Slaverys Coexistence with Other Economic Systems :: A Respectable Trade Capitalism Slavery Essays

Slavery's Coexistence with Other Economic Systems Slavery as economic order based on the ownership and exploitation of human beings as property is widely covered in A Respectable Trade. The film, however, does not solely reveal slavery and its characteristics. It is a film rich in reference to other economical orders as well, because besides elaborately showing from different aspects the processes typical for the establishment of slavery, it touches on and gives examples on economic relationships that are rather characterized as capitalist, feudal or self-employment-related. The action in A Respectable Trade takes place in 1788 in the English city of Bristol, starting with the marriage between Frances Scott and Josiah Cole. Frances, an educated and refined young woman of genteel origin, is left poor and with no inheritance after the death of her father. For lack of a better alternative, she marries the rough and uneducated Josiah who trades with ships, led by the motive to import slaves directly to England, have them educated and polished by his wife, and sell them as house servants at a better price . Josiah is far from successful in his trade: he only manages to import eight slaves and eventually to sell only two of them. However, this is enough to elucidate the main characteristics of slavery as an economic order. The arrival of his slaves, the process of educating them and their final escape represent a peculiar slavery-cycle that elaborates on important economic issues such as the slaves' status, the creation of subservient attitude in them (or at l east the attempt to), the strategies of breaking up their independent spirits, and their resistance. A typical characteristic of slavery is that slaves are considered just another element of the productive resources. They are regarded as property, as chattel, and can be freely sold as such. Never considered human beings with consciousness and will, slaves are often described with the term 'instrumentum vocale', meaning that they are seen just as instruments capable of producing human speech. Naturally, like any human beings, slaves have a consciousness of free and independent people, and it takes time and effort to impose on them an attitude of subservience and obedience, a consciousness of being no longer human beings but enslaved pieces of property. In A Respectable Trade that is achieved in several different ways. Firstly, the slaves are imported by ships to England - extremely far from their homeland, especially in the context of the 18th century. Slavery's Coexistence with Other Economic Systems :: A Respectable Trade Capitalism Slavery Essays Slavery's Coexistence with Other Economic Systems Slavery as economic order based on the ownership and exploitation of human beings as property is widely covered in A Respectable Trade. The film, however, does not solely reveal slavery and its characteristics. It is a film rich in reference to other economical orders as well, because besides elaborately showing from different aspects the processes typical for the establishment of slavery, it touches on and gives examples on economic relationships that are rather characterized as capitalist, feudal or self-employment-related. The action in A Respectable Trade takes place in 1788 in the English city of Bristol, starting with the marriage between Frances Scott and Josiah Cole. Frances, an educated and refined young woman of genteel origin, is left poor and with no inheritance after the death of her father. For lack of a better alternative, she marries the rough and uneducated Josiah who trades with ships, led by the motive to import slaves directly to England, have them educated and polished by his wife, and sell them as house servants at a better price . Josiah is far from successful in his trade: he only manages to import eight slaves and eventually to sell only two of them. However, this is enough to elucidate the main characteristics of slavery as an economic order. The arrival of his slaves, the process of educating them and their final escape represent a peculiar slavery-cycle that elaborates on important economic issues such as the slaves' status, the creation of subservient attitude in them (or at l east the attempt to), the strategies of breaking up their independent spirits, and their resistance. A typical characteristic of slavery is that slaves are considered just another element of the productive resources. They are regarded as property, as chattel, and can be freely sold as such. Never considered human beings with consciousness and will, slaves are often described with the term 'instrumentum vocale', meaning that they are seen just as instruments capable of producing human speech. Naturally, like any human beings, slaves have a consciousness of free and independent people, and it takes time and effort to impose on them an attitude of subservience and obedience, a consciousness of being no longer human beings but enslaved pieces of property. In A Respectable Trade that is achieved in several different ways. Firstly, the slaves are imported by ships to England - extremely far from their homeland, especially in the context of the 18th century.