Slavery In Latin America Essay -- Slavery Essays

Slavery In Latin America   Ã‚  Ã‚  Slavery in the Americas was quite diverse. Mining operations in the tropics experienced different needs and suffered different challenges than did plantations in more temperate areas of Norther Brazil or costal city’s serving as ports for the exporting of commodities produced on the backs of the enslaved peoples from the African continent. This essay will look at these different situations and explore the factors that determined the treatment of slaves, the consequences of that treatment, and the conditions that lead to resistance by the slaves working in their various capacities.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After the initial conquest of Mexico and South America it was time to develop the economy and export the resources that would benefit the monarchy back home in Spain and Portugal. Silver and Gold were two such commodities. Silver mines in Northern Mexico were supervised by blacks who directed the Indians in the arduous task of extracting the precious metal. Gold in Central Mexico was also mined by blacks. The Gold mining regions were hot, tropical, isolated areas of the jungle. The regions were sparsely populated and it was difficult to keep the locals as a work force. The introduction of disease in the tropics made these areas death zones to the indigenous people as they had no resistance to the virulent plagues. There was a need to get cheap or free labor that would be capable of resisting the disease and who would be easier to dominate than the locals who could run off and establish themselves elsewhere relatively easily. The natural answer was to obtain slaves from the African continent. The slave trade was already in operation on the African continent. Coastal cities there often enslaved inland peoples so it was not difficult to obtain the stock and export them to the Americas.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Slaves in the mining regions were subject to harsh, isolated conditions. There were few females and little or no community amongst the slaves. Some of the workers did have access to money and as a result could negotiate there freedom for a price. In 1732 1/3 of the African population of Choco was free as a result. Less fortunate slaves who found the conditions unbearable fled to even more isolated areas of the back country to survive on their own or in small colonies.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Sugar plantations of Northern Brazil were a major c... ...so manumission possibilities increased. Slaves isolated from family life and culture working in miserable conditions were often flight risks as they had no real options and the terrain lent to good hiding. There were also no whites around to hire as cheap labor to search them out and return them. Mulatto and Criollo slaves were higher on the socioeconomic ladder than the Bozal and were therefore less likely to resist as they were a step away from freedom which meant they would not consider fleeing as good an option as remaining in the social circle and family they had established.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Slavery under any conditions is not the optimum existence for human beings. It is a fact that human nature seeks to dominate. Greed and money are often at the root of such efforts. The Israelites, the Irish, the Africans, and enumerable other groups have heritage that includes a period of slavery or of enslaving or both. African Cimarron communities even enslaved other African fleeing the plantations. It is not rooted in race as much as it is rooted in human nature. The preceding essay is just a synopsis of how it functioned for African’s in certain regions during a space in history.