The new world in this context refers to the United States of America and the Caribbean islands were most of the people of African origin were found.
The people of African origin in the new world were a product of Trans Atlantic slave trade, this trade led to the exportation of many Africans in the form of slaves to America to provide cheap labor on plantations and mines.
The origin or genesis of the African people in the new world/slavery
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Mercantilism
This was an economic system which involved conducting trade overseas searching for gold and silver. Mercantilism led to the rise of the Trans – Atlantic slave trade which was a trading activity which involved Africa, Europe and America. During this trade millions of Africans were shipped to America to provide cheap labor on plantations.
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Booming capitalist agriculture.
During mercantilism European capitalists established different plantations of coffee, sugarcane, cotton and tobacco which called for massive supply of cheap labor, thus the supply of white labor was getting difficult compared to the expanding needs of the plantations, therefore called for importation of slaves from Africa.
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Industrial revolution in Europe.
Due to the industrial revolution, there was a need to expand home markets thus the merchants and the ruling class in Europe were afraid of under population; this prompted the campaign against the use of white labor. The crisis called for massive importation of slaves from Africa to provide cheap labor on plantations.
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Africans slaves were cheap.
It‟s on record that money paid to a white labor for ten years could procure an African slave for life. In addition a white worker was expected to acquire land at the end of the contract while an African slave was prevented by law from owning land. This condition necessitated the use of African labor thus the existence of people of African origin in the new world.
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Discovery of maritime technology.
This acted as a pushing factor for Africans to be taken as slaves. Maritime technology eased transportation and guided the merchants to locate Africa. Thus be in possession to transport people of African origin to the new world.
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Inability of the indigenous people.
Initially the Europeans were using Native Americans and red Indians to provide cheap labor on the plantations and mining centers but these later died in huge numbers due to plague. This called for an importation of African slaves which contributed to the existence of people of African origin in the new world.
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Discovery of the new world.
The discovery of the new world by Christopher Columbus in 1492 contributed to the existence of people of African origin in the new world. The discovery led to the establishment of plantations and mining centers that demanded for cheap labor which called for importation of African slaves.
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PROBLEMS FACED BY THE PEOPLE OF AFRICAN ORIGIN IN THE NEW
WORLD
The people of African origin faced various problems which were caused by the development of capitalism. The European maintained certain conditions to ensure the survival of capitalism at the expense of the people of African origin. These problems are classified into political, economical and social aspects.
POLITICAL PROBLEMS
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Denied the right to vote.
The people of African origin were denied the right to vote, various measures were put that made difficult for the black people to vote. The qualifications to vote included one should have attained a certain level of income and had a grandfather who was eligible to vote.
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Denied equal representation.
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People of African origin were denied equal representation in the government. To make matters worse; they were even denied the right to run for political office hence they had no representatives in the government.
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Denied the right to make decisions.
People of African origin were denied the right to make decisions in the new world; they lost all their rights as human beings hence they could not even make decisions regarding their own lives.
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ECONOMIC PROBLEMS
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Denied the right to own land.
People of African origin were denied the right to own land, they were forbidden by law to own land or any other property. This rendered them to be only domestic servants in the new world.
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Poor working conditions.
People of African origin were exposed to poor working conditions on the plantations owned by the whites. They signed contracts with planters were they agreed to offer labor on conditions similar to those of slavery. On the plantations, people of African origin were more often punished by the planters and were paid low wages and in some cases they were not paid at all.
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SOCIAL PROBLEMS
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Racial discrimination
The people of African origin were subjected to racial discrimination in all aspects of life. Laws were established which restricted people of African origin to live in separate and inferior sections of hospitals, cemeteries and toilet facilities.
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Education
The people of African origin faced different problems in education system. There was segregation in the education system whereby black people were denied admission in secondary schools, colleges and universities because of their race.
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Denied the right to marry.
Black people were denied the right to marry and be married. The capitalist believed that marriage would hinder the exploitation of African labor since it would become expensive to maintain the black people and their families. Laws were also established that prohibited relations between a black and a white man.
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Due to the problems; the people of African origin began to wage struggles for equality, economic power and civil rights. The development of class consciousness among the people of African origin was caused by numerous factors that contributed to the rise of black American nationalism.
BLACK AMERICAN NATIONALISM
The origin of black American nationalism was the exploitation and oppression to which the black people were subjected. This situation forced the black people to identify themselves as the group apart.
Black American nationalism manifested itself in different forms such as back to African movement, pan African movement and the civil rights movement.
OBJECTIVES OF A BACK TO AFRICA MOVEMENT
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Liberate people of African origin.
The movement wanted the people of African origin to be free from exploitation and oppression by shipping them back to Africa. The supporters of this movement argued that the people of African origin cannot attain economic and political freedom in the USA thus the solution was to go back to Africa.
