How Did Plantation and the Slave Trade Contribute to Capitalist Development in the Atlantic Economy - Research Paper Example

Univeristy: How did plantation and the slave trade contribute to capitalist development in the Atlantic economy? This study examines the issue of the slave trade and how it relates to the development of capitalism in the Atlantic economy. Primarily, the study addresses how plantation and the slave trade contributed to the rise of capitalism. The study will explore the horrors of the slave trade and how the slave traders led to the development of capitalism. The study focusses on how capitalism evolved during the slave trade. The study will also focus on the relationship between plantation agriculture, slavery, and the rise of capitalism. Introduction The transatlantic slave trade, which lasted for two hundred years, from 1650 to 1850, was of significance in the world history. During this period, countless numbers of lives were lost due to the harsh working conditions that the slaves were subjected to by the slave owners. To a considerable extent, the rise of capitalism in the Atlantic economy resulted from the slave trade and plantation. Slave trade and plantation farming paved way for the investment of surplus cash, which the merchants accrued. In addition, clergy, monarchs, guilds, and aristocrats had the opportunity to invest their surplus cash (Coclanis 2005, p. 32). The horrors of the slave trade still exist today and can be seen in the numerous inter-class struggles. Many years after the end of slavery, the world has continued to witness vast class and racial differences. The contributions of plantation and the slave trade to capitalist development in the Atlantic economy To a large extent, slavery contributed to the rise of capitalism in the Atlantic economy. With their motives of accumulating wealth, slave owners subjected the slaves to poor conditions in the plantations. These poor conditions can be equated to the capitalistic ideals, which aim at accumulating surplus value at the expense of the poor. During the slave trade, the term chattel slavery was commonly used. The use of this term primarily meant personal property; the slaves used to be legal property of the slave owners. As such, slave owners considered slaves as investments, which had to be used to realize some gains (Tracy 1997, p. 46). In the Atlantic economy, the primitive accumulation of capitalists meant finding someone to work in the farms. The oppression of slaves by slave traders and slave owners had significant contributions to the development of capitalism (Lovejoy 2000, p. 6). Based on the relationship between slavery and capitalism, it can be argued that the system of capitalism arose from slavery. While capitalism was based on free labor, slavery was based on slave labour. Slaves used to work in the plantation farms without any remuneration. They could not be paid since landowners had already purchased them at a fee. As a result, the owners of plantations argued that they owned the slaves; therefore, they could incur additional costs for what was already theirs. Slave trade thrived to counter the shortage of labourers owing to the need for workers in the plantations. Consequently, this led to the development of an oppressive system characterized by capitalistic ideals (Freyre 1986, p. 109). Although the system of slavery never used to be capitalistic itself, it enormously contributed to the rise of capitalism. This can be seen through the numerous profits realized from the trade. This relates to the development of capitalism in the sense that capitalists aim at making excess profits (Smith 2006, p. 38). As a result, capitalistic ideals emerged from the slave traders who aimed at accumulating surplus value. Meanwhile, plantation owners wanted cheap labour to work in the farms. This relates to capitalism, which targets cheap labour that comes at a low or no cost at all. Since the slave owners did not incur costs of labour, they accumulated a lot of wealth. The slaves created this wealth for the owners of plantations in the Atlantic economy. Apparently, capitalism had to emerge since the slaves underwent oppression for the benefit of the wealthy landowners. Slavery can be regarded as a precapitalist system of production that had vast contributions to the thriving of plantation farming in the Atlantic economy. There used to be slavery for use at homes (domestic slavery) as well as commodity slavery (slavery for profit). Commodity slavery led to the rise of capitalism in the Atlantic economy through the work of slaves in the farms (Smith 2006, p. 39). This could be seen in the sense that when slaves made commodities, the masters sold the commodities for their own profits. The profits realized from the commodities could not be shared among the masters and slaves. This can be seen as a characteristic of capitalism, which aims at exploiting the poor. This immense brutality and oppression of slaves by the owners of plantations led to the development of a capitalist society (Coclanis 2005, p. 33). Another contribution of the slave trade to capitalism was through the development of industrial capitalism in the Atlantic economy. The bourgeoisie in the Atlantic economy became excessively rich because of the slave trade. The production of commodities such as textile in