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Implication of Slave Trade in South America
The Slave trade is one of the aspects that cannot be forgotten in the history of South America. Noteworthy, after the slave trade, people lived a miserable life because they could not secure everything they needed to satisfy their mental-being. Also, most of the people required money-generating activities to cater to their basic needs. The aspects resulted in the slave trade, which was characterized by people being kidnapped, forced to work as laborers in cotton and tobacco production, and movement restrictions. In this account, the people who were considered rich during that time took advantage of the poor to satisfy their desires. It was a challenging encounter for the poor to deliver themselves from the situation considering the nation’s state, which had nothing to offer in place of the slave trade (Gates & Henry). However, like any other national aspect, South America experienced political, social, economic, and cultural implications emanating from the slave trade.
Political
During the slave trade, leaders were expected to unite people and protect them from undesirable conditions such as kidnapping cases. Therefore, some citizens thought that it was a sound idea to seek help from the leaders. This turned to woe to some citizens because some leaders used those chances to capture people and use them for their benefits. Also, the leaders played a significant role in selling slaves to boost their wealth, which was against the citizens’ expectations. This resulted in disputes among the leaders who felt that this was an unfair aspect and never benefited from the slave trade. Besides, people lost interest in their leaders, and they could hardly accept that they are supposed to be ruled. This encounter lowered the essence of leadership considerably.
Economic
The profound interest in making money out of the slave trade enticed many people that it was a sound idea. As a result, some wealthy people made slave ports, which were instrumental in exploiting public resources, commodities, and labor. Noteworthy, this was an advantage to the owners of the slave ports and the ones who enticed people to sell them as slaves, but it eventually leads to low use of the resources that maintained the economy of South America. To mention a few, the lands that were supposed to be used by the citizens as a working site were occupied by the leaders and people of higher rank. As a result, most of the people could not secure jobs opportunities (History.com Editors). The government also did not get tax to boost the economy, which was deteriorating at that time.
The Slave trade also played a significant role in the displacement of the people. In this case, people had to move out of their native places to escape the harsh conditions they experienced. The hostility in the area did not allow people to engage in agriculture and trade to generate income for them. As a result, a low standard of living became a subject in South America. Also, the cases of poverty increased, considering the nation’s state, which could not improve the state of her citizen. Besides, a large population in some areas resulted in the outbreak of diseases, eventually leading to significant deaths due to poor health services. The aspects endangered the economy of South America at an alarming rate.
Social
Slavery in South America affected people in the south socially. In the sense that Americans forced the slaves to work in the American farms, slaves were not happy and willing to offer labor. As a result, there was increased warfare between the Americans and the slaves. This was because slaves needed to live a better life, and therefore, they started to fight for their rights and freedom. On the other hand, the whites were not ready to set the slaves free because they were the source of labor in their farms (Blanchard & Peter).. They also knew setting the slaves free meant that they would incur extra cost to facilitate the efficiency of their plantations. In this respect, the war between the slaves and the whites prevailed.
Slavery also led to increased suffering and misery. Southern Americans subjected African slaves to sufferings. Notably, whites limited their rights, treated them inhumanly, and subjected them to psychological torture. This because they denied them a chance to raise their grievances, and the whites used them as servants with little payments, which could not cater to all their needs. Besides, the Americans forced the slaves to abandon their families and some of their countries. They also retained them in the cotton and tobacco plantations where they offered labor. The whites could not allow them to visit their families, which in return led to misery among the slaves (Blanchard & Peter).
Nonetheless, hatred and mistrust arose between the blacks and the white Europeans. As the slave trade was racially based, there was an emergence of hatred from the blacks following the whites’ mistreatment. Also, the world-class that existed in America only allowed the whites to own wealth while blacks were seen as laborers. Suspicion and mistrust engulfed slaves’ minds because the whites dehumanized them to maintain their social class (History.com Editors).
Cultural
Slavery also had cultural effects on the people living in South America. The African slaves differed from the whites in terms of culture. In this account, the European culture dominated in America. The African culture, therefore, was not valued at all. This led to the erosion of African culture and the absorption of the white culture. The European forced Africans to abandon some of their cultures as they were considered evil. For example, the use of high sound instruments on occasions such as the Europeans seemed to use loud tools evil.
Slavery led to the introduction of new languages. There existed a language barrier because Africans could not hear or understand the European languages, and the whites too could not understand or speak the African languages. In order to counter this challenge and enhance effective communication between the African slaves, European slaves, and Europeans who were owners of plantations, there was extensive use of interpreters. On the other hand, the enslaved Africans learned the European language, but they did not erode their languages entirely.
Nevertheless, slavery led to the introduction of new musical expressions. The enslaved Africans got exposed to the materials that varied from the woods, seashells, bones, and cowries that Africans used to make drums, fiddles, bells, rattles, and other musical instruments. This exposure enabled enslaved musicians to initiate new forms of musical expressions. These new forms were essential to Americans because they informed them of religious and social life (History.com Editors). Also, slavery led to the introduction of new songs and dance styles that were influenced by introducing new musical expressions. These songs and dances incorporated the African culture and European culture. Overall, slave trade played a significant role in the development of South America.
Works Cited
Blanchard, Peter. “Review of: Christopher Schmidt-Nowara, Slavery, Freedom, and Abolition in Latin America and the Atlantic World.” Bulletin for Spanish and Portuguese Historical Studies 36.1 (2011): 22.
Gates, Henry Louis. Black in Latin America. NYU Press, 2011.
History.com Editors. “Slavery in America.” HISTORY, 12 Nov. 2009, www.history.com/topics/black-history/slavery. Accessed 19 Oct. 2020.