POSTS – Page 34 – Atlantic History

The Atlantic World, Chapter 4

September 18, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

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By 1561, the Spanish fleet system of strategically timed and secured voyages had successfully transformed Spain into a new power in Europe. With one-fifth of profits from all voyages, the Spanish crown now have the wealth to expand and declare wars in all over Europe. The Spanish rise to power did not without happened without a few competitions from other European nations. The French, the English, and the Dutch were all trying to cut back Spanish power in the western Atlantic and Africa. (pages 116-117)

The competition did not stop at the trading aspect but also in religious beliefs. Up until 1517, Catholicism was a shared religion in the western Europe (p,117). Martin Luther criticism of the Church inspired many different and newer beliefs. The religious unity Europeans had always known is now shattered.

European rivalries took their competition into and across the Atlantic (p,129). Catholic and Protestant sought to gain power through economic means (p,130). As Vince Tursini mentioned in his post on chapter 3, the Spanish ventured west toward Americas for a lucrative exploration. The Europeans also soon to realized having a stronghold on America is a way to thwart the Spanish power. The French was one of the firsts to attempt putting trade posts and settlements on the southern coast of the Americas (p, 131). Piracy was another of European strategy to directly putting damages on Spanish wealth.

Religion in the Atlantic World

September 18, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

Religion in Western Europe played a major role in the movement across the Atlantic. Spain and Portugal had been uncontested by the rest of Western Europe in their quests to Africa and the Americas. However, the divide in religion in Western Europe pushed others to look towards the west.

Western Europe for many years had been a region without religious quarrel, as Catholicism dominated Western Europe. That all changed when Martin Luther, an Augustinian friar, spoke out against the Catholic church and challenged some of their ideology that included the sales of indulgences and good behavior guarantees salvation (The Atlantic World, 117). David Zamarripa-Shippey wrote that the “Reformation granted Protestant Christianity a huge presence in several kingdoms ruled by Catholic monarchs such as England and France.” The spread of Protestant Christianity challenged Catholicism in every part of Western Europe, including the Iberian Peninsula where Spain’s King Philip II pushed out Protestant groups from the peninsula and became determined to preserve as well as expand Catholicism (The Atlantic World, 122). This rift caused bad blood between Catholics and Protestants, leading to wars and for some Protestant kingdoms, voyages across the Atlantic.

News surfaced in Northern Europe that the Spanish had not only been able to find unimaginable treasures in the Americas, but they also converted many of the peoples in the Americas to Catholicism (The Atlantic World, 125). These stories turned the attention of many Northern Europeans to the Americas. The fight between Catholics and Protestants would boil over into the Americas, where Protestants believed that they could save souls from Catholicism (The Atlantic World, 125). Kingdoms such as England, France, and the Netherlands, believed that they could not only claim their own stake in the Americas for economic purposes but perhaps steal from the Spanish and Portuguese as well (The Atlantic World, 130). With the rivalry between Catholics and Protestants boiling over into the Americas and the decline of the Spanish kingdom alongside the rise of the Dutch, English and French, the Americas were of a new interest for the rest of Western Europe.

The Endorsement of Piracy

September 18, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

The Spanish kept their reign over the New World for quite some time. Their Northern rivals, the French, English, and the Dutch, continuously tried to derail Spanish power in the western Atlantic and Africa. Up until 1517, western Europeans had shared a single religion: Catholicism (Chapter 4, 117). This changed when Martin Luther, an Augustinian friar, launched a religious revolution. Things quickly took the domino effect and new religious sects began to emerge. These new Protestant sects shattered the religious unity Western Europe had known for centuries (Chapter 4, 120).

Europeans took their religious, political, and economic quarrels into and across the Atlantic. States did their best to secure as must as they could by conquest and Spain focused on maintaining a favorable balance of trade. France had set out to thwart Spanish power in trade. They eventually realized that one way to challenge Spanish power was to steal the American wealth that funded them. Kyle Kelsay mentioned, “piracy became an important strategy of European nation’s states because it was a relatively inexpensive investment and advancement by 1650”. Piracy became a central strategy in the European struggles of the sixteenth and seventeenth century (Chapter 4, 134). They received state support through the form of letters of marque and reprisal. Instead of calling them pirates, they were referred to as corsairs or privateers.

Even with all the advances and efforts from the French and English, it was eventually the Dutch and their commercial and maritime strategies that was able to diminish Spanish power. It was not long before the Dutch surpassed the English as the most successful raiders in the first age of Atlantic piracy (Chapter 4, 143). By 1621, the Dutch had dominated the seas and the greater part of Atlantic trade.

The Religious Impulses Guiding Atlantic Trade

September 18, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

What compelled seafaring Europeans to journey westward towards unfamiliar land and unfamiliar peoples? Was it strictly financial incentive? Was it the prospect of converting a ‘Godless’ people to Christianity? As it turns out, a great deal of motivation came from religious schisms and divisions in Europe itself.