industries utilized slave labour, which could be accessed easily (Solow 1993, p.265). Slaves worked in industries; therefore, the enormous production witnessed in industries was due to slave labour. Since the costs of maintaining slaves in the industries were low, the owners of the industries accumulated a lot of wealth. On the contrary, the slaves continued to languish in poverty; the unfavorable working conditions in the industries accelerated the problems faced by the slaves. This saw the development of capitalism in the Atlantic economy. Karl Marx pointed out the various ways in which slavery paved way for the development of capitalism. In his arguments, Marx noted that capitalism assumes surplus value; surplus value assumes production based on capitalism and capitalistic production assumes the existence of masses of capital and labour. The whole movement tends to revolve in a vicious circle, which supports primitive accumulation. This accumulation was witnessed during slavery and plantation, and it formed the basis for the development of capitalism (Solow 1993, p. 267). Therefore, slavery was a starting point in the development of capitalism. Based on the desire to gain wealth, the owners of the means of production (plantation owners) oppressed the poor (slaves). The slaves acted as labour while the slave owners represented the owners of capital. For the development of capitalism to take place, there had to be some transformations that related to the creation of wage labour. Once the establishment of capitalism succeeded, the expansion and reproduction of investments had to be continuous. Therefore, the dawn of slavery and the slave trade marked the era of capitalistic production. The need for slaves to work in the plantations characterized the emergence of capitalism. Just like slave owners needed labour in their farms, so did capitalism require labour. Thus, slave trade signalled the development of capitalism because slave owners turned to be the bourgeoisie while the slaves became the proletariat. The use of slave labour for cash crop farming was characterized by coercion. As a result, slavery became an economic necessity in the Atlantic economy. To the landowners, slavery was there to solve an economic problem. The forced labour aimed at achieving economic gain. This precipitated the need to have unpaid workers; consequently, capitalism had to emerge from slavery. The fact that slavery viewed labourers as a source of economic gain coincides with capitalistic ideals, which view workers as a way of enhancing economic gain of the bourgeoisie (Tomich 2004, p. 36). The economic life of the slave owners was characterized by greed, gain, and expansion. The plantation farming and the slave trade can be regarded as a capitalistic agricultural organization. The plantation owners employed the slaves under a unified direction, which entailed control in the production process. The slaves had no basis to retaliate against the harsh conditions in the plantations. This gave the wealthy slave owners ultimate powers to control the slaves. Therefore, the slaves could not challenge the ideals of the plantation owners. Consequently, a capitalistic system emerged; unquestioned authority characterized the system (Smith 2006, p. 39). Slavery and plantation led to the establishment of the position and power of the planter. The number of slaves controlled measured the affluence and status of a slave owner. Power lay in the ability to have a considerable number of slaves; plantation owners with many slaves attracted a lot of respect and prestige. This led to capitalistic development as the affluent and wealthy landowners developed capitalistic ideals (Engerman & Inikori 1992, p. 236). In comparison with capitalism, slavery exhibited the element of class differentials. The bourgeoisie (landowners) belonged to a higher social status than the slaves who belonged to a lower social status. This propagated exploitation based on social class. One of the characteristics of capitalism includes differences in social class and status. Moreover, the plantation owners utilized the profits made by the slaves to invest in other forms of business. In the early years of slavery, the slaves could work and leave at their own time. However, the farmers in the Atlantic region developed the need to have ultimate control on their workers. The plantation owners feared that the workers could leave and start their own farms (Freyre 1986, p. 112). This could mean that there would be no labour in the plantations. This led to the manipulation of slave labour, which formed the basis of slavery. Consequently, tensions arose between the slaves from Africa and the landowners in the Atlantic region. These tensions encouraged the development of capitalism. The slave owners could not allow the slaves to have adequate time to rest; the slaves worked for endless hours. Moreover, the extra working hours were not renumerated; this resulted to the emergence of a capitalist system (McNally1990, p. 5). Slavery and plantation also contributed to the development of capitalism because owners of plantations were only interested in the use of slaves to solve the problem of labour. As a result, workers used to be overworked; this portrays the material interests of the plantation owners. Capitalism emerged from this system of subjecting