The American Abolitionist Movement and Contacts with the Caribbean - Coursework Example

CARIBBEAN HISTORY – The American Abolitionist Movement and Contacts with the Caribbean Slave trade was one of the worst chapters ever experienced on earth. Africans especially from West Africa due to the similarity in climate between the West Africa and the Caribbean were imported as slaves to work in the tobacco and sugar plantations in the Caribbean. They were sold and separated from families and as such were deemed better workers in the farms due to their cheapness unlike white workers who would be paid. The trade left painful marks in the history, culture and societies all over the world. The slave trade caused enormous destructions on the life of humans. The impacts include economic, social, psychological, physical and cultural damage to the slave victim societies. It made Europe rich and economically prosperous. The American and European landscape changed their taste and habits as well. They grew rich and amassed a lot of wealth. The sufferings that were experienced prompted for two centuries prompted the need for the abolition of the transatlantic trade and slavery as a whole. These lead to the American abolitionist movement. The American Abolitionist Movement was an effort aimed at ending slavery with the belief that all men are equal. This was a sign that slavery which begun in 1619 around Jamestown in Virginia was to come to an end. It took place in nations that had value for personal freedom. This was a very important reform movement during the 18th and 19th century. Britain and United states both made a decisive action to abolish the Atlantic slave trade. Matter of fact, British colony in the Caribbean produced tropical goods that included rice, tobacco and sugar among others. This made the economy of British Caribbean be dependent almost completely on slave labor. Up to 80% of the region’s population constituted the salves. That is to imply that Britain benefitted tremendously from this trade. Abolition thus could be explained in two perspectives: first, as a moral or rather a humanitarian movement, and second, as an economic factor. As a moral factor, the slave trade was morally incorrect. It was argued that this trade was harmful to families; it was deemed a sinful act. Economically, it was harmful to personal industries and profitable economy. This thesis therefore seeks to explain the factors that led to the emergence of abolition; the significance of the Caribbean in the slave trade and finally the effects of slave trade in the Caribbean and America. FACTORS THAT LED TO THE EMERGENCE OF ABOLITION Early abolition movements emerged from the political crisis in the 1770s. The abolitionist involved in exchange of information and ideas that in the ended led to creation of a community of reformers. Through this groups advice, courage as well as support were offered to the members who had a common agenda. Even though abolitions were facing concerted oppositions from both sides of the Atlantic, it served to bind them even stronger together1. American abolitionist embraced the abolition of this slavery but in a gradual manner. This happened in similar manner as was with their interest in the freedom of blacks. They were cautious and also wary of elite opinion alienation. However in the 18th century, America abandoned her legal involvements in the slave trade that took place in the transatlantic. They thus committed themselves to actions, a move that bewildered and surprised other nations. The British slave colonies in the Caribbean still remained though and America remained a republic that was holding slaves. Then an opening salvo through a campaign that ultimately lead to the abolition of the slavery that thrived in the British Caribbean. Three factors have been identified in this thesis as the contributors to the American abolition. First, in the period of 1820 – 1830, significant changes occurred. An abolitionism that was more radical was dedicated to equal rights of the blacks in America as well as emancipation2. This movement had the goal of immediate emancipation targeting all slaves as well as an end to segregation and racial discrimination. This advocacy distinguished the abolitionist from the antislavery advocate who were rather moderate and proposed gradual emancipations. The propounding of the goals of freedom from segregation, racial discrimination as well as call for emancipations in their abolitionist movements made the abolitionist stand out and space issues that lead to civil war. They were distinguished from the political oppositions that were broad based and were of the opinion that emancipation be gradual. The two forces had a common agenda but indifferent dimensions. The southern slave holder therefore came to regard the northern people as united in favor of blacks against them. This spaced the civil war that followed the emancipation calls. Secondly, the American Revolution was brought about by the signs of the black’s unrest. This unrest inspired the urgency of emancipation among the Americans in the south that were not ready for war and as such wanted to avoid it the south3. Resistance was gaining momentum as a feature constant in the American slavery. It took various forms and included arson crimes, feigning illness and escaping to the North of America. Slave groups otherwise referred to as Marroons that emerged and formed independent slave communities around areas that were in accessible like swamps in Florida. Slave rebellions even though were smaller in America compared to the Caribbean, were significant. There were outright slave rebellions that targeted the whites. In the year 1712, 25 slaves armed with guns and clubs torched and destroyed several white houses and killed about 9 whites who first appeared in the scene4. This was followed by the slaves being arrested and killed by soldiers. They were brutally