basic difference between the Americans and Africans in terms of color, religion and the advancement in technology the Americans had. The Slave ships were horror vessels and the treatment of the slaves in these ships were so horrifying that killing the slaves was a daily affair done without any consideration given to the value of human life. Reference Winthrop D. Jordan’s The White Man’s Burden: Historical Origins of Racism in the United States (Oxford University Press, 1974) Read More