slavery essay topics

slavery essay topics

Slavery and its Impact on Society

1. Introduction

The importance of slavery to the New World colonies and their subsequent development cannot be overstated. While in some areas, such as the Caribbean and Brazil, the population of indigenous peoples was simply exterminated by brutal labor regimes and European diseases, in other areas there was a clear reliance on slave labor to facilitate development in the European missioned sense. For the thirteen American colonies which later formed the United States, this development was greatly inhibited by the construction of an economy which was based upon slave labor. Although colonization by the African nations was not oppressive or detrimental to these nations, their development was greatly inhibited by the extraction of human capital into intercontinental migration for slave labor.

Although slavery was a worldwide institution, its most characteristic form developed in the Americas. Africans were brought in significant numbers to all regions of the Americas except Uruguay/Argentina and the former Portuguese and Spanish possessions in the Pacific and Asia. Large-scale plantation slavery was established within the first half-century of colonization as the primary labor system in the tropics and subtropics of the New World. This was following the example of the Portuguese who maintained a greatly successful sugar colony in Brazil using African slave labor.

There are few institutions which have had such a profound impact on human society as slavery. It existed in various forms throughout history, in all regions of the world. The purpose of this essay is to discuss the impact of slavery and forced labor on economic and social development. After a small consideration of the origins of the institution, the bulk of the essay will discuss the period between the 16th and 19th centuries, and show how slavery affected the economic and social development of the New World colonies, and the United States. The last section will consider how and if slavery has inhibited economic and social development in the 3rd World today. As Cole and Wolf say, globalization requires “some form of extralocal organization, and the creation of such organizations has been a major contribution of world history” (p6). The forced migration and intercontinental relations fostered by slavery have undoubtedly had a great impact on the world. It has seriously inhibited the development of regions where slaves were taken, by creating a brain drain, and a loss of indigenous culture. Racial ideologies which have justified low rank occupations or oppressed status have had very lasting effects. Finally, the resulting globalization of the world economy which is still ongoing today, has both positive and negative implications.

2. Historical Background of Slavery

The period of colonisation gave the opportunity for Europe to exploit Africa and its people by using African resources for Europe’s benefit. But as the primary aim of the colonisation was to enrich the European state, the colony was burdened with the dual and paradoxical need to ‘civilize and develop the colony and to exploit and enrich the home state’. This was often done at the cost of the rights and health of the indigenous peoples through expropriation of land and forced labour. Forced labour had a variety of forms, but the most dehumanising was the use of Africa’s manpower to construct the colonizers’ buildings and carry the colonizers’ goods as shown in this picture. This often involved the forced conscription of labour, sometimes through taxation or it was simply demanded as a ‘favor’ to the colonial government, essentially making it an order.

But one of the most significant factors occurred at the Berlin Conference in 1884. Here, the European powers met and decided how to divide Africa. The decisions made at the Berlin Conference were carried out, very often rather haphazardly, by the colonizing states in the period after the conference. It is because of the Berlin Conference that much of the boundaries created by the colonizers have stayed until today and has caused many problems both then and now in Africa such as tribal tension. This would soon lead to the ‘Scramble for Africa’ where the nations of Europe all rushed into Africa (regardless of being invited or not) eager to not be left behind in resources, men, and areas where another nation might establish a decisive lead. Over time, Africa would lose a total of 10,000 square miles of her territory – including all her richest mineral resources.

The Europeans (both conquerors and the ‘property-less’ poor) solved their social and economic problems by colonies and with the discovery of new lands. The colonisation of Africa occurred in the time between 1870 and 1914. At the time, Africa had a numerous supply of raw materials such as rubber, gold, diamonds, and tin, and a cheap supply of labour. This was perfect for Europe because as a result of the industrial revolution, four great and powerful empires were growing rapidly and they needed raw materials to fuel this growth.

3. The Brutality and Inhumanity of Slavery

As a part of wider Islamic practice, African slavery differed in a number of fundamental ways from its European trans-Atlantic counterpart. Islamic law did not recognize the concept of slaves as non-human chattels. (This assumes that all slaves were chattels and not freed at any time, which is not strictly true – the concept of a slave and a slave’s life varied greatly). While the existence of black slaves as eunuchs, female musicians, and concubines points to the regrettably familiar Islamic preoccupation with the castration and/or sexual exploitation of slaves, at the same time, it provided avenues for social and manumission for black slaves not possessed in the Americas. Owners of slaves in Islamic societies were not seen to be working within a rigid master-slave dichotomy, and there was a large measure of interaction and assimilation between slaves and their owners, and in some cases, slaves were allowed to attain high positions of power and influence.

