HIS109Y1 Chapter Notes -Montesquieu, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Constitution Of The United Kingdom
Document Summary
2: p. 216 - 238, 244 - 258. Perspectives from the past: p. 216 - 238, 244 - 258. A philosophical and political history of the settlements and trade of the europeans. Anyone who justifies slavery might as well be the one who tortures the negro. This person would be the enemy of the human race. Society is divided into two societies: oppressed and the oppressors. The light of reason and simplistic nature should replace the blind ferocity of our ancestors. Banning slavery doesn"t mean that we need to give up luxuries and conveniences; these productions can be cultivated by the hands of free men. Until this revolution takes place, negroes will still be oppressed: raynal condemns slavery on humanitarian grounds. The nature of slavery is such that individuality and liberty which are the cornerstones of the enlightenment cannot exist simultaneously: the economic consequences of emancipation would not be terrible since slaves could be replaced by paid labourers.
