Was European Motivation for Atlantic Slave Trade Economic or Racism
1. Assignment AMH 2041: Was the motive for Europeans purely economic as
Students must write a research paper–using both primary and secondary sources–that
answers the following question: One of the major debates among historians concerning the
Atlantic Slave Trade focuses on the issue of why Europeans enslaved Africans between the
mid 1500’s to the early 19th century. Was the motive for Europeans purely economic as
historian Eric Williams argued in Capitalism and Slavery or was the motive based more on
cultural or ideological reasons (racism)? In the 1950s and 1960s, historians Carl Degler and
Winthrop Jordan both supported the contention that racism, and not economics, was at the
root cause of the slave trade. More recently, in The Rise of African Slavery in America
(2000), David Eltis posited that Europeans did not enslave other Europeans (that would
have been cheaper and easier) because of an underlying commitment to individual rights.
He further argues that Africans were seen as sufficiently different; they were the “Other”—
both physically and culturally—and thus their enslavement could be rationalized.Simply
put, was European motivation for the slave trade more about profits or racism? Or is there
some other explanation? Make sure you have a thesis (a general argument) and provide
examples and details from your sources to support your answer (please refer to the rubric
on Canvas). The length of the paper should be 5-6 pages (approximately 1500-1700 words
not including citations). The paper must be typed in Times New Roman 12-point font and
double-spaced. For background information refer to Chapter 3 and 12 in Henretta(A
Concise History, Volume 1: To 1877. (6th Edition) by James Henretta and David Brody
(Bedford/ St. Martins) ISBN 9781457648656 ). You must provide at least 4 outside sources
besides the Equiano (The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Or Gustavus
Vassa, The African ISBN 1528785975) narrative and Henretta, one of which must be a
primary source. All sources must be correctly cited using the Chicago Manual of Style. You
must also provide a separate Bibliography at the end of your paper. You should refer to
www.dianahacker.com/student.html . The Chicago style is clearly explained and a model
paper (with correct citations and bibliography) is provided as well.#Assignment #AMH
#motive #Europeans #purely #economic
