Olaudah Equiano's Summary: The System Of Slavery In Spanish America

In Olaudah Equiano’s narrative “A multitude of Black People…Chained Together” he reflects on his feeling of hopelessness and despair that overcame him as he realized he was being deprived of the chance of ever returning to his homeland. The system of slavery in the Americas had a profound effect on all people involved and shaping the world we live in today. It affected the economy, society, politics, and behaviors of people. The system had a powerful social impact on the African people but they left their own mark on the Americas as well. The enslaved people employed various survival mechanisms and forms of resistance in light of the plight that they faced, as they became targets of a system that brought about racism and robbed them of their liberty and dignity. …show more content…
In the Council of the Indies response to the crown they maintain that there were many advantages of having African slaves. They claimed that the lack of Indians and Spaniards willing to work in the Indies made it necessary that they make use of African slaves for the labor of the estates and the service in families. The forced Indian labor had previously been widespread but ill treatment had resulted in their population being depleted (Council of the Indies). The new system with African slave labor would prove to be immensely profitable. According to some historians the profits of the Atlantic slave trade in the Americas played a central role in the development of what is now capitalism. It “prompted the growth of European economic activity and the development of specialized export economics” (Burkholder and Johnson, 146). The Catholic Church also had significant profit, owning more slaves than any other institution or family in the Americas (Burkholder and Johnson,