U.S. CAPITALISM BUILT ON AFRICAN SLAVERY

US capitalism was built on the backs of African slaves, historian Gerald Horne explained in this 2017 @empirefiles clip. The professor and author of about 40 books said cotton exports to European textile mills were a significant source of profit for US slave owners. As such, slaves' bodies were considered solid investments. That meant Black people anywhere on Earth were at risk of being captured and shipped to the Americas.

However, Britain abolishing its slave trade in 1807 didn't deter entrepreneurs. Banks and insurance companies—among them Aetna, AIG, Bank of America, Citibank, JP Morgan Chase, New York Life and Wells Fargo—did brisk business with slaveholders and slave-ship owners.

Wall Street, the symbol of US capitalism, is named after a wall that African slaves built at a slave auction site. So, next time you see stock exchanges on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean spouting impressive trade numbers, remember that African labour set them up for 'success.'

What do you think of the professor's explanation? Let us know in the comments.