Global Legacies of Racial Slavery and Colonialism
Practices and ideologies developed during racial slavery and colonialism shaped global societies long after slavery’s end. In the Americas, slavery’s legal abolition sparked violent backlashes, prompting new laws that sought to preserve racial subjugation and exploitative labor practices. In Africa, the end of slavery ushered in new, brutal waves of colonialism.
Old Practices in a New Era
Juvenile convicts at work in Florida, United States, 1903
At the end of the 19th century, the world faced a rapid reorganization of political boundaries, landscapes, and people. For many, full freedom was still a distant promise.
An industrializing Europe—dependent on African palm oil, rubber, and minerals—looked to cut out African producers and extract resources directly from the continent. European powers colonized much of Africa, displacing Africans from their lands and forcing them to work on colonial mines, farms, and infrastructure projects.
In the Americas, emancipated people and their descendants were entrapped into indentured servitude and poverty, experiencing similar working and living conditions as they had under slavery. Economic and human exploitation in this new era went hand in hand.
Environmental Destruction
Illustration of Brazilian topaz mine, 1823
Watercolor of plantation near Jamestown (present-day Holetown), Barbados, 1646
Colonialism and racial slavery not only impacted people but also the environment.
The plantation model ravaged ecosystems through deforestation and soil degradation. Mining operations further scarred the earth, leaving behind polluted landscapes. Additionally, the rise of the factory system and industrialization introduced widespread waste and contributed to the ongoing extraction of Earth’s limited resources.
These practices, rooted in the exploitation of people and the environment, have led us to the urgent challenges we face today: global climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental injustices that disproportionately affect marginalized communities.
Recurring Violence
Racial slavery and colonialism are linked by violent and exploitative practices. These practices—from forced migration to cultural erasure—were used to strip enslaved and colonized people of their agency and will to resist.
From Jim Crow to apartheid, this violence has taken many forms across time. Delivered through stereotypes, segregation, and genocide. Embedded into education, housing, and health care inequalities. Inflicted by individuals, nations, and corporations. In many forms, violence continues to shape our world today.
Industry and Extraction
Rwandan workers at a copper mine in Katanga, Belgian Congo, late 1920s
Thousands of Congolese workers in a cobalt mining pit, 2022
The Democratic Republic of Congo sits on nearly half of the world’s cobalt supply. In the 1900s, Belgium began large-scale commercial mining in the region. European colonists coveted the bright blue mineral—a byproduct of copper production—to color glass and ceramics.
Today, cobalt is a central component in nearly every modern battery—from cellphones to electric cars. The global dependence on cobalt brings enormous profit but great human and environmental cost, as local laborers face low wages and deadly working conditions.
Surveillance and Segregation
Charleston slave badge issued for “Servant 2938,” 1860
South African apartheid-era passbook, issued 1983
Many slave and colonial societies used badges, passbooks, and certificates to monitor people. These tools were used to control movement and mark social and economic status.
In Charleston, South Carolina, for example, enslaved people hired out as part-time skilled laborers were required to wear copper badges to travel within the city. A century later, in apartheid South Africa, laws mandated that Black, “Coloured,” and Indian people carry passbooks to work and travel throughout the segregated nation.
Control and Restraint
Ankle shackle, Hiatt & Co., 1780–1850
Hiatt Model 2103 Rigid speedcuffs, 2000s
Shackles, collars, and chains were produced by European manufacturers to constrain enslaved people. Birmingham, England-based Hiatt and Company was a major producer of restraints, supplying slave traders across the Atlantic long after Britain abolished the slave trade in 1807.
Two centuries after its founding, Hiatt became the first British company to introduce the rigid cuff design now used worldwide by police and militaries. These institutional histories connect racial slavery, modern-day policing, and military systems.