Background
- The origins of slavery in the New World were tied to European colonization and the expansion of plantation economies.
- As Spain, Portugal, and later Britain and France established colonies, they needed a large, controllable labor force to cultivate high-demand crops such as sugar, tobacco, and cotton.
- The rapid decline of Indigenous populations due to disease and warfare forced European colonizers to turn to Africa for labor, creating a transatlantic system that transformed global trade and human history.
Economic Foundations of Slavery
The Demand for Labor
- European colonization depended on plantation agriculture for profit.
- Sugar and tobacco plantations required large, disciplined workforces.
- Europeans viewed slavery as an economic necessity to sustain export-based economies.
Decline of Indigenous Labor
- Indigenous populations fell sharply due to smallpox, measles, and brutal working conditions.
- Attempts to enslave Indigenous peoples often failed due to resistance, escape, and depopulation.
- The labor shortage created a demand for African labor, which European traders could acquire through established networks along the West African coast.
The Growth of the Atlantic Slave Trade
African Involvement
- African kingdoms and coastal traders became active participants in the trade, capturing or purchasing prisoners of war to exchange for European goods.
- Europeans offered guns, textiles, metal tools, and alcohol in return for enslaved people.
- This exchange deepened economic ties between Europe and Africa while destabilizing many African societies.
The Triangular Trade
- The Triangular Trade linked Europe, Africa, and the Americas in a global economic system.
- European ships carried goods to Africa, enslaved Africans to the Americas, and raw materials such as sugar, cotton, and tobacco back to Europe.
- The system made slavery central to both European wealth and colonial success.
Definition
Triangular Trade
A three-part Atlantic trading system in which European goods were exchanged for enslaved Africans, who were then sold in the Americas. Profits from colonial products returned to Europe, completing the triangle.
Ideological Justifications and Global Impact
Racism and Justification
- Europeans developed racist ideologies to rationalize slavery, portraying Africans as inferior and suited for servitude.
- Religious and pseudo-scientific arguments claimed slavery was natural or divinely sanctioned.
- These ideas laid the foundation for centuries of racial hierarchy and discrimination.
Mercantilism and Plantation Growth
- European mercantilism depended on accumulating wealth through colonial production and trade monopolies.
- The plantation system, reliant on enslaved labor, became the engine of colonial economies in the Caribbean, Brazil, and the American South.
- By the seventeenth century, slavery was no longer an exception. It was a global economic institution.
Definition
Mercantilism
An economic theory that emphasized accumulating wealth through colonies and trade monopolies. Colonies provided raw materials and markets for European manufactured goods.
Common Mistake
- Oversimplifying causes : Students often claim slavery existed “because Europeans were racist,” without connecting it to economic motives and labor shortages after Indigenous decline.
- Ignoring African involvement : Many forget that some African rulers and traders participated in the trade, which complicates the narrative.
- Not distinguishing between slavery and the slave trade. Students sometimes treat them as the same thing, rather than understanding that slavery (the system) and the slave trade (the process) had distinct developments and consequences.
Exam technique
- Use causation structure : When answering “reasons for” questions, divide points into economic, social, and political causes to organize your essay clearly
- Include short-term and long-term causes : For example, the immediate need for labor after colonization (short-term) vs. the growth of global capitalism (long-term).
- Add at least one regional comparison — Mention differences between Caribbean, Brazilian, and North American slavery to show a strong grasp of the “across the Americas” focus of Paper 3.
Self review
- Examine the economic and demographic factors that led to the establishment of slavery in the Americas.
- To what extent was racism a cause or a consequence of slavery in the Atlantic world?
- Compare and contrast the origins of slavery in the Caribbean and North America.