murdered with some of them being buried alive and others broken on the wheels. This had a consequence. The tortures and brutal killing s of slaves lead to subsequent uprising. In the Caribbean former slave Toussaint LOuverture was leading revolts in Haiti. This was in the year 1791. Even though the whites captured him in 1801, the revolts continued even stronger till Haiti’s independence was declared. Several slaves organized uprising and revolts towards the whites. This either occurred in the plantations or during the night in the white settlements. Despite a majority of them being killed, it served to make the uprising even stronger5. In Stono rebellion took place in the 1730 which had the slaves matching to the white settlements armed in Florida towards freedom. They were mostly killed but also left about 20 whites dead. The unrests were characterized by religious revolts. The likes of Gabriel Prosser led rebellions in the spring that occurred in 1800. Prosser was a deeply religious person and as such used well the Bible to radicalize the slaves to revolt. He drew examples from the Israelites who were captured in Egypt by Pharaoh and were to be emancipated by Mosses. He plotted invasion in the town of Richmond and prepared about 1000 slaves for the revolt by summer. Prosser was however betrayed by the flooding that occurred in the bridge to Richmond and as such was captured and hanged alongside other 35 slaves. Thirdly, the economic modernization of the north converged with religious revivals on a massive scale referred to as “second great awakening”. This made an increased number of white to hold the opinion that slavery as a practice was barbaric, sinful and outmoded. As such they feared God would punish their country just like it happened with the Biblical story of Pharaoh and the Israelites. They feared the wrath of God upon their nation and began to support the emancipation. They believed that their nation would not experience economic prosperity until they let free the slaves6. This opinion constituted both economic and religious aspect. As such papers soon begun being published by pro emancipation individual’s which carried messages about the need to free the slaves. Among them was William Lloyd Garrison an Englander. There was a rise of powerful evangelical crusades and movements. They imparted direction to the American societies spiritually to affect change in order for freedom of the slaves to happen. They stressed the implications of slavery as a sinful practice in this second awakening. Other preachers included Nathaniel Taylor and Lewis Tappan. Their massive crusades and movements nourished people in a manner that come the year 1830, most had conceived the thought and spirit of immediate emancipation The uprisings and revolts were easier in the Caribbean due to the population of slaves outweighed that of the whites. The Caribbean constituted about 8% slaves while 20% were the sugar farm owners and white workers7. This made it easier for the fight for immediate emancipation in the Caribbean. Most uprisings that were organized as well as revolts achieved milestones. The revolts in the Caribbean shaped the American abolitionist movement. The Caribbean experienced barbaric slave rebellion and revolts. They positively had an influence in the discourse that concerned emancipation in America. It caused a more radical way of holding the discourse of immediate emancipation. It humanized the movement for abolition and created the strength that was needed around this issue. . SIGNIFICANCE OF THE CARIBBEAN IN THE SLAVE TRADE The Caribbean was the centre of sugar and tobacco production during slave trade. However, the production of sugar became more popular and as such was the leading cash crop that slaves imported from West Africa produced. With economic reasons as the main objective slaves were imported from Africa, they were sent to the Caribbean to work in the agricultural farms in the production of sugar among other cash crops8. As such in the latter part of the 17th century, the black population grew tremendously surpassing that of the white in that region. The Caribbean region had a climate almost similar to that of West Africa. The slaves imported could work well in that region. The slavery and colonialism had one objective, economic gain. This was a capitalist approach that the colonial rulers used to amass wealth and grow their economy. As such Caribbean was the place for massive production of sugar. The sugarcane plantations existed in the Caribbean and were the origin of sugar revolution during the slave trade9. The sugar production as it is labor intensive and thus required a lot of laborers in the farm. With the availability of slaves, the sugar production thus became manageable and cheap. As such sugar from Caribbean spread from island to island and before long they were being sold for export to other countries. This even affected the regular supply and demand operations due to cheap available labour that could replaced as soon as one died in the farms. Caribbean accommodated approximately 47 percent of the America’s imported slaves. With this much population, Caribbean was significant in the trade as the production point where the slaves energy would used productively to gain wealth10. Caribbean had the suitable land that was relatively flat, yellow and fertile as well. This was much conducive for the production of sugarcane. Initially the available land in the Caribbean was to be divided among the European farmers to produce cash crops and sell to the Europe markets, however with the availability of slaves, the approach changed. Indigo, tobacco and other cash crops that were grown in this region were scaled down and sugarcane was scaled upwards. The productivity of cotton, tobacco and indigo by the European farmers was not as cheap when they had to pay for the labour from white workers11. They therefore found it