Reasons & Origins of Slavery Notes

Background

1. The origins of slavery in the New World were tied to European colonization and the expansion of plantation economies.
2. 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.
3. 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

1. European colonization depended on plantation agriculture for profit.
2. Sugar and tobacco plantations required large, disciplined workforces.
3. Europeans viewed slavery as an economic necessity to sustain export-based economies.

Decline of Indigenous Labor

1. Indigenous populations fell sharply due to smallpox, measles, and brutal working conditions.
2. Attempts to enslave Indigenous peoples often failed due to resistance, escape, and depopulation.
3. 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

1. African kingdoms and coastal traders became active participants in the trade, capturing or purchasing prisoners of war to exchange for European goods.
2. Europeans offered guns, textiles, metal tools, and alcohol in return for enslaved people.
3. This exchange deepened economic ties between Europe and Africa while destabilizing many African societies.