Compare and Contrast Essay: Coercive Labor in the Americas
Keith
Snapshot 18: Compare coercive labor systems: slavery and other coercive labor
systems in the Americas
From 1450 to 1750, coercive labor systems were prevalent in the New World to
support the heavy agricultural systems of European colonies. Two examples of these
systems of forced labor were slavery and the Encomienda System in Latin America. Both of
these labor systems provided cheap labor, and forced them to work under difficult conditions
for long hours. A primary difference between these two coercive labor systems was that
slaves were bought and sold, then forced to migrate from their homeland to the New World,
where as in the Encomienda system, natives were forced to work their own land.
One commonality between the Encomienda system and slavery in the New World
was that both systems forced their laborers to work under harsh conditions for long hours.
These harsh conditions are shown first by the drastic numbers of deaths on slave ships,
averaging every one in six slaves dying on the voyage to the Americas. These deaths were
results of hundreds of thousands of slaves being confined below the deck of these slave
ships, herded and chained together like animals. Olaudah Equiano, a well-known educated
slave, feared that upon arrival to the New World, he and the other slaves would be eaten by
the white men due to the inhumane treatment that they had received on the ships. In Latin
America, millions of Amerindians faced death by disease from coming in contact with
Europeans, whose immune systems were stronger than the natives. The poor immunity and
harsh working conditions led to a miniscule life expectancy of about 25 years for women,
and only 23 years expected for men. Another similarity between slavery and the
Encomienda system from 1450 to 1750 was that each system contained rigid social
stratification. On plantations that used slavery as a source of labor, plantocracies were
formed, which were headed by a small number of rich men who owned a large percentage
of the slaves in that region. Following them were other slave owners who owned far less
slaves. Below the slave owners were drivers, who were a few privileged male slaves whose
job was to ensure that all of the other slaves completed their work. At the very bottom of the
plantocracy were regular slaves, who were treated as if they were far less than human. In
the Encomienda system, there were five tiers to the social hierarchy: peninsulares, creoles,
mestizos, mulattos, and finally the natives of lands occupied by Europeans. Peninsulares
were the scarcest, yet most powerful of the ethnic groups, being those born on the Iberian
Peninsula. Creoles had the second most power, as they were those born in the Americas to
European parents. After creoles came mestizos, who were born of mixed European and
Amerindian descent. Mulattos were born of mixed European and African parents, and were
only considered higher ranking than Native Americans and Africans. These labor systems
were both developed due to the need for cheap labor in American colonies. Many regions in
the New World were producing the same product, and were all competing in the same
market. Companies needed to compete by lowering prices, and this was achieved by
observing practically free labor.
While the Encomienda system and slavery in the New World were similar in that they
were used to lower the prices of crops and manufactured goods, they also possessed many
differences. One way that slavery differed from the Encomienda system of Latin America
was that slaves were bought and sold in their homeland, then forced to migrate across the
Atlantic Ocean to work on plantations in the New World. On the other hand, workers
involved in the Encomienda system were natives of the land that they were forced to work
for little to no pay. Due to the origins of the workers, slavery proved to be the more
triumphant labor system. African slaves had been previously exposed to Europeans,
therefore building their immune systems against diseases such as smallpox and malaria.
The Amerindian workers of the Encomienda system on the other hand, had no prior contact
with European settlers, leaving them vulnerable to death by disease. The weak immune
systems of the Encomienda workers led to miniscule life expectancies for workers, which
caught the eye of a Spanish Bishop named Bartolome de Las Casas. Las Casas fought
hard to better the working conditions for Encomienda workers, and in 1542, Spain passed
the New Laws, which made the unfair treatment of Amerindians illegal in the New World.
While these laws were nearly impossible to uphold in the Americas, they were one step
closer to ending the Encomienda system altogether. Another difference between these
coercive labor systems was that the Encomienda system was outlawed about 200 years
prior to slavery in the Americas. While the Encomienda system suffered a rapid decline in
the 1600s (due to the high death rate of Amerindians), it was replaced by slavery, which
continued until the end of the civil war in 1865 in the United States. These coercive labor
systems differed primarily due to the different environments and laws imposed by mother
countries through mercantilism.
From 1450 to 1750, slavery and the Encomienda system provided cheap labor, and
forced their subjects to work under difficult conditions for long hours. A primary difference
between these two coercive labor systems was that slaves were bought and sold, then
forced to migrate from their homeland to the New World, where as in the Encomienda
system, natives were forced to work their own land. These coercive labor systems were
present in the New World to support the growing agricultural production that imperialist
countries were seeking for economic gain.
Compare and Contrast essay grid
Keith, Adam, Eli
Snapshot 18: Compare coercive labor systems: slavery and other coercive labor
systems in the Americas
INTRODUCTION
Historical context (what, where, when)
Coercive Labor Systems, 1450 to 1750, New World.
Thesis similarity
Cheap Labor and Harsh Conditions
Thesis difference
Slaves were bought and sold and forced to migrate to the new world, while in the Encomienda system
Natives were forced to work upon there own land for little to no pay.
SIMILARITIES PARAGRAPH
Evidence that supports thesis similarity
Africa- deaths on the ships/ plantations. Encomienda- forced labor for little to no pay / lower life expectancy.
Similarity distinct from thesis (with other evidence)
Hierarchies within labor systems. Encomienda – (top to bottom) Encomenderos, Creoles, Mullato, Mestizo,
Natives. Slaves – Plantocracy – Driver was a slave who was like boss or leader of a group of slaves
Reason why they are similar
Agricultural labor systems in European Colonies
DIFFERENCES PARAGRAPH
Evidence that supports thesis difference
Slaves were from Africa, and forced to work in New World. Encomienda laborers were forced to work
on their own farms like in Mesoamerica.
Difference distinct from thesis(with other evidence)
Encomienda ended 300 years before the Slave trade in Africa
E- 1542 Bartolomé de las casas
S- Civil war in the United States 1865
Reason why they are different
Different environments, local laws and customs
Conclusion (restate thesis)