Editing Slavery (section)

==== Spanish colonial America ====
In 1519, [[Hernán Cortés]] brought the first [[Afro-Mexican#African slavery in Mexico|modern slave]] to Mexico.<ref name=World>{{cite book |last=Agurilar-Moreno |first=Manuel |title=Handbook to Life in the Aztec World |year=2006 |publisher=[[California State University]], Los Angeles}}</ref> In the mid-16th century, the Spanish New [[New Laws|Laws]], prohibited slavery of the indigenous people, including the [[Aztecs]]. A labour shortage resulted. This led to the African slaves being imported, as they were not susceptible to smallpox. In exchange, many Africans were afforded the opportunity to buy their freedom, while eventually others were granted their freedom by their masters.<ref name=World/> In Jamaica, the Spanish enslaved many of the [[Taino]]; some escaped, but most died from European diseases and overwork. The Spaniards also introduced the first African slaves.<ref name=discja>{{cite web |title=Jamaican History I |url=http://www.discoverjamaica.com/gleaner/discover/geography/history1.htm |publisher=Discover Jamaica |access-date=August 23, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130805083846/http://www.discoverjamaica.com/gleaner/discover/geography/history1.htm |archive-date=August 5, 2013}}</ref>

Spain practically did not trade in slaves until 1810 after the rebellions and independence of its American territories or viceroyalties. After the Napoleonic invasions, Spain had lost its industry and its American territories, except in Cuba and Puerto Rico, where the African slave trade to Cuba began on a massive scale from 1810 onwards. It was started by French planters exiled from the French lost colony Saint Domingue (Haiti) who settled in the eastern part of Cuba.

In 1789, the Spanish Crown led an effort to reform slavery, as the demand for slave labour in Cuba was growing. The Crown issued a decree, {{lang|es|Código Negro Español}} (Spanish Black Code), that specified food and clothing provisions, put limits on the number of [[work hours]], limited punishments, required religious instruction, and protected marriages, forbidding the sale of young children away from their mothers. The British made other changes to the institution of slavery in Cuba. However, planters often flouted the laws and protested against them, considering them a threat to their authority and an intrusion into their personal lives.<ref name="Childs">{{cite book |last=Childs |first=Matt D. |title=1812 Aponte Rebellion in Cuba and the Struggle against Atlantic Slavery |year=2006 |publisher=[[University of North Carolina Press]] |isbn=978-0-8078-5772-4}}</ref>