Quote:
Originally Posted by lucifer_sam
The thing that sets the United States apart from all those other countries that legalized slavery is the fact that the American economy was built upon slave labor.
|
There were plenty of civilizations that based their economy on slavery, Rome being the most prominent example among the ancient civilizations. The major difference between slavery in the ancient world and "modern" slavery in the Americas was that the former did not make a distinction based on race and slaves could move upward socially.
Also, slavery in Brazil was equally important to the economy as it was in the American south. In fact, 37% of all traded slaves ended up in Brazil (as opposed to some 5% which ended up in the American south). Brazil was also the last country in the western hemisphere that abolished slavery in 1888. But again, the major difference was the distinction based on race which was the most prominent in the American south and which made the integration a much more difficult process than it was in other countries.