Before 1517, Europe had largely existed as one monolithic Catholic Christendom (Chapter 4, 117). However, with the advent of Martin Luther and his 95 Theses, the continent quickly fractured into numerous denominations of Christianity (Chapter 4, 117). The Reformation granted Protestant Christianity a huge presence in several kingdoms ruled by Catholic monarchs such as England and France (Chapter 4, 120). Given the lack of separation between political and religious spheres, animosity emerged between Protestant nations and Catholic nations (Chapter 4, 129). This animosity manifested in the Atlantic, where contesting factions of Christianity competed against each other for strongholds throughout the Americas. French Huguenots and English Puritans, horrified by the Black Legend, sought to undo the atrocities committed by Spanish Catholic missionaries onto natives (Chapter 4, 126). The French established footholds in Brazil and Florida, only to be slaughtered and expelled by Iberian Catholics (Chapter 4, 135). The English founded short-lived colonies in the North Atlantic far from the reach of Spaniards (Chapter 4, 137). Indeed, as Kyle Kelsay noted in his own Chapter 4 reading response, an insatiable desire for Spanish wealth drove the French, the English, and the Dutch to launch bases throughout the Atlantic as bases of operation for privateering. These privateers, or corsairs, were state-sponsored and raided Spanish galleons and coastal settlements for tremendous profit (Chapter 4, 143). Privateering became an important method by which Protestant nations were able to undermine the economic might of Catholic Spain, a necessary recourse given Spanish aggression in Protestant Netherlands. As evident, a chief motivating factor for trade in the Atlantic was the European sibling rivalry that emerged from the splintering of Christianity in the 16th century. This dimension of religion emboldened the English, French, and Dutch to seek wealth comparable to their Catholic counterparts, and gradually integrate themselves into the burgeoning pan-Atlantic trade. Ultimately, Protestant nations would find themselves dominating this sprawling trade system and seizing areas of loose Iberian control (Chapter 4, 142).

Atlantic World Chapter 4

September 16, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

Chapter 4 focuses on trading posts through piracy and the Dutch start getting involved in trading goods. Piracy became an important strategy of European nation’s states because it was a relatively inexpensive investment and advancement by 1650. The role of Pirates were refugees, slaves, or servants who served on naval ships or merchant ships that offered opportunities for revenge on those who had brutalized them by raiding ships and steal cargo to make profits. (Chapter 4, Page 133). These slaves and refugees felt they wanted payback after the way they were treated on these ships because they wanted to attack the ship’s crew and steal cargo which contained gold, silver, and cotton. Piracy made an impact in Atlantic History because these slaves who stole valuable cargo could buy them nice houses or sells these items for a high price. The theme of piracy continues today with the ride Pirates of the Caribbean located at Disneyland along with the Pirates of the Caribbean movies relating to Atlantic History. During the 17th century, Dutch trader’s main interest broke through the Portuguese monopoly on the East Asian spice trade and the Dutch sailed to Venezuela was massive deposits of salt, resulted in raiding Spanish ships and settlements along with invading wealthy port towns. (Chapter 4, Page 143). The Dutch maritime and commercial enterprise and trade factories in the Atlantic and around the globe fueled their emergence as a new Atlantic power. The story of piracy and trading posts became one of the commodities for mass consumption and the expansion of forced labor. (Chapter 4, Page 147). The section explains the Dutch being creative through trading posts and raids of Spanish ships and towns because this would increase their wealth and a lot of commercial goods to offer throughout the Atlantic region. As a result, the Dutch became a dominant force in the Atlantic region over the Spanish and Portuguese. The chapter explains how a new form of trading occurred in the Atlantic because it resulted in refugees and slaves trying to have the same wealth as their superiors had during their time on the ships through the Atlantic.

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September 14, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

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Guardians of the Atlantic Slave Trade

September 14, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

Revolts were a serious threat on board of slave ships sailing in the Atlantic. Oftentimes, the crews were outnumbered by the ship’s slaves eight to one. Yet Smallwood points out many historical examples where captives on slave ships were called on to assist their captors, whether it be in defending against an enemy ship, preparing food, or keeping their fellow captives in line.Every chance and and opportunity to rebel were not always taken advantage of by the captives. Smallwood examines how slave ships were able to maintain control. Not only did the captives of slave ships face physical restraints, armed oppressors, but also other captives empowered and granted privileges by the captors. These were know as guardians. Guardians were captives who received their position as a result of social dominance on the ships. The guardians that came from the Gold Coast were from separate communities other than those of the rest of the slaves. Guardians could be male or female. One reason the use of guardians came about may be the result of an agreement between the Royal African Company and the slave traders. Slave ship captains understood the hazards of utilizing guardians. It was imperative for ships’ crews to rely on maintaining social control because they knew they did not have sufficinet manpower, weapons, tools, etc. in the event of a revolt. While guardians had the power to ignite revolts, they did not dare bite the hand that feeds them. Many believed their position of power and privilege would continue on after the voyage. It is for these reasons that Smallwood argues the use of guardians enabled slave ships to maintain order and control effectively despite guardians being captives themselves.

