When the European powers were colonizing territories in the New World, slavery of people from Africa became rampant. Colonizers imported people from Africa – called “blacks”, to their colonies in the Americas to serve as commodities in the slave trade. Such practice eventually became a major characteristic of societies in the Americas. With such norm being in place, it is imperative for the colonizers to institute rules to streamline such practice. Among those who established a set of rules for the ongoing slave practice were the Spanish colonizers, who amassed vast territories in the Americas.
The Spaniards instituted a set of rules – economic, political and moral in nature that aimed to rationalize the ongoing slave practice within their colonies in the Americas. At the same time, those policies meant to maximize the economic benefits of the practice, in tune with the intent to prolong the practice (Peabody and Grinberg 106). In sum, the Spaniards introduced slave codes for their territories within the Americas in order to protect and maximize the practice of slavery.
Slavery within Spanish dominions in the Americas has come to a point in which the need for further regulation arose. In light of that, the Spaniards, upon the direction of the Spanish king, introduced a set of codes that aimed to maximize slavery and regulate slaves at the same time. The main driving force behind the introduction of such codes is economic improvement. Peabody and Grinberg noted the case of Santo Domingo in the island of Hispaniola, wherein the improving economy of Saint-Dominique (the French colony situated on the opposite side of said island) motivated the introduction of slavery regulations to the Spanish dependency (106). Generally, the Spaniards gave better welfare to slaves in terms of introducing a set of incentives and punishments corresponding to their rights to property and freedom from their masters. The Carolina Black Code, introduced to regulate slavery in Santo Domingo, ensured slaves of rewards in the form of owning property and securing freedom in exchange for satisfactory behavior, with corresponding punishments should slaves exhibit otherwise (Peabody and Grinberg 107-110).
The Spaniards also sought to introduce a set of policies that would entail the liberalization of the practice of slavery within their New World dominions. They aimed to align treatment of slaves to state principles and to those dictated by religion and humanity in general (Peabody and Grinberg 111). The Spaniards were keen on protecting the practice of slavery through instituting a set of rules granting them better treatment through benefits such as education, provision of basic needs and defense against maltreatment of non-owners. Nevertheless, slave owners objected to the policies, as they saw those as having the ability to empower slaves towards dissent to the whole slave trade (Peabody and Grinberg 111-112).
In conclusion, the Spaniards truly endeavored to streamline slavery within their dominions in the Americas during the colonial era. The proponents of the slave codes had, in their minds, the intent to protect the practice by way of incentives and proportionate punishments to slaves. At the same time, liberalization of said practice was attempted as part of an effort to quell dissent and possible uprisings among slaves.
Work Cited
Peabody, Sue and Keila Grinberg. Slavery, Freedom, and the Law in the Atlantic World: A Brief History with Documents. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2007. Print.
