Several aspects of slavery are described in chapter four, "Slavery, Freedom, and the Struggle for an Empire to 1963." The idea of trading human lives as slaves and empire, beliefs of those who practiced slavery and their resistance, an empire's freedom, the public realm and the emergence of revivals, imperial rivalries, and a conflict over the continent are all discussed. After that, Chapter 5 discusses the American Revolution (1763–1783). It discusses the starting points for crises, the path to revolution, the emergence of worries about independence, and the declaration of independence. This paper shall focus on the concept of trading the slaves, their cultures and the securing independence in America.
Trading of slaves began between the 16th and the 17th century where an estimated seven million Africans were transported to a new world. By the 18th century, it was a normalized business. Merchants from Europe, traders from Africa and planters from America engaged in the trading of human lives for profits. The trade became a vibrant part of the world economy as every empire of the European utilized slave labor and fought for its control. A treaty was even formulated in 1713 to raise the supremacy of the trade.
The free labor contributed to the rapid development of plantations in the English economy. By this time, slavery was a norm. The slaves produced rice, sugar, tobacco, and coffee, which were mass consumer goods in the international trade. The increased demand for these consumer goods propelled the rapid progression of the Atlantic slave trade. The trade gave rise to series of triangular trade routes in the Atlantic. These routes carried the manufactured goods from Europe, raw products to Europe and the slaves from Africa.
Next, we shall discuss the culture of the slaves. The Africans that were brought were not a homogenous group. They were from different cultures, speaking diverse languages and having different religious beliefs (Willemsen et al, pg.56). Their slavery and color became a source of their unity and it brought them together. Their link was not based on blood relations or language or even race, but rather the link was slavery itself.
The process of creating a unified culture by the slaves took a lot of effort and years, advancing at different rates depending on the region. By the 19th century, a common identification of the slaves as African-American was made. A synthesis of different African cultures and traditions, European elements and the changing conditions in America emerged as their culture. Because of a healthful climate, there was multiplication in the slave population creating a sex balance ratio. This made it possible for families to be generated, and soon learned English and the white people’s religion.
The last concept is the process of securing independence. A declaration of independence is totally different from winning independence. America was not as enthusiastic in their struggle for independence, in fact, some Americans were in support of the British (Quirk & Joel pg.887). Only patriots were willing to fight for independence, a dear course involving suffering. To them, independence remained a major issue with little concern of how much the British occupied their territory.
George Washington, in 1775 allowed for blacks to join the army with a promise of their freedom. The involvement of the African Americans in war greatly contributed to the American liberty and independence. The focus of the war was majorly in the North but shifted to the South in 1978. The brutal treatment by the British lead to other Americans to fight for their independence. The British surrendered on the 19th day of October 1781. A treaty of independence was then signed in 1783, giving Americans control over the entire region.
In conclusion, the freedom being enjoyed by the contemporary Americans, both the white and African-Americans was jointly fought for by both the slaves and the whites.
Work Cited
Oldfield, John R. Popular Politics and British Anti-Slavery: The mobilisation of public opinion against the slave trade 1787-1807. Routledge, 2012.
Araujo, Ana Lucia. "Public memory of slavery: victims and perpetrators in the South Atlantic." African Diaspora Archaeology Newsletter 13.3 (2010): 22.
Willemsen, Glenn, Kwame Nimako, and Eric Mielants. The Dutch Atlantic: slavery, abolition and emancipation. Mielants, Eric, translation (from Dutch to English): Willemsen, Glenn & Nimako, Kwame. The Dutch Atlantic: Slavery, Abolition and Emancipation. London: Pluto Press, 2011., 2011.
Quirk, Joel. The anti-slavery project: From the slave trade to human trafficking. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011.
Eltis, David, and David Richardson, eds. Routes to slavery: direction, ethnicity and mortality in the transatlantic slave trade. Routledge, 2013.
