trade with the American colonies), had in sixty years contributed to the population and was a factor in Seville becoming both a and city.17 “thriving metropolis” Spain’s largest Juan Latino, or more precisely his mother was a casualty of that trade, as she would have been the main target of capture. But though subsaharan African slavery in Spain was on the rise in the sixteenth century, Juan Latino could never have imagined that by the late nineteenth century some 15 million people would have been exported from Africa via the slave trade. Though noticeable, the rate of increase in enslaved Africans in the sixteenth century would not have been sufficient reason for him to conclude that the sources and reasons for enslavement in the Mediterranean religious – difference and economic exigency were being replaced by an exclusive association with – Africa. Indeed, for the whole of the sixteenth century, Spain imported less than 1 percent of the total of the transatlantic slave trade, a cumulative estimate that under no circumstances anticipates the subsequent exponential expansion in scope and trade’s volume.18 And of course, there is no clue as to how Latino viewed his relationship to Africa he may have celebrated it, he may have disdained it. In claiming to be from – “originally he could have simply been acknowledging obvious phenotypic difference, Ethiopia,” adopting the to emphasize his love and mastery of Greek (as the term term “Ethiopia” derives from Greek). Or perhaps, like others who would be enslaved in the Americas, he gravitated to Ethiopia as an idea, a cipher for all Africa, having learned through his studies of antiquity, and possibly sacred scripture, that it enjoyed a level of prominence and respect among world civilizations.
trade with the American colonies), had in sixty years contributed to the population and was a factor in Seville becoming both a “thriving metropolis” and Spain’s largest city.17 Juan Latino, or more precisely his mother was a casualty of that trade, as she would have been the main target of capture. But though subsaharan African slavery in Spain was on the rise in the sixteenth century, Juan Latino could never have imagined that by the late nineteenth century some 15 million people would have been exported from Africa via the slave trade. Though noticeable, the rate of increase in enslaved Africans in the sixteenth century would not have been sufficient reason for him to conclude that the sources and reasons for enslavement in the Mediterranean – religious difference and economic exigency – were being replaced by an exclusive association with Africa. Indeed, for the whole of the sixteenth century, Spain imported less than 1 percent of the total of the transatlantic slave trade, a cumulative estimate that under no circumstances anticipates the trade’s subsequent exponential expansion in scope and volume.18 And of course, there is no clue as to how Latino viewed his relationship to Africa – he may have celebrated it, he may have disdained it. In claiming to be “originally from Ethiopia,” he could have simply been acknowledging obvious phenotypic difference, adopting the term “Ethiopia” to emphasize his love and mastery of Greek (as the term derives from Greek). Or perhaps, like others who would be enslaved in the Americas, he gravitated to Ethiopia as an idea, a cipher for all Africa, having learned through his studies of antiquity, and possibly sacred scripture, that it enjoyed a level of prominence and respect among world civilizations.