Literature of the African Diaspora - Essay Example

Literature of the African Diaspora, Response Paper The globalized notion of the African diaspora is a representation of multifaceted and multidimensional themes which essentially symbolize the development of the black identity through an understanding of historical contexts. The premise of this paper is based upon the concept of “new” world realities, which state that transatlantic moment and enslavement are two significant thematic elements which define the evolution of the diverse Black identity. Furthermore, this paper also integrates these factors of the African diaspora within the context of the African Slave Trade by relating the notion to the concept of “new” world realities and their significance in shaping the course of contemporary society. The analysis of transatlantic moment is one of the critical components which must be addressed thoroughly if the “new” world realities of the African diaspora are to be comprehended. The nuances of the transatlantic slave trade primarily relate to the interaction of European and Muslim cultures which became interlinked by the premise of labor exploitation of African labor. Even though, Muslim rule was marked by the presence of African captives this epoch in the African diaspora saw the movement of a staggering number of Africans in the period lasting from the eighteenth to nineteenth century (Gomez 59). Gomez reflects that the ramifications of this global transformation are of fundamental significance to the understanding of the modern world (59). As stated by the author: “Christian-Muslim conflict, international commerce, sugar, and New World incursions were foremost in creating circumstances whereby the African emerged as principal source of servile labor laying the foundations for the modern world” (59). The origin of the African slave trade that is associated with the theme of transatlantic moment can be traced back to the fourteenth century during which dependence on captive labor reached its peak, an intriguing change in the direction of events during this time emerged a century later when the source of this manual labor was altered (Gomez 60). Gomez attributes this modification to the political and territorial dynamics of Spain, where Muslim influence was constantly declining to a point of complete absence (60). Therefore, the centuries which followed the year of 1267 to 1492 saw Iberia lose its reputation as the foundation of servile labor to fulfill the needs of the Mediterranean, thus it became necessary to discover a new source of manual workers to meet steady demand (Gomez 60). The requirement of servile labor in the Mediterranean was present to accomplish various tasks on a range of plans and the farming sugar cane happened to be one of those major tasks at the time. Gomez recounts that the Italians and Portuguese had establishment a successful association in this regard with the former providing the monetary means for the project and the latter supplying the required manual power (61). Gradually, the Portuguese’s intervention in the commerce of the Indian Ocean introduced them to the richness of West Africa which was blessed in terms of resources, both natural and human. It is at this point that the population of West Africa became enslaved by the Portuguese who imported to the workers to Madeira in addition to the Mediterranean for the purpose of sugar cultivation. According to the data presented by Gomez, the trade of African workers reached as much as 1000 laborers on a yearly basis for a continuous period of 89 years starting from 1441 (61). This era was marked by the expansion of the African diaspora which saw the distribution of Africans in a number of adjoining regions of the Mediterranean in addition to Portugal and Spain (Gomez 61). Even though the occurrence of transatlantic slave trade had already prevailed, it is important to understand that Africans were neither introduced in the New World at this point nor had the African diaspora as we know it surfaced up till then. Gomez attributes this observation to the explosive nature of European expansion which was rooted in the notion of slavery and the misuse of African laborers for economic gain (82). This element of the theme of African slave trade provides an insightful perspective on the nuances of American enslavement by redirecting the geographic course of the argument from the Mediterranean to the Americas. For Gomez, this discussion should ideally commence from the Portuguese-ruled territory of Brazil which soon evolved into a centre of African workers starting from the latter half of the sixteenth century and covered the seventeenth century in its entirety (83). The next territory which the African diaspora amasses as a result of the African slave trade is that of Jamaica. Located in British-ruled Caribbean Jamaica boosted of a multifaceted economy however, the majority of enslaved workers rendered their services looking after sugar cultivation (86). In contrast with other areas of British Caribbean the African population in Trinidad grew on a gradual basis, in that region enslaved workers were given the responsibility of looking after a range of plantations including sugar (Gomez 87). The stories of African enslavement are marked by the presence of oppression, cruelty and injustice that African workers experienced at the hands of their captives. The dynamics of the West Indies at the time were governed by the differences of areas that were ruled by Britain and the territories that were owned by France. While, Jamaica and Trinidad had already seen the influx of African migrant laborers it was the French-governed territory of Saint Domingue which was able to reap maximum advantages from the services of African workers, the economic effects of which travelled to the France as well (Gomez 89). The treatment of enslaved workers in French-ruled territories was governed by the tenets of the Code Noir which did little to impact and shape the ways in which African captives were treated in reality, in fact, certain torturous experiences that the workers were subjected in the region surpassed the brutalities of the British Caribbean governance practices (Gomez 94). The theme of the African slave trade is also responsible for shaping and transforming the African diaspora across Puerto Rico as African workers arrived in the region from Saint Domingue thereby, implying that the appeal of 1516 achieved misguided objectives (Gomez 95). As stated by Gomez: “The 1516 appeal of Dominican friar Bartolome de Las Casas to prohibit the enslavement of Native Americans and enslave Africans and Europeans instead reinvigorated the African trade” (95). After the spread of the Black identity to Costa Rica and Panama, African presence in Venezuela emerged in 1592 as a source of manual labor for cacao (Gomez 96). Consequently, the African diaspora reached Peru in the same year to provide manual labor for silver mines. The crux of the preceding analysis essentially postulates that the common factor which is shared by African diasporic societies is associated with the quest for achieving economic gain, finding and securing sources of cheap labor and developing their agricultural output which primarily consists of plantations such as sugarcane and cocoa. This observation also describes the motivation of the nations which chose to enslave African workers for the purpose of supporting the progress of their respective economies at the expense of African laborers. Moreover, the analysis is also reflective of the fact that even though; certain nations such as France and Spain did establish specific frameworks for promoting an ethical or acceptable treatment of African slaves none of the enslavers were able to implement the recommendations of these commandments thus they continued to remain mere theories which were never executed successfully to bring brutality, oppression and cruelty to a halt. Work Cited Gomez, M. A. (2005). Reversing sail: A history of the African diaspora (Vol. 3). Cambridge University Press. Read More