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What Is Wrong With Slavery?

A History of Slaves- Introduction

“If they weren't fast enough, they would soon be slaves. And slaves were property, and property was money and power.”

― E.Y. Laster, Of Captivity & Kings

Slavery formed an important part of the nineteenth century. It was ordinary to have slaves around. If we go back even further in history, we find that it was absolutely essential to the economic structures of civilizations like Ancient Greek and Rome. Slavery has continued through history, and only recently, has it been partly eradicated. If we move a little further, to about the 15th century, when the Atlantic Slave Trade began, when Portugal, and subsequently other European kingdoms, were finally able to expand overseas and reach Africa, we find that here, too, it was a necessary part of everyday life.

We regularly hear that slavery is one of the darkest chapters in history. But what exactly, is wrong with slavery? After all it provided a steady economy to countries in Europe, to the USA, and even to African countries, from where these slaves were bought in the first place, in exchange for guns and ammunition. Why is slavery so wrong?

I believe that there are three major reasons, the three pillars, the three horsemen of slavery, and it’s aftereffects, which will provide us with this answer.

Racism

The Trans-Atlantic slave trade which began as a means of providing labour, grew to be the main reason of one the greatest issue we have ever seen. Racism.

Forced labour was not uncommon — Africans and Europeans had been trading goods and people across the Mediterranean for centuries — but enslavement had not been based on race. There was a labour shortage in the European countries and the USA, and slaves were bought from Africa. Since their skin was of a darker complexion than that of the Europeans, all the blacks came to be viewed as inferiors. This distinction evolved as the years passed.

Daryl Davis describes in his Ted-Talk, this evolution as not one whole step, but a combination of steps. As the generations passed, slavery started becoming less of an issue, since it was abolished in many countries, and the world returned to normalcy. But the newer generations, who had not experienced slavery first-hand, had only little idea about this other race, which they had been told was inferior to them. And since they did not have enough information about this other race, they came to be afraid of it. Because when we don’t understand something, we naturally become scared of it, afraid of it. We view it as something different, something alien to us. And this fear, in turn, gives rise to hate. When we’re scared of something, we start hating it, we start loathing it. And as the final step, this hate, obviously, turns to destruction. And that is precisely what the slave trade, which was eradicated one and a half centuries ago, has done to the present era, and the world we are living in. Ignorance breeds fear, fear breeds hate, and finally, hate breeds destruction. And so, I would like to move forward by noting that slavery is directly responsible for instances of racism and movements against these instances like the ‘Black Lives Matter’ in the modern era.

Whenever we talk about the Black movements, one prominent name that always comes up is that of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King’s method to promote freedom and equality before the law for this oppressed minority was non-violent civil disobedience against unjust laws, such as laws banning black citizens from using certain public facilities. When the authorities refused to permit protest marches, he would lead such marches nevertheless. Among these was a series of three marches from Selma to Montgomery in the state of Alabama in 1965 to promote voter registration among the black population. These marches resulted in mass arrests and police violence against the protesters, which in turn attracted worldwide media coverage and a flood of new supporters for Dr. King’s movement.

Dr. King always insisted that his supporters refrain from any violent response to the violence inflicted on them. Engaged politically, he emphasized the right to vote as a means of achieving social progress through peaceful means. He often publicly acknowledged that he was likely to die from an assassin’s bullet, which, tragically, is indeed what happened. But not in vain, because the flame that he lit, the fire he ignited in our hearts, will burn tirelessly, everlastingly. His life would not be in vain, because justice will be given to those who deserve it.

Cruelty

Another point we often hear is that slavery was connected to cruelty. The treatment given to the slaves was inhumane, no doubt. And this point could not be more relevant today. The Trans-Atlantic slave trade, which began as early as the 15th century, introduced a system of slavery that was commercialized, racialized and inherited. Enslaved people were seen not as people at all but as commodities to be bought, sold and exploited.

