Slavery and the Rise of Capitalism - Essay Example

Introduction: The debate over slavery is prevalent with the issues such as ideology and culture. It is a fact that once the ideology and culture has legitimized slavery. But, during the 17th and 18th century, the economic production and the industrialization have played a major role in legitimizing the system of slavery. The relationship between slavery and the capitalist development is the vital problem in understanding the evolution of the Atlantic trade up to 1860. The historians such as Davis Eltis and Robin black Burn were argued strongly on these issues. They view the system of slavery as the greatest tragedies of history. In the year between 1526 and 1867 Sub Saharan Africa lost more than 12.5 million people. Slavery is the universal phenomena which have existed from the early history of the human being. Even though the ideologies and the culture have influence on the system of slavery the industrialization and the capitalist development boosted up slavery. The cultural and ideological features of the society acted as the catalyst for the system of slavery. Along with the development of the human society, the nature and complexity of the slave system also developed. Robin Black burn points out that slavery is the dark side of human progress. “Robin Blackburn suggests that it points us towards the "dark side of progress" (p5) in that the inhumanity of the system developed side by side with huge steps forward in knowledge and technique, such as the exploration of the Atlantic and the development of new navigational techniques.” (Blackburn & Verso 1998). Europeans are not sold as chattel slaves. There are many reasons for this. The cultural background may be one reason. During the middle ages, the white Christians were not bought as slaves because they belong to an implicit community. The law enforced a clear distinction between the punitive and chattel slavery. Due to this, the chattel slavery has virtually disappeared from northern Europe by about1400. The basis of the implicit community was ethnicity rather than religion. Punitive Slavery – non capital crimes lead them to Mediterranean life. Galley slavery - Theologians could cite unambiguous scriptural authority for hereditary slavery for outsiders which many be a punishment for original sin. Baptism does not redeem a black skin from slavery. In the book of Genesis in Bible, we cannot find out any proof from the Bible that the nations of Ham are black. But, the genealogies and apocryphal remarks imply that the nations of Ham are migrated to other lands notably to Ethiopia. The Ethiopia came to be inhabited by black people. The literal reading of bible sanctions that black people were divinely ordained for perpetual servitude. The classical heritage also implies some justification to link religious dogmas by the Europeans. This entire cultural and dogmatic background act as a rationale to the black slavery. Secondly, Aristotle has asserted that the barbarians were slaves by nature. It is like the superior and inferior relationship existing in the house such as the child to the father, wife to the husband; body to mind etc. Slavery lay in the slave’s innate, natural inferiority. Aristotle did not mean that black people were naturally inferior, rather he pointed that they used the barbarous practices. Aristotle thoughts also encouraged the Europeans to strengthen the idea that some were born as slaves. The rationale did not elaborate before the great acceleration of the trade in the late 17th century. All these ideologies acted as the motivating force to make the system of slavery an accepted social reality. All these ideological and cultural complexes normalized African slavery in the eyes of the European eyes. The Atlantic trade was developed and eventually dominated by English colonial system. It later paved the way to the English industrialization. Most of the enslaved people were brought from Africa to America. The slaves were brought here to work on sugar coffee, cocoa and cotton plantations. The other destination of the slaves were gold and silver mines, rice fields and is for household services. The places were the slaves worked shows that the servitude is primary for economic benefits. Even though the Atlantic slave trade has boosted up by the ideological and the cultural backgrounds, the primary issue is about the slavery and the capitalist development. Once up on a time, tea was a luxury drink affordable only to the high class people. But during the end of the 17th century, the luxury drink has reached to the life of the poor people. The high class people used the drink only at mornings and evenings. But the poor consumed an enormous amount of tea during the dinner time also. Globalization of trade and slavery are able to make these changes. The story of Tea itself can tell the relation between slavery, colonial trade and economic growth. Tobacco, coffee, rice, cocoa, indigo, and sugar were the import commodities produced by the slaves. Sugar cane was the most important product till the emergence of raw cotton. Until 1820, sugar cane was overtaken by another slave plantation; row cotton. The tea imports reached $ 1510 in AD1800 in AD1700. The total import value increased from 5843 in 1700 to 30,571 in 1800. The balance of trade was highly favourable. During the 17th century, the exports exceeded imports by$4.862 million. The trade has developed eventually as a result of the development of the Atlantic slave trade. Major imports to Britain in the late 18th century were done by the slaves. During the 17th and the 18th century the slave population has contributed their labour for the development of transatlantic market. The 17th and the 18th century were remarkably noted centuries in the development of globalization and industrialization. The colonialism further justified the system of slavery. The industrial revolution has started to operate in two dimensions such as the structural change of labour force and the innovation of the technologies. The slave population in the agricultural sector started to work in the manufacturing sector. Secondly, the growing percentage of the technological innovation began. The industrial revolution paved the platform for the increase for agricultural production and economic situation. Large scale economic and agricultural production was happened only with the introduction of the African slaves. A famous