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,
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,