The traders were tight packers. The captives were packed like spoons, with not even space to turn. The male slaves were kept between the hold and the deck in appalling conditions, and the women were kept on the deck, where they were regularly abused by the crew members. Diseases like the Black Death were common, and captives often succumbed to these. Hundreds of slaves were kept together, and this made the spread even quicker. Out of those who survived, many committed suicide and starved themselves to death willingly, to escape the brutalities they faced.

Food was scarce. The captives only received food when there was a significant surplus. The sailors ate first, and if anything remained, it was given to the slaves (which was not a lot of times, since it was seldom that the sailors left anything). They were handcuffed, and were treated as a source of entertainment onboard so that they wouldn’t revolt. The records of these brutalities support my point, and hence, I conclude this point.

Ownership

But the one point which tops both of the above mentioned arguments, is ownership. The right of one human over another. The ownership of a peer. That, in my view, is the one thing, that is absolutely, undeniably, wrong with slavery. This discrimination between the slave and the master, can still be seen all around the globe, where certain communities believe that they are superior to others. If you think about it, we have seen this several times in history, but we just don’t learn from our mistakes. The Nazis did it, the Whites did, and after almost a century has passed, we still see these instances.

Abolition

Now, since we’re talking about slavery, another thing that forms a part of the argument is the abolition of it. First, I would like to debunk the myth that slavery was abolished for moral reasons. It was done completely for prudential and economic reasons.

In the late 18th century the climate of public opinion began to change, slowly at first, but gradually gaining momentum.

The Society of Friends, a religious group, were one of the first to oppose the slave trade. William Wilberforce, Thomas Clarkson, John Newton, Granville Sharp, Olaudah Equiano and many others, joined the Abolitionist movement. Each contributed something different, but all having an impact on the move towards Abolition.

A decline in the economic importance of slavery meant Britain’s economy was no longer dependent on the triangular trade. Additionally a new source of wealth was created by the growth of new industries.

Abolitionists understood that the only way to end slavery was through Parliament. They presented their arguments across the country, lobbying MPs to try and persuade them to end the slave trade. In 1807 the British Parliament was finally persuaded that Britain’s involvement in the slave trade should come to an end.

In the USA, Slave labour was no match for canals, railroads, steel mills and shipyards. Slavery — and the parochial rent-seeking culture it promoted — inhibited the growth of capitalism in the South. Ultimately, it was Northern industrial might that ended that peculiar institution in the U.S. once and for all

By doing this, it was made clear that the abolition of slavery was carried out only for the sole reason of economic benefits. There were no moral reasons for this development, except of course, there were some groups that were actually concerned. And hence, although slavery was abolished, the reason for which it was done is completely unacceptable.

Conclusion

Equality becomes increasingly important in these turbulent times. Having given these three main arguments of my topic, I would like to conclude by saying that this, is precisely what was and still is wrong with slavery. Slavery, in my opinion, can be classified as the root to several social evils that now exist.

We saw above how the slaves were mistreated, I gave several examples, but one important thing to note is that these instances are not exclusive to just one era of slavery. These are common to every page of history, every time period where slavery has taken place, every time a price has been put on human life, every time someone sold a man in exchange for money. Whether it was the United States of America, Ancient Greece, Mesopotamia (Now Iraq) or Ancient Rome. Millions of human lives, captured by force, kept in ships like animals, only worse; their heads shaved to prevent lice, handcuffed to the belly of the ship, twenty percent of whom, would never see land again, in their entire lives.

But we have a chance to bring change; we have a chance to change the path of history, to rewrite the pages of textbooks. In today’s era, where things like racial justice play a significant role in our lives and the events around the world, it becomes all the more important to educate ourselves. Educating ourselves is perhaps the one and only way to break the chain, to defy the system and then rebuild it in our own manner.

Footnotes:

Sources:

-A Brief History of Slavery That You Didn't Learn in School- https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/19/magazine/history-slavery-smithsonian.html

-United States of America: Slavery, Racial Discrimination, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.