Slavery was a critical foundation for early capitalism

Evidence

From whatever vantage point one chooses, the relationship between slave labor, the slave trade, and the weaving of the early capitalist economies is apparent. Whatever were the alternatives, the point remains: historically, slavery was a critical foundation for capitalism. — Cedric J. Robinson, Black Marxism_ The Making of the Black…, 584

Categorization

• XREF: Central thesis of the whole book (Robinson’s core argument against orthodox Marxist historiography of capitalist origins). — connects to: Slavery formed the demographic and economic backbone of precolonial West African states; Du Bois concluded slavery and capitalism were systemically linked and periphery drove revolution; Slavery was central to capitalism, not a mere primitive precondition (+30 more)
• corroborated: 3 independent passages support this claim — Cedric J. Robinson, Black Marxism_ The Making of the Black…, 584

Broader Connections

• Slavery was central to capitalism, not a mere primitive precondition #corroborates (0.95)
• Ottoman expansion, sugar cultivation, and Genoese-Iberian alliance made slave labor central to capitalism #corroborates (0.80) — Cedric J. Robinson, Black Marxism_ The Making of the Black…, 556
• Madeira’s sugar plantations first institutionalized slave labor as capitalist commodity production #expands (0.70)
• Slave-trade fortunes funded the bourgeoisie who made the French Revolution #expands (0.70) — Cedric J. Robinson, Black Marxism_ The Making of the Black…, 574
• Venice organized the first capitalistic commerce in human beings #corroborates (0.70) — Cedric J. Robinson, Black Marxism_ The Making of the Black…, 555
• Medieval Mediterranean slavery foreshadowed Atlantic colonial slavery #corroborates (0.65)
• American slavery was a forewarning of how capitalism would exploit global labor #expands (0.60)
• Capitalism differentiated peoples into racial categories rather than homogenizing them #expands (0.50) — Cedric J. Robinson, Black Marxism_ The Making of the Black…, 205
• Post-1877 racial division of labor was engineered to stabilize capitalist wealth #expands (0.50)