was slavery a system of race control or based solely on economics?

Question

state your opinion.

Answer 1

Slavery in the United States was mainly racial. There were white slaves as well in the colonies, mostly criminals whose other choice was death. Many of the rebels who fought for Monmouth, as an example, were sold as slaves. It certainly became a matter of racial control later.

Over history, however, slavery has not generally been racial in motivation. In places where one can kidnap another and sell them to a third party it is easy money, even today. When the British were forced by the short sighted United nations to leave Africa the slave trade revived in a single generation, and is now the main industry in several areas.

So the motivation is mainly economic. There is also the factor of personal power over another. Many slaves are bought specifically to gratify the sexual perversions of their owners. Economics drive the slaver catchers, but what drives the buyers is a much darker force.

Answer 2

Please define your terms better - I suspect you are looking at a limited variety of slavery in a limited area over a limited period, and talking about it as if that were the only kind there has ever been. Slavery traditionally and historically has had little or nothing to do with race. There have been a bunch of factors in different times and in different areas, but the primary one has generally been economic. Sometimes slavery is the result of conquest, sometimes it's the cause, but it pretty much always provides economic benefits to both the slave-takers and the slave-holders. Still does today, for that matter.

Answer 3

Originally, it was based solely on economics. But later on, in the United States, it definitely became a system of race control. All the proslavers argued that huge groups of freed slaves (and remember, they considered blacks to be less then human, and so weren't believed to share human morals) would wander around, "stealing" white jobs, raping white woman, and causing general crime, mayhem, and destruction. Slaveowners were absolutely TERRIFIED of their slaves, because they knew that if enough slaves rose up in rebellion, they could destroy their owners. In some Southern states, the ratio of black slaves to whites was something like 3 to 1. This phobia of African Americans has resurfaced throughout American history, and has been used to keep blacks down. If you want a good example, look at the Atlanta Race Riots.

Answer 4

Economics. Why would Europeans need to control the African race? Africa was a lousy place to live for Europeans. The concept of race really didn't even exist until the Atlantic Slave Trade (which I'm presuming is what you're referring to), even though slavery has existed for many thousands of years.

Answer 5

It was both, since whites believed they were superior because of color and education, but based more on economics.

The early U.S. used slaves as a way of payment. Basically, farmers needed slaves more because they needed the labor , which is why more slaves lived in the South, arguments between freedom and slavery between North and South...economic instability made the South secede, and the Civil War started, NOT BECAUSE OF SLAVERY...but because of the ECONOMY.

Also, since it was the dawn of the industrial age, economy was the main key in creating an industrialized nation.

Answer 6

The bible was used to endorse the practice of slavery but it was more to do with the great labor needs of southern American plantations. Before the invention of the cotton ginny things were VERY manual labor intensive. More than anything, the southerners during the Civil War feared losing their slave labor as it would have crippled their economies. Eventually the need for slaves would have waned as technology improved. Your answer is more economics than race. Although the social racism of the south was old and ingrained into the society, so much so that it still lingers on today.

Answer 7

Economics. Since every society that has condoned slavery has considered slaves to be the property of their owner, the slaves didn't have to be paid a wage like a hired worker would. And if you look at what sort of work slaves were generally used for, it was very labor intensive and slave labor lost its adavantage as technology improved the output of what one worker could do.

Answer 8

are you talking about it america or overall historically? in america it started out as a purely economic endeavor as it was very cheap to use slaves to open up large tracts of land to production. it was only after it was well established that slave owners became convinced of their superiority. overall, historically, it goes back far enough that only an anthropologist could offer a qualified answer. in my opinion it started as a tribal thing where people captured from other tribes were probably given the lowest status and the worst jobs but there is evidence that at the 'dawn of time' they could still improve their status with hard work so it was more akin to indentured servitude and proving oneself in ones 'new' tribe.

Answer 9

Economics..from those that sold them in Africa to being sold on the streets that allowed slavery. Race control was after they were freed.

Answer 10

Economics.
Remember, slavery was around many many years before the USA. It was usually visited upon those whom one conquered. Sometimes people just like themselves.
Africa became the focal point of slavery due to it's lack of technological advancements - easy pickings.