Comparison the Accounts of Mary Prince and John Barbot - Essay Example

Compare and contrast the accounts of Mary Prince and John Barbot Slave trade defined a historic event across the globe that remains significant till this century. The practice was a definition of how insignificant human life was perceived by wealthy individuals and companies. A huge percentage of the slaves mostly generated from underdeveloped continents like Africa, Asia and South America. Most slaves were destined for Europe and America. The significant number of immigrants in European countries signifies the depth of the effects of the slave trade. The significance of the slave trade made historians feel the need of coming up with literature on the practice. Numerous literature pieces have been written with different scopes on slave trade. For instance, some pieces are written by slaves, by the slave traders and by the slave masters. This particular paper will analyze two literature pieces: one by Mary Prince, a slave and the other by John Barbot who was a slave trader. Additionally, the paper will also analyze the significance of historians in distributing the moral responsibility of the slave trade. The narration by Mary Prince is done by a slave. The story is a narration of the slave’s life in the hands of her masters. Mary Prince was a slave to more than one master since her birth (230). She was born of a slave mother, what made her an automatic slave (Prince 230). At a young age, Mary Prince was not subjected to hard labor like the rest of the slaves. Her role as a child was to ensure that the duties given by her masters or her mother were done. As years progressed under her master, the duties given to her became more complex like taking care of the master’s children. However, in this particular narration, her first master had a polite wife who took care of her as her own. She developed a connection with her master considering her status at the farm as a slave. Indeed, this was a rare relationship (Prince 231). It is evident the master was a cruel man, and spent time away from home which gave her wife an opportunity to be nice to the slaves (Prince 282). As she grew older, she was sold to a neighboring farm which also had a polite master (Prince 282). She acted as a guardian to a master’s child after which they became close. Apart from these two farms, Mary Prince was exposed to cruelty in other farms as she was subjected to hard labor and mistreatment (Prince 289). It is at this juncture of the narration that the real perspective of the slave trade is displayed. At one point in the narration, Mary gives a description on an elderly slave who died after being thrown in a thorny bush by her master (Prince 289). She also narrates when she had to be tied with their hands and flogged till they shed flesh from their back (Prince 289). From this narration, the reader is able to get a glimpse of the slave trade on the view of a slave. Other written stories are based on scholarly literatures. The narration by Mary gives the real picture of the situation inside slave farms. Additionally, the fact that she was traded from homestead to homestead is a clear indication of how insignificant slaves were to their masters. The narration by Mary Prince also explains the tribulations of slaves in a detailed perspective in terms of raising families and slaves and losing children to their masters. The narration by Barbot is neither based on a slave nor a master. The story is a report of a slave trader. The account also focuses on the origin and destination of slaves from the Atlantic to Europe. Barbot starts the narration of his account by highlighting trading specification in the Atlantic (Barbot 181). Apart from precious stones, the author cited slaves as the most valuable commodity in the Atlantic trade (Barbot 181). Slave trade in the Atlantic was a chain or an organization by major European dynasties. The slaves mostly originated from West Africa (Barbot 180). Upon arrival, each trader would mark their slaves with a hot iron as a mark of ownership. Purchasers of slaves in the Atlantic generated from Dutch, French or English companies (Barbot 183). The handling of the slaves was transferred from the seller to the buyer upon purchase. The slave trade in the Atlantic was classified as any other trade of another commodity. Additionally, traders invested heavily on slave trade due to the high demand across Europe. Most slaves were captured from their native and forced to voyage to Europe or risk being killed. The slaves were also selected by age depending on their purpose. For instance, many buyers preferred younger slaves since they mostly required laborers (Barbot 182). The slaves were transported across the Atlantic under devastating conditions for instance while naked throughout the entire voyage. Another significant notification in this particular narration was the fact that buyers in Europe greatly relied on black traders to deliver traders to them. Many slaves viewed this as betrayal since their own people traded them for gold coins (Barbot 181). However, many black traders realized that trading slaves was the only assurance of their safety back home. The main difference between the two accounts is the fact that Mary Prince was a slave and Barbot was a trader (Barbot 179). The narration of Prince highlighted the negative