The Unity of Atlantic Slavery through its World-Legal Culture

The article sought to contribute to understanding the unity of Atlantic slavery despite the great diversity of practices and the multiple local arrangements. It is argued that shared normativity made this unity possible, which shaped a World-Legal Culture. The article is divided into three parts. The first part elucidates the concept of World-Legal Culture, highlighting how the Atlantic slavery system originated from adapting earlier practices and norms from the Mediterranean despite developing its own dynamics. The second part investigates the transition of this system to the Atlantic, as well as its reconfiguration, emphasizing how Indigenous peoples and Africans were incorporated, establishing new zones of enslavement. Finally, the third part analyzes the elements that effectively conferred unity to Atlantic slavery, specifically the property guarantee through commercial means, the configuration of the seigneurial domain as individual property, and the consolidation of matrilineal transmission of slave status. The analysis is grounded in a historical system, which articulates stable structures and autopoietic processes, enabling the continuous creation and reproduction of slavery.