How Important was Colour in plantation society?

             The meeting of the European and Caribbean Societies was the first large-scale encounter by Europe of another race. Due to the immense Economic opportunities seen in the Caribbean, the main European powers fought to seize the upper hand in terms of Gold, Tobacco, Cotton and most importantly Sugar. In order to carry out an operation of this size the European powers required a great deal of manpower to set up colonies on these Caribbean Islands. At first the preferred choice of the Plantation owners, in regards to human resources, was indentured servants. However as the colonies grew it became clear that the number of indentured servants was not sufficient to fully exploit the Caribbean. At this point the African slave trade was seen as the ideal solution to the problems encountered by the European planters.
             Through kidnappings by Europeans and the African rulers of the time, millions of Africans were sent to the Caribbean and forced into slavery. By 1789 there were
             192 800 slaves in Jamaica out of a population of 216 000 and this huge imbalance could be seen throughout the rest of the Caribbean. Even in Africa within certain communities there was discrimination towards so-called savages and criminals. This is where the issue of colour becomes important as it was easier for the Europeans and their consciences to enslave an 'inferior black race'. "The administering of lashes was everywhere the norm, in addition to various forms of gruesome punishments designed to inculcate in blacks, especially the young, the awesome power of whiteness." Power and the pursuit of wealth were seen as more important than a few million black people. Basically because the Europeans saw themselves as racially superior they were willing to enslave a black race for their own benefit.
             For centuries before the eventual emancipation of the Caribbean slaves, there was a certain degree of unease towards slavery. Even in the 16th Century...

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How Important was Colour in plantation society?. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 04:28, March 29, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/85359.html