South American Slavery

The European colonies in the Americas were built upon the backs of the African slaves whose unpaid labor produced immense capital for Atlantic economies. Taken from their African homelands and thrust into the Americas, Black slaves labored under the hot Western sun to produce cash crops to add to the coffers of others. The slaves had no economic incentive to produce for their masters. To provide the necessary motivation, the slave masters relied above all …

…that in the battle for their humanity the master’s whips and chains were no match for human spirit. And, the powerful presence of African culture in the Americas, as exemplified by modern Voodoo, attests to the slaves’ success in maintaining African culture in the Americas. Works Cited Conrad, Robert Edgar. Children of God’s Fire. Princeton University Press. Princeton, NJ. 1983 James, C. L. R. The Black Jacobins. Random House inc. New York, New York.1963