Without doubt, slavery represented the most daunting aspect of the Islamic impact on Africa. Not only were large numbers of African Muslims enslaved and transported to the Americas, but over three centuries a sizeable number of Africans were employed as soldiers, bureaucrats, and domestic servants within the Ottoman Empire. In many cases, what was originally the elite of African societies (emirs, marabouts, and scholars) found themselves in a grossly inferior position and were subjected to a process of social demotion. This was a result of being far from home on alien territory, in a context where skills and qualifications were not so easily ‘transferable’. For this group, the nature of enslavement was particularly humiliating, and the descendants of these slaves are distinguished by a knowledge of Arabic and Islamic traditions and in some cases reflect fondly on an idealized African past. Such an evolving consciousness over time would have significant ramifications for the African continent.

4. The Abolitionist Movement and Its Achievements

One of the most influential abolitionists was William Wilberforce, who was responsible for spearheading the anti-slavery effort in the English parliament. He was convinced of the wickedness of the slave trade and its inhumane nature by a former slave trader, John Newton. This knowledge, combined with a near-death experience, drove Wilberforce to spend the rest of his life fighting the slave trade. In 1807, the slave trade was abolished in the British Empire, thanks largely to Wilberforce’s efforts. The movement continued in the US, despite being faced with incredible opposition. Americans from the northern states, where slavery was not as prominent as in the south, founded the American Anti-Slavery Society and started publishing newspapers. But at times, the movement took on more radical forms. In 1831, a slave rebellion in Virginia led by Nat Turner killed 55 white people. Although it was small-scale and quickly put down, it struck fear in the hearts of many slave owners and showed the lengths to which slaves were willing to go to obtain their freedom. During the power struggle in Kansas, John Brown led attacks on slave owners and their supporters with the anti-slavery forces and vowed to drive slavery back through the war which he was convinced was coming. These more violent methods ultimately only brought about greater suffering for the slaves. But the situation of slaves was becoming an increasingly important issue in the political arena. By 1864, Lincoln was able to make the abolition of slavery a war goal, and the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 made that goal a reality. This would mark the most significant achievement of the abolitionists and the end of their movement, and the beginning of a new one for the freed slaves.

Abolitionism is the movement to end slavery. The cause was taken up by many famous people. Of all the movements to free the slaves, the movement that was most effective was initiated by a Quaker named Anthony Benezet. He and his friends were the first Americans to take a stand against slavery. They founded the world’s first anti-slavery society. At that time, it was a very unpopular thing to be an abolitionist and they faced incredible amounts of abuse for what they were doing. Benezet actually sweetened the sale of the society’s pamphlets by providing sugar to the printer, which was eventually auctioned off and the proceeds given to slaves. But perhaps the most effective and dramatic abolitionist efforts were those of the black slaves themselves. Many slaves simply ran away from their masters. They would run to the northern states, or Canada, and find freedom. By 1786, black people actually made up the majority of the population in a colony established in Sierra Leone by British abolitionists for freed slaves.

5. Legacy of Slavery in Modern Society

An intricate form of social organization has given specific functions to individual groups based on their caste and color. The inequalities and disparities it created have made it extremely difficult for the United States to uniformly develop and progress. Blacks have suffered through a confusing transformation of attitudes towards their race. From being an exploited group of people who were forced to come to the U.S. to a partially accepted minority, black attitudes towards their identity have no clear definition. They went from being viewed as a child race to being deemed as incompetent, to being part of an elaborate assimilation scheme, to being viewed as an equal in modern society. Steps taken to maintain their race and culture have taken them from isolation to separatism, to an expectancy for cultural pluralism in America. Everyone in the United States in some way, shape, or form is part of an immigrant family. For many, the U.S. was a beacon of hope. The land of the free and the home of the brave, a place where people can go to succeed. Immigrants from all over the world have come to America to seek freedom and prosperity. However, the golden door was not open to everyone. With the foundation of the western hemisphere as a slave labor society, beginning with the subjugation of the Native Americans, the land was constructed with the blood and sweat of slaves. From the time they arrived, immigrants have been able to utilize black subjugation to climb the social and economic ladders. This is true with earlier European immigrants from Ireland and Italy, and later with Asians and Hispanics. Although not entirely causative, the exploitation of cheap labor has been historically connected in some way with the black race. The United States has become a world power through industrialization, and now on a post-industrial level, the divide between the economic haves and have-nots has become extremely apparent. The inferior status of blacks during most of U.S. history has left them without an economic stake in society. With issues including but not limited to slavery, sharecropping, convict leasing, hiring discrimination, wage discrimination, union discrimination, and most recently automation and outsourcing, blacks have remained substantially behind. The disadvantages and obstacles incurred by a race historically oppressed are similar to the challenges of a proletariat rising against an upper class. A benchmark race and class theory.