Part I.

4. How was Portugal able to monopolize the African slave trade during the late 1400s?

Portugal was able to monopolize the slave trade in many ways. The first way is through the Catholic Church. Infante Henrique received permission from the Papal Bulls to colonize the islands off the African coast. It also allowed for the establishment of trading posts and missionary posts on the African coast. According to Blackburn, “The Infante could claim a monopoly on the African trade, and offer spiritual as well as material incentives to those involved in his ventures” (103).

The ability of the Portuguese to control the coast of Africa also helped immensely with their monopoly of the slave trade. Their effective ships could easily defend off African canoes and other enemies. They also intermixed their crews with allies to make defense and diplomacy easier. Trade over land was seen as far too dangerous and time consuming, so the Portuguese monopolized on their superiority of the seas, where trade was much easier and securer.

Another factor that allowed the Portuguese to monopolize is the business like policies. Portugal relied on commerce and colonial enterprise for its power and income. Without these, Portugal would lose much of its empire and sea power. The crown had a “hand-off” approach when dealing with the slave trade. There was little or no bureaucracy in the trade, leaving the colonies and trade ran by merchants, planters and peasants. This laissez-faire approach surely increased the competiveness among individual merchants, therefore causing a dip in the price of slaves for the Portuguese, but increasing the price if a foreign country sought to purchase slaves.

5. Why did Brazil’s sugar economy take off during the mid sixteenth century?

The sugar economy in Brazil took off in the mid sixteenth century. The first reason for this is the security, good soil, and communications offered in Brazil. The Jesuits were given large amounts of land on which they established schools, churches, ranches, and sugar mills. The sugar industry, by 1580, was profitable enough for expansion and investment. Brazil had all the natural resources to grow sugar while Portugal had all the resources to market it. The Brazilian North East was favored to sugar with its long growing season and more land available than on the islands in the Atlantic.

Coastal Brazil also helped with the boom in sugar. Because of the many small streams and rivers leading to the coast, water powered mills could be built in numerous locations and increase the amount of sugar available on the market. Those who built mills were also exempt from the dizimo and could buy slaves at a reduced price.

Brazil also had the special advantage of the shortest sailing time to any European city. Brazil was also available to readier access to markets and slave labor, and since the Portuguese had a monopoly on the slave trade, the sugar merchants could purchase slaves directly and cheaper than any other country.

The Portuguese fleet also set their shipping times and routines to the harvest time of sugar. This allowed for maximum sugar transportation to European markets. With the introduction of new mill technology, middle class and other classes of society could begin to start their own sugar business, expanding the sugar industry even more. The importance of sugar to Portugal is shown by the growth of that industry; sugar was to Portugal what silver is to Spain.

Part II.

Leo Africanus

Leo Africanus was born El Hasan ben Muhammed el-Wazzan-ez-Zayyati in the city of Granada. He was at first Muslim, travelling with his uncle on diplomatic missions throughout North Africa. He was captured by Christian pirates and presented as a learned slave to Pope Leo X. Leo freed him and baptized him. He was commissioned to write, in Italian, a detailed survey of Africa. His writing about Africa and Timbuktu provided the ideas and thoughts of Africa for centuries to come. It is believed he died in Tunis 1554, having reconverted to Islam.

Timbuktu

Timbuktu is an African city in Ghana. The city is very modern and powerful. The people use gold as their currency and leisure around. Markets in the city sell any kind of goods, and there are shops of artisans, merchants, and cotton weavers. The king can call on a massive army if needed. The most important items in Timbuktu are books. Timbuktu is the center of learning in Africa.

Vasco de Gama

Vasco de Gama was born in Sines, Portugal around 1460. He was placed in charge of finding a sea route to India in 1497. He arrived in Calicut on May 28, 1498, but was forced to leave by the Moors. In 1502 he bombarded Calicut and destroyed the port and allowed the Europeans to open enterprise in the east.

Henry the “Navigator”

Infante Henry was born in 1394 in Portugal. He set up a school in Lisbon that dealt with navigation. The focuses included celestial navigation, daytime readings, and navigation routes. He sponsored exploration voyages that recorded their navigation, and used the focuses of the navigation school. He died in 1460.

Lancados

Lancados literally means “to throw”. This was meant that the Lancados were people who “threw” themselves to Africa and African culture. They were explorers or people trying to escape the Portuguese Inquisition. Many had African wives and were important to trade and the economy of Portugal.

El Mina

El Mina was an important port for trade, especially slave trade. It was part of the Gold Coast on the West Coast of Africa. The Portuguese would bring slaves here to go into the country side to mine gold. This resulted in a boom of gold, and reflected the increase in complexity of trade.

Tainos

The Tainos were the native inhabitants of the Greater Antilles, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, and the eastern part of Cuba. They were part of the second wave of immigration into the Caribbean, spreading ideas and bringing conflict to areas they settled. They were the most socially and culturally complex Amerindians in the Antilles. They were polytheists, believing in many gods.

Ciboneyes

The Ciboneyes were early inhabitants of the Antilles. They consisted mostly of hunters and gatherers who lived along the coast near cliffs, caves, and ravines. They lived mainly from fishing and collecting vegetables. The Tainos replaced most of the Ciboneyes during the second migration.

Repartimiento

Repartimiento was a forced labor system aimed at the natives of the Americas. The system called for the natives to work the land of the noble who owned it for a period of time. The Spanish were the ones that used this system in the New World. Repaertimiento is not out right slavery since the individuals have certain rights and work when they chose.

The Curse of Noah

The curse of Noah, or the curse of Ham, is found in Genesis Chapter 9. The story goes along the lines that Noah, after the flood, became drunk and was naked in his tent. Noah’s sons cover him without looking at his nakedness, but Ham sees Noah naked. God put a curse on Ham’s decedents, those of Canaan. This story has been used for centuries as a justification for slavery of Africans, seeing that their curse is God’s will for their enslavement.

In which ways was father Roy Bourgeois’s talk relevant to the topics addressed in class.

Father Roy’s talk is relevant in the topics addressed in class when one looks back at the colonization of the Americas by Europe and the stance of the Catholic Church. The United States and other Western powers still try to control or influence the South American world, just as they did when first colonizing. He sees the people as subjects of greater powers and not free.

Another relevance is the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church wants Father Roy silenced because of the fear of the knowledge of the history of the church. The church is at fault for allowing hideous crimes against the natives and slaves, and they do not want to face up their doings.