How Africans Became Integral to New World History

Economic Determinism and New World Slavery

Historical Views: Historians, including Marxists, viewed New World slavery as economically driven due to labor shortages and vast lands.
David Eltis's Argument: Western Europeans would have revived white slavery if economic forces alone were considered — cheaper than going to West Africa for slaves. Cultural forces (religion, unity) prevented white slavery revival.

Religious Influence: Christianity vs. Islam influenced slave labor sources over time.
European Unity: Cultural unity among Western European Christians prevented enslavement of their own.
Ceremonial Practices: Liberating enslaved Christians promoted the belief that Western European Christians were inherently free.

Religious and Philosophical Sanctions: Western religious and philosophical heritage supported slavery from Greco-Roman to Renaissance periods.
Medieval Arab Influence: Arabs' enslavement of black Africans set precedents for European views on suitability for brutal labor.
Racist Stereotypes: Racist interpretations and fears (e.g., biblical curse of Ham) deepened with the Portuguese import of West African slaves.
Symbolism of Color: Negative connotations of the color black reinforced existing prejudices.

Georgia Law of 1735: Initially excluded slavery, repealed in 1750 to match economic needs and to secure against Spanish Florida.
Caribbean and South American Colonies: High demand for African slaves, constituting up to 90% in some areas.
1647-1820: Notable migration of African slaves outnumbered European migration significantly.

Portuguese Discoveries: Initial reliance on West Africans for man-power due to limited alternatives post-Ottoman capture of Constantinople in 1453.
West African Trade Dynamics: African elites and the economics of supplying European demands.

Italian Involvement: Italian bankers and traders' transition from Black Sea trades to Atlantic slave trade investment.
Portuguese and Discoveries: Impact on global trade routes and settlement patterns in madira, Sa, and other Atlantic Islands.

Transatlantic Slave Trade: Horrific conditions aboard slave ships documented from mid-1500s to 1800s.
French and British Involvement: Dominance in slave transport through the 17th and 18th centuries.
African Participation: African rulers and merchants' role in maintaining and expanding the trade.

Geographical Shifts: Changes in major slave-exporting regions from Senegal to the bight of Benin and beyond.
Ethnic Concentrations: Differentiated African ethnic groups in specific New World colonies.

Sugar and Other Cash Crops: Driven by African slave labor, these commodities became central to colonial exports.
African Demand for Goods: European goods driven by African suppliers' demands for slaves.

Portuguese and Spanish Colonies: Professionals and lay slaveholders integrated African practices and social systems.
Musical Influence: Africans' music impacted colonial public entertainment and later global music forms.
Racial Integration: Contrast between Portuguese racial policies and those in later English colonies in socializing blacks.

Lascassas and Morales: Early critics of encomienda system pushed for reforms and humane treatment, advocating African over Native American enslavement.
Slow Reforms: Spanish crown's evolving regulations on Indian rights versus expanding African slavery.

Essential to Colonization: Recognized by major New World enterprises by 1750 as fundamental for settlement.
Economic and Racial Implications: Embedded in New World economy, driving exploration, settlement, and ultimately shaping the demographic and social landscapes of the Americas.

Contradiction of Liberty: Free society's dependence on black slavery for economic development.
Racial Slavery: Integral to American development, creating fundamental economic contradictions and racial dynamics that persisted into modern times.