Slavery In The Caribbean

The Caribbean consists of seemingly countless islands that all belong to different countries which have their own unique culture and race. The diversity in the Caribbean is due, in part, to the labour demands and migration patterns during the colonial period. In addition, the discourse used in relation to race during this time period helped to contribute to the use of slave labour from places like Africa and China. This paper will examine how the discourse used created the justification and rationale for why African and Chinese slave labour could be used in the Caribbean. This discourse, in combination with labour demands and the profitability margins for plantations on various Caribbean islands, caused white Europeans to find the cheapest …show more content…
The pro-slavery ideology emerged in the context of slavery’s expansion throughout the hemisphere and served the purpose of culturally preparing white Europeans for an age of imperialism. As described by Hilary McD. Beckles in her article “Capitalism, Slavery and Caribbean Modernity” slavery was more than just a labour system, it was part of a political campaign to differentiate European culture from the rest of humanity, which would in turn establish a self-serving ethic caste system for the enforcement of slavery on colonized peoples. These varying discourses all came together to allow white Europeans to justify their actions of enslaving those who were racial different from themselves. Once able to convince, not only their own society, but the societies of other established and wealthy nations, that there was legitimate and reasonable proof behind why slavery was justified and why those of a different race were best suited as slaves white Europeans were able to use slave labour in the …show more content…
One of the major factors was the discourse used to justify slavery in its beginning stages. Without this discourse and justification the use of slavery may not have been as wide spread, which have also led to less diversification in the Caribbean. Once slavery was implemented both in discourse and on plantations in the Caribbean, African and Chinese slaves needed ways to communicate and come together as a community because although they came from different parts of the world, with different cultures, languages and religious practices, they now all lived in one area together, the plantation. When different racial and ethnic groups come together in such large numbers, like in various Caribbean plantations during the colonial period, there is bound to be a transformation of ideas and culture practices amongst the group. Although not they only factor, slavery was a major cause for the diversity that is present on varying Caribbean