The aim of this paper is to answer the following questions: What role did the emerging system of capitalism play in the dehumanizing and enslavement of people of African origin from the 16th century onward? What impact did its ideology have on the lives and thoughts of the main characters in Caryl Phillips’ "Cambridge"?
Caryl Phillips’ 1991 novel "Cambridge" shines a light on the harsh realities of slave labour on plantations in the West-Indian colonies. The practice of slavery itself has not been historically new when the transatlantic slave trade took off in the 16th century. This enterprise, however, gave rise to slavery as an institution of unprecedented magnitudes and brutality and would later prove to have colossal ramifications for the African continent and its future development.
An institution like that of slavery could not exist if it weren’t for an ideology supporting it. The crucial aspect that ultimately distinguished this new kind of slavery from indigenous forms of servitude was capital. The mechanisms constituting this enterprise can be attributed to the rising cultural systems of capitalism and consumer culture, exploiting cheap labour to satisfy the demand for foreign goods such as sugar in European societies.
Trading and exploiting African people came to be understood as a business venture, degrading human beings to a mere commodity and means of production, owned by businessmen such as the father of one of "Cambridge"'s main characters, Emily Cartwright. Her experiences and her thoughts on the enslaved people working on the unnamed Caribbean Island home to her father’s estate give insight into the racist perception of black people in distant Europe.
In contrast, the reader gets to see the cruelties of slavery through the eyes of the novel’s namesake, Cambridge. Together, these completely distinct perspectives create a profound image of slavery as an institution, the capitalist forces behind it as well as the prejudices necessary to facilitate and maintain this atrocious enterprise.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter I: How institutionalised slavery was made possible
Chapter II: The ideologies presented by Emily Cartwright and Cambridge
Conclusion
Works cited
Objectives and Topics
This research paper explores the intrinsic connection between the rise of capitalism and the dehumanisation of enslaved Africans, examining how capitalist ideology facilitated and justified the commodification of human beings as depicted in Caryl Phillips’ 1991 novel, Cambridge.
- The relationship between the emergence of global capitalism and the transatlantic slave trade.
- The role of racist ideology in legitimising slavery as a profitable business venture.
- A comparative analysis of the distinct perspectives of Emily Cartwright and the slave Cambridge.
- The influence of plantation management systems on productivity and colonial hierarchies.
- The intersection of class, race, and economic status in shaping character worldviews.
Excerpt from the Book
Chapter I: How institutionalised slavery was made possible
Carly Phillips’ Cambridge is rich in historical facts and the protagonist’s thoughts and actions give insight into the ideologies prevailing at the time it is set. This can be attributed to the fact that Phillips incorporated authentic travelogues and slave autobiographies, dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries, into his novel. Although the novel’s main characters, Emily Cartwright and Cambridge, are fictitious, their thoughts communicated to the reader are often based on documents of real people, drawn from at least twenty sources such as the journals of European travellers like Janet Schaw or Mrs. Carmichael and narratives of formerly enslaved Africans like Ignatius Sancho and Olaudah Equiano. The reader is thus offered first-hand accounts of the ideas that supported institutionalised slavery in general, as well as the realities of Westindian plantation labor in particular; documented by both the exploiter and the exploited.
Despite Cambridge being published in 1991, the power structures displayed in the novel are not those of the late 20th century, but those of the late 18th and early 19th century, the time marking institutional slavery’s heyday. While the author stylistically revised some of the original texts in order to make them suitable for a modern-day audience, the opportunity still presents itself to view these texts as contemporary witnesses of the society and the system in which they were produced. In the case of Cambridge, this is a capitalist system with a deep embedded racist worldview as ists basis, which affects both of our protagonist’s ways of thinking. This marxist approach to literary interpretation offers a view of the novel as evidence of its underlying ideology.
Chapter Summaries
Introduction: This chapter introduces the research question regarding the role of capitalist ideology in the dehumanisation of enslaved Africans and sets the literary focus on Caryl Phillips' novel Cambridge.
Chapter I: How institutionalised slavery was made possible: This section examines the historical and economic foundations of slavery, arguing that racist ideology was a necessary construct to maintain a profitable capitalist plantation system.
Chapter II: The ideologies presented by Emily Cartwright and Cambridge: This chapter provides a comparative analysis of the main characters' perspectives, highlighting how their views are shaped by their respective positions within the racial and economic hierarchy of the slave system.
Conclusion: The final section synthesises the arguments, noting that both characters are products of their time, and draws parallels between the logic of historical plantation slavery and modern-day profit-driven capitalism.
Keywords
Caryl Phillips, Cambridge, Capitalism, Slavery, Commodification, Plantation, Colonialism, Racism, Ideology, Economic Rationality, Emily Cartwright, Slave Trade, Profit, Human Rights, Literature.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this research paper?
The paper examines how the ideology of capitalism facilitated the commodification of enslaved Africans during the era of the transatlantic slave trade, using Caryl Phillips’ novel Cambridge as a primary case study.
What are the central thematic fields addressed in this work?
The central themes include the intersection of economics and ethics, the construction of racial superiority to justify exploitation, the dehumanising impact of plantation systems, and the socio-political power imbalances between colonisers and the enslaved.
What is the primary research question?
The study asks what role the emerging system of capitalism played in the dehumanisation of people of African origin and how its underlying ideology impacted the thoughts and lived experiences of the characters in Phillips' novel.
Which scientific methods are employed in this analysis?
The author utilises a Marxist approach to literary interpretation, viewing the novel as evidence of the underlying historical and economic ideologies of the 18th and 19th centuries.
What core topics are covered in the main body of the text?
The main body covers the historical context of the slave trade, the economic necessity of racial myths for profit, the operational structure of plantations as precursors to modern management systems, and a detailed character analysis of Emily Cartwright and Cambridge.
Which keywords best characterise this research?
Key terms include Capitalism, Slavery, Commodification, Plantation, Colonialism, Racism, Ideology, and Economic Rationality.
How does the paper relate the plantation system to modern capitalism?
The author argues that the plantation system was not a pre-capitalist anomaly but the origin of modern capitalism, suggesting that both systems rely on a logic that prioritises profit over human welfare, regardless of the ethical cost.
Why does Emily Cartwright struggle to recognise the injustice of slavery?
The paper suggests that Emily is so deeply embedded in a racist worldview and a capitalist social order that it becomes "natural" to her, rendering her unable to critically question the systemic violence she observes on her father's estate.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Leon Maack (Autor:in), 2020, Display of Slavery in Caryl Phillips’ "Cambridge". How the Ideology of Capitalism Facilitated the Commodification of Enslaved Africans, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/985865