slaves to a lot of work. The slave owners wanted to reduce the expenses by ensuring that they only had a few workers. This led to the development of capitalism, which aimed at amassing wealth by ensuring that few workers did a lot of work (Engerman & Inikori 1992, p. 238). Slavery also contributed to the development of slavery through the numerous attempts to end the trade. Abolitionists and civil rights leaders initiated abolition movements, which aimed at ending slavery. This saw the emergence of bitter rivalry between the slaves and the plantation owners. Slaves revolted against the long working hours and poor conditions of work in the plantations (Rawley & Stephen 2005, p. 24). Consequently, two groups, the bourgeoisie (oppressor) and the proletariat (oppressed) emerged. After the realization that the landowners were exploiting them, the slaves started demanding their rights. This struggle saw the emergence of a system of capitalism in which the oppressors never wanted to grant the oppressed their rights. The plantation owners were only interested in the cultivation of cash crops such as tobacco or cotton. The owners of the plantations had little concern for the consequences of cash crop farming. They were only concerned with their own wellbeing and the amount of wealth they could amass from the farming venture. This led to the adoption of agricultural methods that depleted the soils and led to land degeneration. Plantation owners exploited slave labour to enhance better production with little concern for the worn out lands. This resulted to the rise of capitalism, which aimed at exploiting resources with little concern for the consequences of such actions (McNally1990, p. 7). The bourgeoisie in the Atlantic economy had a close and strong connection to the slave trade. The bourgeoisie bought molasses made from slave labour and sold rum in the triangle trade. The bourgeoisie from the North lent money to the Southern planters. Moreover, they financed the trade in slaves; even after the trade became illegal, some ships leaving New York ferried slaves (Tracy 1997, p. 49). The Northerners sold manufactured products to the people occupying the south. This historical connection between slavery and capitalism significantly contributed to the rise of capitalism. Slavery also contributed to the development of capitalism through the American Revolution. The revolution can be regarded as a bourgeoisie revolution, which acted as the basis for the development of American capitalism. The revolution comprised an alliance between merchants of the Northern colonies and the planters of the Southern colonies. The Northern and the Southern colonies wanted to secede from the British mercantilism. As a result, the revolution stimulated the development of capitalism by cementing the relationship between slavery and capitalism. Later on, the American civil war, which aimed at ending slavery, came as a response to the mistreatment of the slaves (proletariat) by the slave owners (bourgeoisie). Conclusion While concluding, it is worth to note that slavery and plantation made significant contributions to the development of capitalism in the Atlantic economy. The slave owners subjected the slaves to poor conditions of work in the plantations; in capitalism, these conditions characterize the oppression of the proletariat by the bourgeoisie. The mistreatment of the slaves by the landowners brought tensions between the slaves and slave owners. The slaves revolted against the poor conditions and exploitation by the slave owners. This was after the realization that the landowners were accumulating excess profits from their labour. Slavery contributed to capitalism by propagating ideals that characterize a capitalist society. The plantation owners only cared for the profits they made and not the welfare of the workers. Thus, slavery and plantation led to the rise of capitalism in the Atlantic economy. References List Coclanis, P. A. (2005). The Atlantic Economy during the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries: Organization, Operation, Practice, and Personnel. South Calorina, University of South Carolina Press. Engerman, S.L. & Inikori, J. E. (1992). The Atlantic Slave Trade: Effects on Economies, Societies, and Peoples in Africa, the Americas, and Europe. Durham, Duke University Press. Freyre, G. (1986). The Masters and the Slaves. California, Univeristy of California Press. Lovejoy, P. E. (2000). Transformations in Slavery: A History of Slavery in Africa. New York, Cambridge University Press. McNally, D. (1990). Political Economy and the Rise of Capitalism: A Reinterpretation. California, University of California Press. Rawley, J. A. & Stephen, D. (2005). The Transatlantic Slave Trade: A History. Nebraska, University of Nebraska Press. Solow, B. (1993). Slavery and the Rise of the Atlantic System. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. Smith, D. S. (2006). Slavery, Family, and Gentry Capitalism in the British Atlantic: The World of the Lascelles, 1648-1834. New York, Cambridge University Press. Tomich, D. W. (2004). Through the Prism of Slavery: Labor, Capital, and World Economy. Oxford, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Tracy, D. J. (1997).The Political Economy of Merchant Empires. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. Read More