suitably cheap to use the slaves and as such most slaves found their way in the Caribbean. Caribbean was seen by Europe as their agricultural production region. As such it demanded slave labour. Its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean made it even easier to get the slave to come and work. The Europeans did not like the plantation work and the natives or rather the locals refused to do the work either. The sugar had to be produced to meet the consumers demand. As sugar begun dominating the Caribbean landscape and the demand for labour increased there was need for people to do the plantation work. As such the demand for slaves in the Caribbean was massive and prompted their availability. The effects of slave trade in the Caribbean and America Slave trade in the Caribbean and America had several impacts on the respective regions. The Caribbean was originally a country occupied by the whites, America as well. However, with the transatlantic slave several changes occurred with respect culture, economy, among others. The transatlantic trade and the subsequent slavery grew the economy of America. Slavery was the economic engine that drove the growth of America’s economy. The industrial revolution that took place in America and European countries was as a result of wealth amassed from slavery12. The labor provided by these slaves build the Americas modern capitalism. it can also be argued that the economic interest that America has fronted the abolition movement. The slves had engaged in production through provision of cheap labor. Matter of fact there was no meaningful expenses spent on the slaves who engaged in the economic production in this country beyond the few dollars spent on their purchase and transportation. Even the abolition in Europe was due to the discovery that slave trade was an impediment to industrialization. During the pre civil war, slavery contributed a lot to the economic growth of the US. More than half of all the export by the US was a crop grown by the salves. That was cotton. The south of US produced more than 60% of the cotton consumed by the world. in the capital that progressed the economy of the US, slavery played a huge role13. The American economic growth was driven by iron, and manufactured goods as well as the capital they had. The south engage in cotton production while the north engaged in services that would meet the needs of the south. As such textile companies grew in the north, insurance companies, and financial institutions among other service industries that propelled industrialization of the US. Slavery in the US produced enormous wealth for this region. The slave trade was an economically efficient involvement. The cheap labor enabled production of minerals like iron, factory works and even in the constructions. Slavery further had a lot of effects in the culture of the Caribbean and that of the Americans as well. In the US, the traditional practices that were a part of African culture like folk tales found their way in. the slaves in America are on record to crafting objects in accordance to their African traditions. An example of cultural transmition can be seen in the African set up where the hair was used to refer to a wise person. The folktales that are now practiced in the US use the same symbolism14. This was used by the salves to gain copying strategies during their hard moment through inspiring one another with the folktales of the hair and it trickeries. In areas that had the highest slave concentrations like in the south, there has been a lot of retention of African culture and traditions. They weaved baskets using plaited materials as an African traditional practice done by women was practiced by the female slaves. Others included making of guards which have now been largely practiced by the people in US. Slaves further engaged in singing chanting and dances15. This were some of the African traditions that were past to the western countries like US and Europe. Thus slaves did craft a rich musical tradition that inspired the development of the music done by Americans. Additionally there has been an impact on the tastes of the Americans and the initial Caribbean settlers. The purchase of slave products influenced fashion taste and even the consumption patterns in general. There was introduction of unique products in the American market inspired by African tradition such as beads, necklaces among other ornaments16. Most of the sugar consumed was from the Caribbean and tobacco from Virginia. These products were made or processed by the African saves. In some instances some of the slaves were adapted fashionably dressed servants inspiring the fashion in the US and Caribbean as well. The cow boy culture was one that originated from Africa. The African husbandry which involves open grazing was not initially a practice in America17. The slaves imported from Senegambia were responsible for the introduction of this practice in America that they now engage in. most of the cowboys were blacks and this is where the culture of cowboys that has sometimes been confused to be an America’s practice came about. Another implication of this trade was emergence of the African-American race. The intermarriages and interracial sex that occurred lead to new race that was a combination of the two races, blacks and white. From this emerged racism that has lived with the American to date. The racism due to the attitudes that others have concerning the black societies based on their slavery which makes them viewed as an inferior race is just one of the absurd impacts of this salve trade18. The likes of Edward Long wrote and published articles that created a falls opinion of blacks as void of genius and unable to make any significant progress in science. These derogatory descriptions of blacks undermined their race and depicted them as lesser being which then contributed to a rise in racism. The