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Formation of a strong African state.
The movement aimed at forming the strong African state which would restore, respect and freedom to the people of African origin, the supporters of the movement claimed that the formation of a strong African state will lead to the elevation of African race.
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Empower the people of African origin.
The movement aimed at empowering the black people economically by establishing economic ventures and creating employment for the millions of people of African origin that were living in poverty.
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Raising nationalism in Africa.
The people of African origin (back to Africa movement) aimed at raising nationalism in Africa. It wanted to unite all the black people in both the new world and Africa to fight against oppression, exploitation and colonialism.
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Regain fundamental rights.
The movement also aimed at bringing unity and solidarity among the people of African origin. The black people had been denied the right to education, right to freedom of expression and the right to marry and own property.
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Cultivate a sense of unity.
The movement also aimed at bringing unity and solidarity among the people of African origin. Unity was an important ingredient in the struggle to regain the fundamental rights of the people of African origin.
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Achievements of the back to Africa movement
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Formation of the Universal Negros Improvement Association (UNIA).
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The UNIA aimed at calling all people of African origin to establish universal nationhood. The association wanted to emancipate people of African origin from exploitation and oppression.
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Launched a shipping agency.
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The back to Africa movement undertook intensive back to Africa campaign and launched a shipping agency called “black star shipping line” which shifted the emancipated slaves back to Africa for example Liberia and sierra Leone.
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Plan to form a strong African state.
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The movement advocated for the need to form a strong African state which would give the people of African origin the freedom from exploitation and oppression, this centered on the formation of African unity which laid the foundation of the organization of African unity.
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Formation of the African republic.
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The back to Africa movement established the African republic whereby it opened large scale capitalist programs such as hotels and restaurants. These investments provided employment opportunities to the black people who had been denied employment.
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Removal of inferiority complex of the Africans.
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The movement promoted awareness and consciousness among the African race and removed the inferior complex which most Africans had. Through various publications and civil rallies many people of African origin got sensitized and begun to identify their position and their role to play in the dominant white society.
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Unity
The back to Africa movement promoted black solidarity among the black people in the new world and in Africa. Unity was very crucial to the people of African origin were to gain their fundamental right.
Hindrances to the back to Africa movement
There were so many hindrances that faced the back to Africa movement, these included the following
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Disunity
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There were some people of African origin who preferred to remain in America because they were not so certain to which part of Africa the movement intended to take them. This complicated the interests of the movement.
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A campaign of terror
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A campaign of terror was unleashed against the members of the universal Negro improvement association all over the state. Many of the members were thrown out of their jobs and the key organizers were killed. This was a serious setback to the cause of the movement.
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Role of Britain and the USA.
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Countries such as Britain and the USA worked very hard to frustrate Marcus Garvey, one of the leaders of the back to Africa movement. In 1923 the government of Liberia invited the members of universal Negros improvement association to set up an African base in Liberia but these two countries threatened to attack Liberia indeed when a team of technical experts arrived in Liberia in 1824, they were arrested and deported to the USA.
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Opposition from white American capitalists.
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The UNIA was operating in the United States along capitalist lines hence it created stiff competition with the white American capitalists who were determined to assure its failure.
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Deportation of Marcus Garvey.
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The government of USA contributed to the failure of the back to Africa by arresting Marcus Garvey and sentenced him to five years imprisonment, he was later pardoned but deported to Jamaica in 1927 hence ending all hopes of reviving the movement hence ending all hopes of reviving the movement.
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Mass illiteracy.
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The mass illiteracy of the people of African origin was the biggest challenge that faced the back to Africa movement, almost 90% of the black people were illiterate. Thus they were vulnerable to exploitation. Illiteracy made the people of African origin an aware about their political, social and economic rights.
PANAFRICANISM OR THE PAN AFRICAN MOVEMENT/black solidarity
Pan Africanism refers to the desire for African unity that tries to cultivate the spirit of brotherhood among the black people in the new world.
Pan Africanism originated in America and the Caribbean islands in the early 20th century.
The movement was formed by the black people initially to stop slave trade.
Pan Africanism was founded by Bladen and later on it was actuated William Sylvester who convened the first pan Africanist conference, these were few representatives from Africa but the majority came from America.
Aims of pan Africanism
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The movement aimed at fighting against colonialism in Africa and ensures that Africans are given their self rule. The Africans were subjected to colonial rule for a long period where they were exposed to all sorts of exploitation and oppression.
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The movement wanted to liberate Africans from slave trade and slavery. Under slavery the people of African origin were subjected to all evils. They were denied the right to education, right to freedom of expression, right to marry and the right to own property.
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The movement also wanted to regain the fundamental rights of the people of African origin. They were denied right to education, right to freedom of expression, right to marry and own property.