The “Origin of Negro Slavery” is a chapter from historian Eric Williams‘ classic text,Capitalism and Slavery. In this chapter, Williams advances an argument about the origin of the enslavement of Africans in the Americas. Write a short essay (NO MORE THAN TWO TYPED PAGES) discussing the following:
- What is the Eric Williams thesis? What is his main argument?
- According to Eric Williams, what were the principal factors driving plantation slavery in the Atlantic World?
- What type of evidence supports his argument? Provide at least three pieces of evidence from the chapter.
- Which interpretations of the origins of new world plantation slavery is Williams critiquing? In other words, what and who is Williams disagreeing with?
- Do you agree or disagree with Williams? Why or why not?