attributes of trade masters while Barbot focuses on the prowess of traders in the Atlantic. Barbot does not highlight the mean behavior of trade masters. The author also gives a report of the origin, the handling and destination of slaves across the Atlantic (Barbot 179). On the other hand, Prince only had one purpose in mind that of helping future historians understand the real happening in slave farms. The narration is successfully completed to fulfill this purpose and give rise to a literature that effectively enables the reader to create an imaginative picture of slave farms. On the other hand, the account by Barbot creates a perception on how important the Atlantic slave trade was to traders both in the French, Dutch and English companies and the black traders (Barbot 183). However, in both narrations, the tribulations undergone by slaves are highlighted (Barbot 182). In the narration by Barbot however, the only inhumane act highlighted was the marking by red hot iron while in by Prince’s, the tribulations are numerous and saddening in the entire narration. How should we, as historians, distribute the moral responsibility for the Atlantic slave trade? Is this task appropriate for historians? If so why? If not, why not? The moral responsibility of the Atlantic slave trade should be passed down from generation to generation through historians. The moral responsibility of the slave trade should be based on the fact that some cultural dispensations in the society had to fight for their freedom. Additionally, the slave trade creates a loyalty and patriotic feeling among people who feel affected by the vice. The manner in which this moral responsibility should be disseminated should be through social, educational and patriotic dispensations in society. For instance, the social tie the African populations in Europe have is greatly attributed to their struggle for freedom from the hands of their masters. This social tie is passed from generation to generation with each generation being enlightened on their origin and their journey through the Atlantic. Educationally, historians have come up with literature that covers the entire Atlantic slave trade. The inhumane activities slaves underwent during the period are highlighted in many scholarly articles and literature. This is enough to distribute the moral responsibility of the Atlantic trade to the generations that did not witness the dreadful events. As a historian all the knowledge I have on the Atlantic slave trade is generated from the literature based on the subject. Devoid of the literature, the struggle towards freedom would have never been significant and known to the modern generations. The political scope on distributing the moral responsibility of the Atlantic slave trade is based on the equal distribution of political responsibilities. The main war by the anti- slavery campaign was for equality and to end the dictatorship mentality by their masters. Slaves fought for equality and rights to make their own decisions, to own property and be part of the society as individuals not as slaves. Political equality shows how much the plight for equality has been sensitized in the modern society. The fact that democracy has taken its roots in the modern century is enough to enable the current historians to connect together the struggle towards the democracy we enjoy today. The above task is appropriate for historians and is passed from generation to generation. Through this, historians are termed the custodians of the information. In each, generation historians come up with new and developed literature which tends to explain even deeper the Atlantic slave trade. Additionally, new developments in the society in terms of social, cultural and political circles help historians come up with more theories that further explain the effects and the consequences of the Atlantic slave trade. Without the historians, it is an obvious assumption that the moral responsibility of the Atlantic slave trade would have stuck with the slaves themselves of the generation in that particular period of time. Historians are the only people with the ability of creating a generation of historians that would pass the information to future. One may argue that historians are the custodians of the literature that bears the moral responsibility of the Atlantic slave trade. Conclusively, both Prince and Barbot have different perceptions on slavery. Prince evaluates slavery as an inhumane act done to native by the cruel masters while Barbot evaluates slavery as any other trade across the Atlantic. Regardless of this difference, the two literature pieces are significant ion terms of providing quality information on the slave trade and its effects. It is an obvious assumption that historians play a crucial role in ensuring the moral responsibilities from past events are passed from one generation to another. Apart from passing on the literature and information, they develop the already existing information with regards to the happening and development of the modern society in terms of social and political perspectives. Works cited Barbot, John. The Slave traders View. Documents illustrative of the Slave Trade to America, Washington DC: Carnegic Institute. 1930. Print. Prince, Mary. The history of Mary Prince: A west Indie slave. London: Stationers Hall Court. 1831. Print. Read More