Slave Labor in the Sugar Cane Plantation System

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Slavery was a cruel institution used worldwide to exploit and dehumanize a certain group of people. African slave trade and slavery is an ingrained part of European colonization. Many European nations enslaved Africans. The first to enslaved Africans were the Portuguese, followed by the Dutch, English, French and lastly the Spanish. Slavery came about because Indian labor declined and was scarce. A demand for forced labor was created and the Spanish Crown turned to Africa Slaves were seem as inferior and were at the bottom of the hierarchy based on race. African slaves were distributed to the Caribbean, Brazil, The United States, and mainland Spanish America. Africans went to many parts if the Indies and were mainly concentrated in lowlands and coastal regions, places where the Indian population declined rapidly. Seeing growth in slave traffic. Spain followed the example of the English and French, and set up a sugar plantation economy that relayed on black slave labor. The three largest slave holding societies in America were Brazil, the Caribbean islands and Southern United States. Slavery is treating a slave as chattel or property, something that can be bought and sold. Many of the slaves came from Africa. Slaves were chosen because they were a form of the cheapest and most reliable labor. The Native Americans were subjected to Spanish rule and were outlawed from being enslaved. Justifications were made for enslaving the Africans. The African slaves had no rights to protect them. Their skin color was an automatic thing that singled them out as alien .The justifications were, they are free from pagan Africa and could enjoy the sacraments of the Catholic Church and Hispanic acculturation. (Holden 10-1-2013) Slavery was... ... middle of paper ... ... and the improvement of the island's sugar technology. The Ten Years’ War (1868-780 led to the end of the Cuban Slave trade in 1867. A plantation is an agricultural enterprise that that has capital intensive machinery, foreign capital, and labor intensive forced labor and produces a single crop for export. Slave labor is an investment within the plantation system. It is a long process that takes much labor and powerful machinery. Sugar making uses steam, fire, cane juice and slaves. First the cane is cut, then it is carried to the mill. At the mill, it is place in a trough and crushed. The juice is take out and boiled. It crystallizes and put into boxes. This labor is arduous, as the workers had to cut down sizable stalks of sugarcane ranging in height from 5 feet to 15 feet with only a cane knife. The slaves don’t get a lot of rest and it is a long day of work.

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