Nature of slavery described by Tomas de Mercado

Nature of slavery described by Tomas de Mercado - On the Trade in the Blacks of Cape Verde.

With the decline of the indigenous population it became necessary to import black slave labour. So the Spanish crown was involved in the international market of slaves brought from the west coast of Africa. In the sixteenth century, thousands of enslaved men and women were transported to the American territory. For the  Colombian territory they came through the port of Cartagena de Indies during the period 1595-1615, which was the only port on the Spanish American accredited for zone for the cargo of the enslaved. Most of these enslaved, in the period 1533 to 1580 came from the region known as the ​​Cape Verde. Tomas de  Mercado who was a priest and an economist in Mexico during the middle of 15^th century  or the early modern period. He denounced slavery and the practise of dehumanising the human spirit who were mainly Africans but h European traders who competed with each other in the inhuman practise. However he approved and deemed acceptable the capturing of slaves who had been enslaved by the Africans themselves or those who were prisoners of war or convicts or even a child who had been sold by parents due to necessity. He was a proponent of a concept which he termed as just slavery. This trading of human beings was done by mainly European traders by bring in traffic across the Atlantic ocean into America where it was a much demanded commodity. As this trade increased some people argued against this unhealthy practise. But many Christians were also found a positive side and  expressed the virtues of using an obedient slave in carrying out menial chores. In this way they created an implicit support for slavery.

This is probably the last film which will be produced on slavery as its forceful depiction will finally force the American cinema to stop telling all the lies about the virtues of slavery and the happy and fulfilling lives of a slave population. The story opens with Solomon played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, who is  already enslaved and cutting sugar cane on a plantation. Using a number of flashback shots scenes of the happy days when Solomon was free in New York having happiness in the company of his wife and children. He then comes across to white men who give him a job of playing the violin in a circus. Subsequent scenes show the three people having a big party with lots of food and wine. The happy scenes come to an end and we see that Solomon wakes up from a drugged sleep and finds that he has been sold into slavery. He is shown cruelly shackled and passes from one master to another in human bondage.   

This is a story about Solomon, who may represent an entire subjugated people and, by extension, the peculiar institution, as well as the American past and present. It is also a moving story of an individual. The story is a true narrative written by Northup who was born as a free man and then had to share the life of a bonded creature for 12 years. Solomon becomes an important witness in the unfolding of history. He is in enslavement for the standpoint of physical, emotional and psychological parameters but is still intellectually and culturally detached. This makes him a powerful observer of the unfolding events. His life in New York as a free citizen without voting rights gave him a degree of freedom where he could enjoy the privileges of enjoying a weekend with his wife and family. He however remained a black man in pre independent war era in America.

 McQueen has created a classical narrative; the emphasis is on Solomon and his unquenchable desire for freedom. It shows a bewildered man who still cannot believe that he has been sold as a slave even though he has found himself in chains. . Not long after has been drugged and sold as a slave, Solomon sits huddled with two other prisoners on a slave boat headed for the Southern part of America where slaves are in demand. One of the slaves tell him that they should fight back but the second man is resigned to his fate and tells that it is better to keep the head down instead of staging a futile bid for freedom. Solomon is bewildered and his look of disbelief is apparent. It was only a few days before that he roamed the streets of Washington as a free man and now he refuses to accept the second man’s advice that everything is lost forever and he has to suffer in silence. Solomon proudly declares – “I want to live”. The story is about the real world happenings during the fag end of slavery in America. Solomon depicts a poetic record of a black man’s travails into the cruel world of slavery as Platt who has been told a story that he is an escaped convict from Georgia. The compelling narrative style of the film shows the despair which finally encompasses Solomon.

McQueen has recreated a grand screen setting with a lot of emotional content to bring back memories of his film “Hunger”. Sean Bobbitt the cinematographer has filled the screen with a splash of contrasting colors from the deep blue of the ocean to the dark interiors of the ship’s belly where the slaves toil away in a colorless agony. The audience is captivated by Northup’s subjectivity and watch in rapt attention the unfolding story of his life of total freedom and careless abandon to a life of gloom and agony.   The pitiful scenes of a woman being where a woman shrieks in the pain of separation from her young children when they are sold to different owners have to be drowned by Solomon who has been ordered to play his violin to drown the cries. The masterful storyline reminds us of the pains of a slave which had once stirred the conscience of Mercado.