HST

Isn't A Slave A Slave?

The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade began around the mid-fifteenth century when Portuguese interests in Africa moved away from gold to a much more readily available commodity -- humans aka slaves. The trade ended, at least officially in the 18th century, to the disappointment of many. Disappointment for a multitude of reasons; the two dominant being profit and social distinction. First, slavery was profitable, plain and simple. Each leg of the trade produced wealth. Let s be realistic, economically if had it not been profitable, it would have ended looooooooooooong before it finally did. Second, slavery produced a social hierarchy in the world.

As previously discussed slavery had existed within Africa before contact with Europeans. What appears to be vastly different is the character of the institution prior to the trans-Atlantic slave trade. The system of property ownership without an acknowledgment of human rights for the slaves, the system that existed in the Americas, is undocumented anywhere prior to the trans-Atlantic trade.

The United Nations defines slavery as the status or condition of a person over whom any or all of the powers attaching to the right of ownership are exercised" and a slave as "a person in such condition or status (Source: Boddy-Evans). But, that is a modern definition, so the question remains, whether the systems found around the world prior to the trans-Atlantic trade qualify as slavery or should be defined as something else.

Pawnship, similar to debt-peonage, was the use of an individual as collateral for a debt. The collateral could be the person who owed the debt or someone in the family, especially the child. This terminology leads to a highly contested debate between Afrocentrics and non-Afrocentric historians. Afrocentrics would argue that slavery only very loosely defines pawnship. Labor was assigned to someone in the community or family (Source: Boddy-Evans), therefore, the community bond implies a social tie that dictates a community standard of citizenship and therefore, governs treatment (Source: Karenga, 2002).

Clientship occurred when someone voluntarily assigned their labor. This would have occurred in circumstances when the individual was unable to survive, or provide the necessities for survival. A woman who became a widow or a man who lost his assets because of drought are examples of extreme circumstances under which one may opt to assign their labor and become a dependent. Because this relationship was voluntary and could be terminated at the will of the client, defining this system as slavery is problematic for some.

Prior to the trans-Atlantic trade, a slave, generally speaking, in African society was not denied basic human rights. Even prisoners of war, were afforded basic rights of humane treatment and had an opportunity to become a citizen of community -- A major distinction between the system that existed prior to and after European contact.

Chattel slavery, unlike any system previously recorded, stripped human beings of all rights. Chattel slavery was a generational system of property ownership -- Children born to slaves were slaves. As with any other property, the survival and treatment was totally at the discretion of the owner. These slaves had no rights, were expected to perform whatever service(s) at the command of a master.

The position of the Portuguese in Africa solidified during the 15th century and there was a gradually shift in who had the dominant position.

In 1452, Pope Nicholas V granted the Portuguese the authority to attack and enslave "the Moors, heathens, and other enemies of Christ" who lived south of Cape Bojador (Morocco). El Mina (The Mine) was built on the coast to facilitate trading initially in gold. Then, in 1494, The Spanish signed the Treaty of Tordesillas with Portugal to supply all the Spanish colonies in the Americas with African slaves (Source: Departure from Africa, 2002).

Over the next century, other European nations followed Portugal. The Dutch, English, and French developed trade relations with different West African nations, building castles to house troops and store trade goods, especially slaves.

The European representative developed relationships with local tribal leaders, who worked to supply goods, including slaves. Europeans capitalized on the existing African slave trade, so the first slaves were likely prisoners of war and debtors. But, as the European demand escalated, so did the number of peoples captured for the European market.