The Making of New World Slavery: From the Baroque to the Modern, 1492-1800

Part 1: The Selection of New World Slavery 

In the first part of the book, Blackburn (1998) explores what would be described as a paradox revolving around the fact that slavery had reduced to marginal or non-existent levels in Western Europe during the period of discoveries. The main reason as to why it can be considered as a paradox is the fact that indeed slavery had grown towards becoming one of the most notable types of trade in Western Europe during that period. Different countries had embraced different approaches to the concept of colonization, which served as one of the ways through which to build on slavery among the minority communities. From that perspective, it can be considered as a paradox projecting the fact that slavery may have reduced in any way while considering that it had grown in most of the countries.

Blackburn (1998) embarked on an analysis of the emergence of colonization and preceding enslavement that occurred during the period of new slave trade within the continent of Africa was developed. The country-by-country analysis sought to create a rather effective understanding through which to establish how each of these countries approached the colonization of Africa with the aim being towards advancing their engagement in the slave trade. The Western Europe countries created both institutions and ideologies that sought to build on racial slavery with the focus being towards maximizing on the general expectations when dealing with different countries in Africa. It is from this perspective that Blackburn (1998) seeks to create what would be described as a structured analysis of how each of the countries were able to take up their differentiated levels of understanding that defined their role in the new slave trade.

The focus for this part of the book is between 1492 and 1713, which is considered as one of the most ruthless periods that sought to build on the ultimate survival for modern states based on their overall capacities towards engaging in the new type of trade, slave trade. Blackburn (1998) points to the fact that most of the modern states engaged in slave trade as one of the key aspects that would help them build on their economic and military strengths. The demand for slavery was driven by the fact that the slaves would be able to help build the economic structure of different countries in Western Europe. That meant that they would seek to take advantage of slave trade, which was described as a type of trade that sought to build on a proactive avenue through which to defend their economic and military positioning.

Britain’s ability to build on a precarious lead acted as a key challenge to some of the other countries that included Spain and Netherlands, which sought to build on a struggle for the countries to actually work towards defining their respective positions in slave trade (Blackburn, 1998). The fact that all the countries were able to align themselves in this trade created a structured approach through which to define the need for the countries to define their individual strengths. Blackburn (1998) also examines plantation slavery in other countries that included Brazil, the Caribbean, and North America in general, which had been established by 1713. That sought to suggest that most of the countries were flourishing based on their capacities to define their position in the new slave trade environment within the continent of Africa. That period sought to define slave trade as being more valuable when compared to gold and silver.

Part 2: Slavery and Accumulation 

In the second part of the book, Blackburn (1998) explores the extraordinary growth of a wide array of slavery systems in Western Europe, set within a context of the eighteenth century during which time slavery had grown to exorbitant levels. In this analysis, the book seeks to examine the role that slavery played towards projecting the overall demand for industrialization, which, in turn, paved the way for the Industrial Revolution. The section of the book embark on a country by country, as well as, colony by colony analysis of how the slavery system, which can be viewed as a destructive system played a key role towards defining industrial and economic success. In other words, the section seeks to explore the overall positioning that allows for the extensive growth of the economic system in Europe while considering the key role associated with the slavery system.

Blackburn (1998) also seeks to examine the accumulated structures of social and political antagonisms, which have been brought out through the fact that most of the governments supported the slavery systems. It examines how this was in contrast of the fact that they were expected to maintain some form of approach that would allow for basic development of the African continent. Instead, the antagonisms can be seen as engulfing both Americas and Europe in an age within which the continents were going through revolution. From this analysis, readers would be able to connect to the basic understanding that although slavery may have serious implications for African countries, it can be seen as critical towards defining overall progress in America and Europe.

References

Blackburn, R. (1998).  The making of New World slavery: from the Baroque to the modern, 1492-1800 . Verso.