The Plantation System

One argument regarding the origins of the plantation system in the Americas during the colonization period is rooted in similar systems in Europe, Africa, and the Americas. This position is cemented by the fact that Europeans came up with the idea of having large plantations, having learned from their interactions with Arabs in North Africa. On the other hand, Africans’ influence is manifested through the utilization of slave labor (Brown University). In particular, enslaved people in Brazil and Cuba were largely drawn from the African communities and they played a significant role in entrenching the plantation system.

An alternative position regarding the emergence of the plantation system is that it foreshadowed modern forms of the economy. This position is pegged on various economic motivations for undertaking large-scale farming.

One such reason was shifting from farming for subsistence purposes to commercialization. As Greenfield puts it, money, an ingredient of capitalism was one of the motivations for European colonizers embracing the plantation system. In the same breath, there was a need to leverage cheap slave labor from African slaves to lower the production cost of farming.

Although the two positions reflect what may have motivated the plantation systems, the argument that the plantation system foreshadowed modern economics is valid. By the time plantations were emerging, capitalism was gradually taking shape. There was a need to engage in farming to generate surplus that would be traded through the Trans-Atlantic trade. Besides, colonial administrators required money to finance administrative costs in the colonial jurisdiction.

Further, colonizers sought to utilize available slave labor which had proved successful elsewhere. Therefore, the plantation system foreshadowed modern forms of the economy including commercialization, production economics, and labor availability.

Works Cited

Brown University. “Feitorias and Engenhos: The Changing Economy of Colonial Brazil | Brazil: Five Centuries of Change.” Library.brown.edu,             library.brown.edu/create/fivecenturiesofchange/chapters/chapter-1/feitorias-and-engenhos/.

Greenfield, Patrick. “Story of Cities #6: How Silver Turned Potosí into “the First City of Capitalism.”” The Guardian, 21 Mar. 2016,             www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/mar/21/story-of-cities-6-potosi-bolivia-peru-inca-first-city-capitalism.

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The brutal plantation system that arose in the Americas following colonization was unique. In the 1500s, it seemed to represent a new, ruthlessly efficient approach to making money. By the 1800s, it seemed tragically backward and out-of-sync with modern life. With that in mind, I want to hear your take on two opinions:

• Option A: The plantation system of the Americas was built upon existing systems in Europe, Africa, and/or the Americas.
• Option B: The plantation system was a new invention that foreshadowed more modern forms of economy.
  

  The Plantation System

Your assignment this week asks you to explain both positions. For this post, I want to hear your opinion. Please defend one of these statements and explain why you chose to defend it.

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