Classmate Matt Everett points out that the Iberians’ contact with the civilizations of the new world was similar to Europeans contact with the African coasts. Initially trade was the motivation, but in both cases this changed and would lead to European exploitation of the land indigenous people. This is a repetitive trend in Atlantic history.

Spaces, Ships and Slavery

September 14, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

Stephanie Smallwood’s work “African Guardians, European Slave ships and the Changing Dynamics of Power in the early Modern Atlantic” exists to educate people on the dynamics of power, aboard Slave carrying vessels that once sailed the Atlantic. It is commonly taught in American schools that the hierarchy of power aboard slave ships crossing the Atlantic was rigid and only existed as follows, Crew > Slaves. Smallwood challenges that assumption with the introduction of a third group in that hierarchy that awkwardly takes its place between the European crew members and the slaves aboard the ship.

This group was the African born “Guardians “that watched over the rest of the slaves on board the vessel, looking for signs of insurrection. Guardians were often members of a different ethnicity so that familial ties did not compromise their loyalty to the crew. Guardians loyalty to the crew was acquired in various ways including, the promise of freedom, the feeling of superiority acquired from holding the position and better food/boarding available to them. While freedom was sometimes promised to Guardians that promise was rarely kept and they often met the same fate as those they guarded.

Since their fate was the same as those they guarded, their position was largely an empty one but, it’s still provides us with a more diverse hierarchy than the one we are often taught. The fact that some slaves were given elevated status despite still being viewed as “property” shows just how illogical the race based institution of slave was.

hello world

September 14, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

In the late 15^th and 16^th centuries Spain and Portugal ventured west towards the Americas on a dangerous, but potentially lucrative exploration. Motives for the journey included gold, evangelism and cheap labor. Viewing indigenous populations as possible capital, Columbus captured Taino people and put them on a ship back to Spain. Columbus was met with aggression from the Taino as he began to abandon a trade based occupation in favor of a “town-based pattern of colonization.” (Egerton 87) Nicolas de Ovando would replace Columbus as Governor of the Indies in 1502, but patterns of extreme aggression and rebellion continued. Southern expansion meant ongoing exploitation of native populations. Spanish attempts at cultural integration led to the disappearance of any semblance of native culture.

Portugal was slower to adopt the Spanish patterns of colonization in the Americas, instead looking to the East for resource acquisition. The trade centered economy that Portugal chose to keep was more benevolent than Spain’s slave based model, but still far from desirable for indigenous people. The Portuguese took trips back to Brazil intermittently where they would trade goods for brazilwood, and until the mid-sixteenth century. Demand for production and France’s claim to Brazil led the Portuguese crown to begin an aggressive colonization of the country, and by 1570 the French were replaced by Portuguese colonists and African slaves to be used for dangerous and labor intensive sugar cultivation.

It would be easy to follow the common narrative that the Spanish were exceptionally cruel. In reality they were what would be commonly known today as “entrepreneurs.” Driven by the prospect of wealth and a cloak of piety the Spanish sought to expand their empire by any means necessary. The Portuguese realized they were competing with other growing European nations and made the economically pragmatic decision to capitalize on the burgeoning sugar trade using free Black labor. Slaves became logistics for boats full of merchandise. Nations were shaped by colonialism and histories were lost because of it. All for gold. Which is not even used to back currency anymore.

“For a colonized people the most essential value, because the most concrete, is first and foremost the land: the land which will bring them bread and, above all, dignity.”

― Frantz Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth

Week 4: Guardians, Slaves, and Changing Dynamics – Reading

September 14, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

In Stephanie Smallwood’s article “African Guardians, European Slave Ships and the Changing Dynamics,” she makes her argument clear that supremacy of the sea and the slave trade was not going to be easy to maintain over a long time period. After reading and analyzing her article, I found that the control of slaves and of the Atlantic Ocean are the two most important pillars in order to claim supremacy.

First, she states that supremacy of the Atlantic Ocean was not going to last because slaves forced to the slave trade will find ways to rebel against the trade. Slaves will find their chance to rebel before their capture and their eventual capture. The slaves would find ways to cause chaos on the ship, so individuals responsible for the trade had to make sure that they had chains and weaponry to prevent “an actual outbreak of [slave] revolt” (Smallwood, 679). And secondly, she mentions that supremacy of the Atlantic Ocean will not last if a group or company cannot keep complete control of the sea, in a form of a monopoly. Three different nations were able to hold control of the sea during the 15th till the 18th century; the Portuguese had complete control of the Atlantic Ocean during the 15th and 16th centuries while the English and the Dutch were able to take away the Portuguese’s control of the ocean during the 17th and 18th centuries.

While I agree with Smallwood’s argument that supremacy of the sea and of the slave trade was not going to be easy in the long term, I do believe that there are many more pillars that can be made in order to maintain supremacy. While I believe that her argument lacks in-depth explanations, she does make a good solid argument point.

Smallwood, Stephanie. “African Guardians, European Slave Ships and the Changing Dynamics of Power in the Early Modern Atlantic,” The William and Mary Quarterly, 64, No. 4, (Oct. 2007): 679-716.