Crash Course World History: Slavery

Introduction

Speaker: John Green
Topic: Slavery, often referred to as "the peculiar institution" by pre-Civil War Americans.
Slavery discussed seriously due to its grave nature.

Slavery is ancient, predating civilization.
Atlantic Slave Trade (1500-1880 CE):
- 10-12 million African slaves forcibly moved to the Americas.
- 15% died during the journey.
- Majority sent to the Caribbean (48%) and Brazil (41%), only 5% to the U.S.

Slaves seen as property and a form of private wealth.
Europeans traded goods with Africans for slaves.
Mark Twain’s "deformed conscience" reflects the dual view of slaves as humans and commodities.

Horrendous conditions aboard slave ships.
Slaves given four square feet of space.
Slaves sold like cattle, branded by owners.
Predominantly worked as agricultural laborers.
- Sugar plantation work in the Caribbean and Brazil described as brutal.
- Average life expectancy for Brazilian slaves was 23 years.
- In the U.S., slaves had better conditions, leading to a natural increase in population.

Chattel Slavery: Slaves as moveable property.
Orlando Patterson’s definition: "permanent, violent and personal domination of natally alienated and generally dishonoured persons."
Historical influences:
- Greek ideas of otherness and natural slaves (Aristotle).
- Roman use of plantations (latifundia).
- Biblical justifications (e.g., Noah’s curse on Ham).
- Muslim importation and distinction of Bantu-speaking Africans (Zanj).
Iberians (Spanish and Portuguese) were early adopters of these attitudes.

Atlantic slavery was a global tragedy with contributions from many civilizations.
Importance of acknowledging shared responsibility in historical slavery.

Crash Course encourages engagement and discussion among viewers.