Brycchan Carey Slavery 1400-1500 Analysis

Slavery has existed for many years. In fact, according to Brycchan Carey’s article “Slavery Timeline 1400-1500: A chronology of Slavery, Abolition, and Emancipation in the fifteenth Century”, slavery originally started during the 1400s in Europe. Slavery was in effect even after the falling of the Roman Empire, but “became increasingly uncommon in Northern Europe and, by the 11th and 12th centuries, had been effectively abolished in the North” (Carey). But even then, certain kinds of slavery still existed and other parts of the world still used slaves. In the other hemispheres of Europe, slavery was still popular, and growing. As Carey explained, it was still normal to use, to have, and to trade slaves. In the years following the commencement
Slavery was expanding across the world quickly, and soon in 1619, it reached the United States. In the textbook “The American Past: A survey of American History- 10th edition- Volume 1: to 1877” by Joseph R. Conlin, the author explains how African slaves were first introduced to America. He states, “They arrived in 1619 when a Dutch vessel sailed into Jamestown and offered about twenty ‘negars’ for sale” (87). The Dutch were expanding the locations where they would sell and trade Africans. One of the main reasons why African’s were brought to Virginia, according to an online source, was “to aid in the production of such lucrative crops as tobacco” (Slavery in America). Products such as tobacco, rice and indigo were some of the staple exports at the time, tobacco being one of the most highly exported. Products like these were shipped around the world and were on high demand; so naturally, they needed to get those products in bulks and in an efficient amount of time. This is when the Africans come into play for the farmers. The slaves were the ones who had to work the field in order to help produce these crops and ensure they were done the way they needed to be done. Slave owners did not want to do the work on their own, as it came with many risks and was a harsh task. Machines now do most of the works done by
They were said to be property, not people. They belonged to whoever had purchased them and they could not change that. In the textbook “The American Past”, Conlin expresses “… it was assumed by everyone that blacks were somebody’s slaves unless they could prove they were free” (88). Slaves were seen as the lesser people and were given no rights. People saw slaves simply as property and people who would do whatever they were told to do. Being enslaved wrongfully stripped them of their freedom and of their natural human rights.
Slavery and the way the slaves were treated stayed the same and was legal for many years. That is, until 1865 when the 13th amendment was ratified. Conlin quotes the amendment in saying, “It provided that ‘neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except for as a punishment for crime…shall exist within the United States” (407). Simply put, the amendment prohibits the unlawful use of