production of rice was done first in the new land for the slaves by a woman slave. She then taught her master how rice was cultivated and this made them import rice from Madagascar where rice then become a new crop loved by the Americans. The Africans in America trained the whites how to farm and produce rice. As such the method used to cultivate rice in South Carolina and that practiced in West Africa is much the same. They included springs, soil water retention and high water table among others. These same methods were replicated in America in the production of rice. Thus the rice production can be seen as another impact that slavery had on America. The ordinance Congo square considered unique attractions in the old New Orleans is another with African origin. Congo dances were performed here namely bamboula and candela which is one of the cultural practices that was carried from Africa by slavery to the land of America. The slaves from Africa maintained their cultural practices as they adopted to the life in America and the Caribbean. The whites observed them in their free time perform some of these cultural practices like the dances and occasionally were asked to perform them. From this the white societies picked a few that influenced their cultures. Of the activities that were of the greatest influence in the Americas culture was the Charleston dance. It is a jitterbug kind of dance performed to music that is syncopated and is rather violent19. This dance together with the Juba dance contributed to the now called Charleston dance through evolution and and a bit of modifications. On musical instruments, the Banjar could be seen as the African version of the guitar with four cords. Others were the thumb piano. Linguistically, there are those linguistic retentions that include OK for okay, bug for insect, juke for a box and fuzz for police among others. Further, the rap culture was African. Several acculturation occurred including grazing, songs, African methods of cultivation, use of herbal ways of medication, the African traditional cuisines, basketry as well as clay works20. A lot of effects occurred as result of the slavery that took place from Africa especially West of Africa to America and the Caribbean. Acculturation as one of the effects, racism and racial discrimination, economic growth, civil war, revolts that occurred between the slaves and the masters among many other implications of the slavery in America and the Caribbean. CONCLUSION Slave trade was and still is the worst chapters ever experienced on earth. Africans especially from West Africa due to the similarity in climate between the West Africa and the Caribbean were imported as slaves to work in the tobacco and sugar plantations in the Caribbean. The trade left painful marks in the history, culture and societies all over the world. This people were separated from their homes and families as well as friends causing enormous destructions on the life of humans. The trade impacted on the victims in several ways including economically, socially, psychologically, physically and culturally damaging them. However to the colonial masters that engaged in this slavery, they amassed wealth and became economically prosperous. The 3 centuries that saw slavery thrive brought forth a lot of sufferings. These lead to the the emergence of the American abolitionist movement, an effort aimed at ending slavery with the belief that all men are equal. As a Matter of fact, the slavery made British colony in the Caribbean produce tropical goods that included rice, tobacco and sugar among others. This made the economy of British Caribbean be dependent almost completely on slave labor21. Up to 80% of the region’s population constituted the salves. That is to imply that Britain benefitted tremendously from this trade. Americans on the other hand benefited from the trade of slaves22. Having understood the origin and accounts of slavery in the US and Caribbean, This thesis has therefore identified some of the factors that led to the emergence of abolition to include: first, the changes that prompted an abolitionism that was more radical and dedicated to equal rights of the blacks in America as well as emancipation; Secondly, by the signs of the black’s unrest and revolts that were persistent; Thirdly, the economic modernization of the north converged with religious revivals on a massive scale referred to as “second great awakening”23. Additionally, this thesis found out that the significance of Caribbean in the slave included: economic benefits to Europe through production of cash crops like tobacco and sugar24. Finally, the paper identified the effects of slave trade in the Caribbean and America to include among others: economic development, racial discrimination, export of African culture to America, loss of life of whites during the revolts and uprisings; introduction of new crops like rice emergence of a new race of African- Americans. Reference Albright, Thomas F. "From the Pulpit to the Streets: The Impact of the Second Great Awakening on Race Relations in Ohio." PhD diss., The Ohio State University, 2012. America, Latin. "the Caribbean." See [online] www. iadb. org (2012). Feagin, Joe R. Racist America: Roots, current realities, and future reparations. Routledge, 2014. Genovese, Eugene D. The political economy of slavery: Studies in the economy and society of the slave South. Wesleyan University Press, 2014. Guzmán, Ramiro Alberto Flores. "THE FEEDING OF SLAVE POPULATION IN THE UNITED STATES, THE CARIBBEAN, AND BRAZIL: SOME REMARKS IN THE STATE OF THE ART." 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The transatlantic slave trade: a history. U of Nebraska Press, 2005. Rogozinski, Jan. "A brief history of the Caribbean." New York: Plume (2000). Salter, Nadia. "Caribbean Slave Women’s Resistance as a Form of Preservation." In Ruptures, pp. 59-66. SensePublishers, 2013. Read More