thinker Inikori suggests that the Atlantic trade is the contribution of the African slaves to the British Industrial revolution. The major commodities of the Atlantic trade were produced by the enslaved Africans. “The slave population of the Americas reached 33,000 in 1700, nearly three million in 1800 and peaked at over six million in 1850. During this period a million and a half died during the passage to the New World, large numbers died beforehand and between a tenth and a fifth died within a year of landing.” (Blackburn & Verso 1998). The England’s unique economic positions were backed up by there colonies. During the end of the 17th century, the demands for the slave plantation exports were raised rapidly. This compelled the industrializing countries to give more profit for the increase in the production and benefit. As a result of this, the mid 17th century witnessed the rapid increase in the plantation in the English Caribbean. Eric William argues that racism is originated as a result of the slave plantation. For example, the slave plantation required a platform for the joint action with the poor white labourers and the African blacks. The poor white labourer eventually started to feel that they have the racial supremacy over the blacks. The poor intellectual capacity of the blacks also acted as a trigger factor for this. Gradually, the white’s labourers developed the racist supremacy over the Blacks. The atmosphere resulted in great rebellion between the whites and the blacks. This rebellion further resulted in the segregation of different racial groups. The authorities also threatened these emerging situations. Increasingly, the whites started to identify them as a privileged race by themselves. The Bacon rebellion in Virginia is an example for this. The Atlantic slave trade reflected dramatic changes in the commercial organization of the early modern capitalism. The slave population of America reached 33,000 in 1700. It was keeping on increasing from 33,000 to three million in 1800 and Six million in1850. The national chartered corporation maintained the monopoly over purchasing and shipping of the African slaves. They monitored shipping and sending of slaves to different colonies. Slavery and serfdom were both institutionalized and embedded in the American colonies and on the Russian Steppe. Most agrarian workers were serfs in the medieval Western Europe. They bound to the land and compelled to render dues to their lord or seignior. In the Western Europe, the Serfdom existed in a small number but it becomes wide spread in the Eastern Europe. During the mid 15thand the 17th century, Russia become the gigantic royal domain owned by Tsar; who was a lord and the population under him is known as kholphy. The subjects under the tsar (the land lords) worked for the benefit of the tsar and they yielded profit to the property of the tsar. By 1650s serfdom was not formally promulgated; but instituted piecemeal in tow lengthy phases. By the year 1600 serfdom was an economic and social reality. But, it should be formally systematized in law. During the end of the 17th century serfdom made institutionalized. Slavery in the US coexisted with the worlds most advanced democracy and most legalistic political society. Intermesh of these institutions started with the state formation of the USA and tsarist empire. Supporters of the argue that the system of slavery existed in all the societies. The Atlantic slave system has a background or previous systems. The new system of slavery has extended in its scale and transformed in its form. Blackburn tries to trace the system of slavery to the existing pattern of slavery in Africa. The Atlantic trade developed and eventually dominated by English colonial system later paved way to the English industrialization. England’s economic position got the momentum by development of the colonies. Capitalist transformation leads to the formation of landless proletariat. Till the 15thcentury, the entire globe was moving along with the dogmas given by the religion. The period between 5th and the 15th century is known as the Dark Age. The Devine right theory also played an important role in making the subject under the control of kings. It is believed that the power of the king is given by the God Himself. Hence, it is an authority beyond questions. The system of slavery existed during that time was considered as the ideology and the culture. From the beginning of the 15th century, the reformation and the renaissance paved the way to the freedom to the individuals. The enlightenment and the renaissance have freed the individual from the guidance of religion, ideologies and the culture. The beginning of the 17th century is noted with the starting of the industrialization. The structural change and the invention of innovative technologies paved the way to the industrialization. The increase in production with cheep labor brought huge amount of profit to the countries like Briton. The Atlantic slave system worked on these dimension. The cheep labour was sourced from the African slaves. Hence the relationship between the slavery and capitalist development is the central problem in understanding the evolution of Atlantic economy up to 1860 The Atlantic system of economy has backed up the economic system of Briton in the 18th century. The slave crop plantation has give rise to a new world order in consumption. The slave system generated surplus production with cheep labour the colonies also acted as a markets for the produced goods. The 18th and the 17th centuries were marked by the clear distinction of labour. The slave plantation were able to provide the British consumers with there favourite luxury goods such as sugar, tobacco and row cotton. The economic development and the fiscal capital of the Briton were intimately connected with the Atlantic slave systems. Conclusion: The slave plantation crops have assisted the economic development in many ways. The development in the economy also booted up the system of industrialization. The system of slavery was helpful since it owed cheep labour force. The ideologies and the culture acted as a platform for considering the slave system as a justifiable social system in the mind of Europeans. Reference List Blackburn, R. & Verso., 1998. Slavery and the rise of capitalism. [Online] Socialism Today. Available at: http://www.socialismtoday.org/33/slavery33.html [Accessed 28 June 2010]. Read More