Slavery study guide
Introduction to slavery
-A slave is a person who is owned by someone else and is forced to work for that person the master is the owner of the slave.
-Before the areas in the Atlantic world got into contact this was what was occurring in each:
Europe: After going through the Dark ages Europe was experiencing a boom in arts and science known as the renaissance. In pursuit of trade they were searching for a way to Asia. The Portuguese went East met Africa and went around Africa. The Spanish went west and Columbus met America. (1400s)
Africa: Had already experienced great growth through the Mali, Ghana, and Songhay empires.
America: Had developed various civilizations and were well developed groups with great technology.
-Europeans meet the Africans: The Portuguese began to make contact with the Africans especially within the western coast they brought manufactured goods and traded them for captives. The African clans in order to trade began to invade and capture other clans. Among the captured were scientists, writers, doctors, architects, mathematicians etc.
-IN AMERICA: Columbus had caused a great influx of Europeans that began to note the resources and the potentiality for developing agricultural products that needed man power. After trying to enslave the natives a priest that defended the natives Bartolomeo de las Casas suggested to the king that “his majesty should send to each on island 500 or 600 blacks or whatever number seems appropriate.
-The Atlantic: the Atlantic world can be defined as the interaction among the peoples and empires nearing the Atlantic. Its principal theme is the movement of peoples, ideas and things in the Atlantic World.
Transatlantic slave trade
-The transatlantic trade involved the cycle in which Europeans would take manufactured goods to trade for captives in Africa. The captives would then be requested in America so they were taken to America to work. From America the Europeans took the raw materials to Europe to manufacture things and the cycle continued.
-The journey of the captives: After the Africans were captured by other African clans they were chained and walked to the dungeons/baracoons. There they were placed in the prison like fort where they would not be allowed out until the European traders would come about to trade. Once the Europeans came, the captives were inspected by a doctor if the captive passed he/she would be branded if not they would be killed.
-Horrendous Middle-passage: Once they passed the inspection they would then be packed like animals on the ship to go through the most terrifying part of the trade where many of them died of sicknesses, some were thrown overboard, they live in inhumane conditions as a result of course there were slave rebellions on board.
-In the settlement the captives were needed in the logwood and mahogany camps which were small temporary isolated camps where small scale operations occurred. They worked in the following positions:
- Huntsmen; search and survey the forest to locate Mahogany
- Axe-men: Cut down the tree--Swinging a heavy axe on a Barbeque and remove branches
- Cattlemen: responsible for feeding the cows and moving the logwood/mahogany to the river bank
- Food preparations and provisions: responsible for cooking for the gang in camp.
IN town: Domestics who were responsible to clean the house cook and do all house affairs; Cultivations workers responsible for growing ground food and vegetables.
Slave treatment
-Slaves were given severe punishment although they were very expensive they were still treated like animals.
-Apart from being treated bad they were given rations of 5 lbs salt pork, 7 lbs flour, Yams, sugar, plantains, rice and salt.
-The law system to control slavery was controlled by the elites who would use the laws to their benefit also the slaves were not primarily protected in the laws system for instance in the case of peggy it is evident.
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-Two major revolts in Belize are in 1773 6 white men were killed and 5 logwood camps were taken over by 50 slaves, soldiers had to be sent from Jamaica also in 1820 there was another revolt led by will and sharper it lasted 1 month.
-Slaves ran away to Spanish territories to Peten (Guatemala), Bacalar (Mexico), Omoa and Trujillo (Honduras) they also ran away to create maroon communities (maroonage) which were people who escaped slavery to create independent groups and communities on the outskirts of slave societies.
Work against slavery
-Manumission was a way to get legal freedom it could be done in the following ways: buy your freedom, free slaves buy over the freedom of another slave, masters let slave free, and masters in their will give freedom
-Slavery was being ended because the Europeans were afraid due to slave resistance, industrialist, humanitarians and parliamentarians began to fight against slavery.
-Abolition: Abolition putting an end to something by law. Slavery was abolished in 1834 to introduce and apprenticeship system.
-APPRENTICESHIP SYSTEM: It was a system that was proposed for: Six (6) years of apprenticeship, ex-slaves worked for their ex-masters, for 45 hours a week any work after that was to be paid, any slave older than 6 was to become an apprentice, the system was cut down to 4 years.
- In 1838 emancipation was received which is the process of being set free from legal, social, or political restrictions. Freedom from bondage.