ABSTRACT
Few conclusions with regard to technological change and diffusion are as axiomatic as that which suggests that slave labour inhibits progress. From the nineteenth century through to contemporary writing, the dominance of that position in the literature has been clear and has remained largely unchallenged.1 With this concentration on the relationship between coerced labour and technological change, little attention has been given to the reverse relationship. To what extent did technological change and its diffusion contribute to the rise and persistence of slave labour forces?2 This paper attempts an initial answer to that question by examining the nature and impact of technological changes occurring in West Indian sugar production, in West African slave supply, and in the Atlantic slave trade.3 Consistent with the initial axiom, it is observed that the slave-using plantation societies of the West Indies were neither inventive nor innovative. By contrast, the activities of those engaged in slave gathering, slave merchandizing, and slave transport were characterized by numerous innovations.
