In 1619 the first shipment of black Africans to British America arrived on the Atlantic coast of Virginia (cf. Morgan 2007: 21). This event marked the starting point for the development of a British large scale New World slave trading system that would eventually result in millions of Africans being deported from their home continent and shipped to the Americas.
Black Africans were taken by force, put on a gruesome voyage over the Atlantic, sold as if they were goods instead of human beings and then put to work on plantations for the rest of their lives, while in all of these stages their deaths and that of many other fellow captives was readily accepted.
From a today's point of view the described events and happenings appear utterly wrong, completely against any humane understanding, without any empathy for one's fellow being at all.
A question that arises from this discrepancy between the existence of a near unquestioned system of transatlantic slave trade and the incomprehensibility and condemnation of the very same thing less than two centuries later is that of a justification. How was a system justified that caused and accepted the exploitation and deaths of millions of black Africans in the Americas for the maximization of British profits? Within this question, another, closely related aspect is already implied: Why was slavery within this system exclusively limited to black Africans?
These are the two questions that I will focus on throughout the following pages.
The goal for this paper consists of two parts. I will attempt to provide a basis that will help to understand how this system could come into existence in the first place and be maintained for as long as it lasted. This will require pointing out shortcomings of earlier, economically focused models and the introduction of several other influential components. The concept of a network with a multitude of interdependent factors will be the central element for this step.
Secondly,I will take a closer look at religious motives, the related symbolism of the color black and the emergence of scientific racism, regarding their relevance and impact on the slave trade system and its maintenance. The final step of this paper will then consist of a last depiction of the network of reasons and explanations for the existence and sustenance of the British involvement in the transatlantic slave trade, visualizing the entanglement of multiple causalities
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Maximization of Profits vs. A Cultural Framework
3. A Network of Interdependent Elements
4. Cultural Bias, the Symbolism of the Color Black and Religious Influence
5. The Emergence of Scientific Racism
6. Conclusion
Objectives and Core Themes
This paper examines the multifaceted justifications for the British transatlantic slave trade and the systematic exclusion of black Africans from the social contract. It argues that economic motives alone cannot explain the development of this system, but rather that a complex, interdependent network of cultural, religious, and philosophical factors sustained it.
- Interdependence of economic, cultural, and political factors in the slave trade
- Critique of purely economic, profit-maximizing models of slavery
- The role of European cultural "insider/outsider" dichotomies
- Biblical interpretation and the "Curse of Ham" as instruments of justification
- The evolution of scientific racism as a pseudo-scientific validation of slavery
Excerpt from the Book
Cultural Bias, the Symbolism of the Color Black and Religious Influence
Up to the present day one of the first and strongest association that emerges when thinking of slavery in the Americas is one of color and race. For some reason, we picture the people working on the plantations to be black, which of course, being Africans or of African descent, they were. But how did things get to this point? What circumstances and events led to the almost inherent equation of blackness and slavery?
In order to answer this question, it is necessary to take into consideration a much larger timeframe than the one that has as yet mostly been referred to, namely the time span between the 15th-18th centuries. Scripts of the Bible and their interpretations, events and circumstances taking place during the Middle Ages, as well as the emergence of the sciences and the connected evolution of scientific racism, beginning at least as early as the 17th century with its high-time in the mid 18th century, are of relevance for the following elaborations.
As black slavery was by no means the result of “a simple linear progression of results” (Davis 50), but happened rather haphazardly and coincidentally (cf. Walvin 1996: 36), it is not helpful to conduct the following argumentation in a chronological order. Therefore, we might leap into this complex set of explanations by pointing out that Africa and its inhabitants have always been “an object of curiosity” (Walvin 1996: 24) for the Western civilization. However, British encounters with black Africans were never marked by an unbiased interest to study and learn about these foreign people and their culture, but always prejudiced, viewing “the African as a deeply inferior being, well beyond the pale of contemporary English sensibilities and sympathies” (Walvin 1996: 24).
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: The introduction establishes the historical context of the transatlantic slave trade and poses the central question of how such a system was justified for centuries.
2. Maximization of Profits vs. A Cultural Framework: This chapter argues against the notion that economic profit was the sole driver of slavery, introducing a cultural "insider/outsider" dichotomy as a necessary framework for understanding the system.
3. A Network of Interdependent Elements: This section details various political, historical, and economic elements that formed an interdependent network facilitating the growth of British New World slavery.
4. Cultural Bias, the Symbolism of the Color Black and Religious Influence: This chapter examines how religious texts, particularly the "Curse of Ham," were selectively interpreted to provide divine sanction for the enslavement of black Africans.
5. The Emergence of Scientific Racism: The author analyzes how burgeoning scientific thought and the "science of race" were used to construct pseudo-scientific justifications for slavery, reinforcing the status of Africans as inferior.
6. Conclusion: The conclusion synthesizes the findings, confirming that the transatlantic slave trade was a result of a complex entanglement of causalities rather than a single economic motivation.
Keywords
Transatlantic slave trade, British Empire, Economic convenience, Cultural framework, Insider/outsider-dichotomy, Scientific racism, Curse of Ham, Biblical interpretation, New World slavery, Colonialism, Racial inferiority, Capitalism, Historical analysis.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the central focus of this research paper?
The paper focuses on the justification of the British transatlantic slave trade and why it specifically targeted black Africans, aiming to uncover the complex reasons behind this historical reality.
What are the primary thematic areas covered?
The primary themes include economic drivers, cultural prejudices, the role of religious institutions, and the rise of scientific racism as tools to justify slavery.
What is the primary research question?
The research asks how a system that exploited and caused the deaths of millions of people could be justified, accepted, and maintained for over two hundred years.
Which scientific methodology does the author employ?
The author uses a historical-analytical approach, synthesizing multiple perspectives—economic, political, philosophical, and religious—to construct a conceptual "network of interdependent elements" that explains the sustenance of the slave trade.
What topics are discussed in the main body of the work?
The main body examines the limitations of the "profit-maximization" model, explores the cultural "insider/outsider" dichotomy, discusses the influence of philosophers like Locke and Hobbes, analyzes the impact of the "Curse of Ham" narrative, and reviews the emergence of scientific racism.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
Key terms include Transatlantic slave trade, scientific racism, British Empire, cultural bias, and economic convenience.
How did the concept of an "insider/outsider-dichotomy" contribute to the justification of slavery?
It allowed Europeans to define themselves as insiders deserving of liberty, while simultaneously categorizing non-Europeans as outsiders who could be excluded from the social contract and thus enslaved.
How did the author relate scientific racism to the existing slave trade?
The author argues that scientific racism served as a secondary, "scientifically proven" validation that emerged to bolster the institution of slavery after it was already established, making the system appear righteous and inevitable.
- Quote paper
- B.A. Ingo Westermann (Author), 2010, Justification of Black Slavery, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/150449
