The mistake of revelling in what you know and believe is right or true when actually it's just isn't the case could be quite embrassing. Now, let's think of that in a broader sense like one of such was the cases in 1492 when Christopher Columbus arrived in the New World having the illusion that, that (New World) was India. Sadly, he died believing this.
He (Columbus) was charged with the responsibility of finding an alternative sea route to India, sponsored by King Ferdinand of Spain and his wife Isabella.
In 1492, the unthinkable happened when Columbus landed in North America and after setting his eyes on the inhabitants- The Ameri- Indians( Red Indians), he concluded that he has landed in India.
It is important to note that the India that Columbus was paid or sponsored to find was located in the East, but the India that Columbus discovered was in the West, hence the name "West Indies" or West India. That is, the India found in the West (North America).
Later, the area became known as the New World because prior to this period, the area discovered by Columbus was unknown to the Europeans. As the story goes, Columbus died believing that he has discovered the sea route to India. This task was however completed by Vasco Da Gama but the mistake had already been made.
The discovery of the New World attracted a lot of European entrepreneurs to the area which later led to the European colonization of that region. As colonies were established, agricultural expansion needed for the sustenance of the colonies was necessary. With this development, the plantation system was introduced and cash crops such as tobacco, sugar and cotton were cultivated on a large scale which led to the demand for labour. Seeing this from the economist point of view, in terms of factors of production (Land, Labour, Capital and Entrepreneur).Many acres of land was there in the New World, The capital needed was provided by European banks and Entrepreneurs. What was left was labour and as we all know, labour is the mover of all other factors of production.
To shorten the story, the Red Indians were first used as the labour force and their enslavement according Okon Edet Uya was justified by the Aristotelian hypothesis. This of course was unproductive due to many reasons.
The next source of labour was the Indentured Servants( those convicted in Europe which were later transfered to the New World to serve their jail terms by working in the plantation). This also did not work out. So the next testing experiment was Africans and behold, The slave trade had begun! As a result, Africans became the commodity of trade for 400 years.
I'm not interested in the horrors of the trade and how the slaves suffered especially in their movement from Africa to the New World( the Middle Passage) and in the plantations. But it is worthy to note that the daughters and sons of the slaves became slaves immediately after they were born, as such, they were born in the plantation, grew up in the plantation, worked in the plantation and died in the plantation!
The Slave trade had a devastating effect on Africa. It ruined Africa and the continent was doomed. Walter Rodney posits that the goods brought to Africa in exchange for slaves did not lead to any economic impetus, rather, it led to the destruction of African societies! Conversely, the slave trade led to the development of Europe. For instance, many villages in England such as Liverpool and Manchester grew into towns.
According to the #William #Thesis by Eric Williams in his book "Capitalism and Slavery" the slaves provided the capital that financed the industrial revolution! Consequent upon this,Europe became developed from the blood and sweat of African slaves.
The enslavement of Africans was justified by the Hamatic Hypothesis. As such, the Bible was used to justify Slave Trade. As the story goes, Africans had to pay for the sin committed by Ham( Noah's son) for seeing his father's nakedness. Since God had already blessed them after the Flood, Noah couldn't curse what God had already blessed. He then cursed the descendants of Ham. From anthropological review, Africans are the descendants of Ham. So the Slave Trade was seen as a divine Providence( Hand of God) to fulfill the prophesy of Noah. This explains why it lasted for so long.
The mistake of one man led to an obnoxious trade that lasted for four Centuries connecting almost four continents( including South America where slaves mined minerals) in an unbroken tapestry! What a rush!
#Fromthehistorian'sdesk!