Development Of The Labor Movement History Essay Paper

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Development of the Labor Movement
Introduction
The expansion of European colonial territories across various continents was aimed at acquiring resources and land which was useful in the production of exports that were then sold in the growing trans-Atlantic market (LDHI). For a production to be profitable, Europeans required significant labor resources, and Europeans who settled in America acquired these services from convicts and servants, as well as enslaved and free indigenous people who resided in America. This indicates that most of the laborers used during the colonial periods in America were a mix of Africans, American Indians, and Europeans. The laborers were useful in the mining of precious metals, cultivating cash crops, working in multiple artisan trades, working in households, and tending to livestock (PBS). Africans and their African American offsprings, however, were mostly used in large plantations. In general, these groups of workers were considered indentured servants, and were eligible for freedom dues after a certain duration of service, after which they were offered land and supplies. Racial distinction was uncommon; instead, colonialists considered the servants as non-Christians, meaning that once converted, the servants could be freed from slavery (PBS). However, the increasing number of freed Native Americans, Europeans, and Africans by the late 1600s posed a threat to the colonialists, especially on available lands as the freed indentured servants demanded fewer restrictions on land (PBS). Such tensions eventually led to a transition from indentured slavery to racial slavery. This process forms part of the transition in the labor movement in America, which has been experienced since the late 1400s. As such, this paper seeks to conduct further analysis of the labor movement in America by discussing this transition from late 1400s to the 1700s.
The Spanish and the Indigenous Slaves
The Spanish were the first colonialists to use enslaved indigenous people as laborers in America. Led by Christopher Columbus, a Spanish merchant, thousands of Spanish colonialists established colonies on the island of Hispaniola in America in 1492 (LDHI). Despite having a greater interest in finding gold, Columbus considered the indigenous people of South America as having great potential as laborers. The desire to commodify captives led Columbus to load five hundred slaves into his ship and transport them to Spain to sell on the Spanish labor market. Two decades after the arrival of the Europeans in South America, the demand for slave labor grew exponentially among the Spanish and other nations. The Spanish, however, maintained their dominance since they required more slaves to work in the pearl fisheries or Margarita ad Cubagua, as well as the plantation and mines of the Antilles (LDHI). However, the trend in enslavement and commodifying captives became a major concern for the Spanish Crown mainly because of the abuse and inhumane conditions that the captives were subjected to (Arnove and Zinn 42). The Spanish Crown considered South American natives as a strategic resource in the fight for the possession of colonial territory. As such, the Crown demanded that the natives be initiated into Catholicism as a means of gaining political control. Furthermore, reforms were outlined in the Laws of Burgos and Granada, which stated the rights of the natives. The indigenous people of South America were considered indiscipline and ineffective; as such, the Europeans shifted their attention to black slaves from Africa. African slaves were more submissive and hardworking meaning they were more useful in plantations. African slaves became more helpful in the production of commodities for distant markets and eventually, the desire for slaves changed from domestic purposes to market trade. Commodified slaves became more popular in South America, with native populations acquiring black slaves to aid in the production of goods, which were then sold to the Spanish (LDHI).
By the mid-sixteenth century, the enslavement of natives in South America became less popular. Aside from being unreliable, the South American natives were decimated by old world diseases such as typhus, chickenpox, smallpox, and measles, which led to a significant reduction in the population. Moreover, the inhumane conditions that the natives underwent at the hands of the Spanish colonialists went against the moral and religious values of the Spanish Crown. Despite the previous laws of Granada and Burgos which advocated for better treatment of native slaves, the Spanish colonialists failed to adhere, and as a result, in the 1540s, a series of laws were enacted by Emperor Charles V, which called for the abolition of slavery in Southern America in 1542 (LDHI). Furthermore, South American slaves were no longer required to work for free. As a result, the Spanish traveled to other continents for slave laborers.
Slavery in Colonial British North America
By the 1600s, all 13 British colonies in North America were in high demand for slaves (Monticello). Europeans demanded more laborers to cultivate produce to be sold in the European markets, which were established in Virginia during the 1620s. White indent...