Confronting Complexities of Trade, Trafficking in Portugal & Spain

Belmont students approach difficult questions surrounding the Transatlantic Slave Trade while studying abroad

This summer, 12 Belmont students embarked to Portugal and then Spain with a goal to better understand the role of the Transatlantic Exchange — historically contextualizing human trafficking in those countries and back home in the United States. 

The trip, led and designed by Spanish professor Dr. Mitch McCoy and religion professor Dr. Andy Watts, encouraged students to ask uncomfortable questions and think critically about the international exchange of commodities. They explored how trade in goods like sugar, chocolate and coffee has historically intersected with the darker reality of human trafficking.

Linking the Past to the Present 

Elizabeth Abbott’s “Sugar: A Bittersweet History” served as the central text for the study abroad excursion. In her book, Abbott details how the trade of sugar and chocolate, two sought-out commodities requiring massive labor forces to produce, was inextricably linked with human trafficking. Due to their geographic proximities to Africa, Portugal and Spain began subjugating the people of Africa, enslaving them to produce these goods and then shipping them around the world for profit. 

“Mitch and I discussed wanting to evoke the sentiment and the understanding among students that, although American students in the 21st century aren't responsible for that history, we are indelibly accountable to it and that history shapes the world we live in,” said Watts. “We still benefit from that history in the United States today, so we wanted to make the experiences relevant to students’ contemporary lives and help them understand that it is still a pressing issue — injustice still exists today because of this history.” 

McCoy echoed Watts’ connection between modern-day U.S. and the European slave trade over 500 years ago. “At the beginning of the trip, Andy warned against casting a critical eye toward two countries many of us had never visited before without taking into account our own nation’s participation in the Transatlantic Slave Trade,” he said. “The labor force that grew cotton in the South was a direct result of that slave trade. That point was key to help orient students’ attitudes early.” 

Senior Erina Shin described the trip as an eye-opening experience that illustrated how vast and far-reaching the slave trade truly was. 

“The trip really opened my eyes to the history of slavery, the countries that started it and those that were affected by it,” she said. “For example, I had an idea of Spain's role in colonialism, but I didn't realize just how much Portugal and Spain were involved with the transport of slaves to their country and the New World from Africa and parts of Asia.” 

While abroad, students visited cities that were crucial to Portugal and Spain’s economies such as Lisbon, Seville, Madrid and Cádiz. In addition to visiting the glistening beaches lining the coastal cities of the Iberian Peninsula, the group also toured several historic cathedrals that prompted their own ethical interrogations. 

“These beautiful cathedrals blessed the tragedies of the Portuguese and Spanish authorities and the royal houses,” explained Watts. “Christianity itself created justifications for the killing, enslaving and attempted converting of indigenous peoples, and that was the research question I had my junior cornerstone students answer in my class — what was the role of Christianity in allowing the Transatlantic slave triangle to exist and prosper as it did?” 

Living & Breathing the Modern Cultures 

Outside of grappling with these difficult questions and realities of the past, McCoy and Watts encouraged students to become fully immersed in the cultures of their temporary homes. The group experienced traditional Fado music in Lisbon, got front-row seats to Flamenco dancing by Jose Manuel Alvarez in Madrid and stayed in the homes of local families in Seville. 

“For the students that did not speak Spanish, they were very nervous to stay with their host parents,” said Watts. “But as I grade the journals that the students in my class put together, almost all of them said that was the biggest learning experience for them. Even while struggling with communication over basic things, they were able to recognize common points of solidarity such as kindness and hospitality.” 

According to Shin, these experiences in Seville stood out among the many highlights of the trip. 

“Our time with our homestays helped me out of my comfort zone and pushed me to speak Spanish, something I wanted to do because I was there to immerse myself and improve speaking the language,” she said. “The activities we did really engaging, but overall, I thought the city was incredibly beautiful and filled with tons of things to do.” 

Why Does it Matter?

According to McCoy, there are two primary reasons students benefit from studying abroad. 

The first is there is no substitute for experiencing a culture or a history, regardless of how familiar one may be with another country. “It’s like talking to someone about the Nashville Symphony Orchestra and how great it is, but then immediately telling the person you’ve never seen it,” he said. 

The second benefit of studying abroad is students allowing themselves to become uncomfortable and find commonality with people who are different. 

“It allows people to better understand that the United States is a place, but it is not the place,” continued McCoy. “Students are better able to reflect on themselves and analyze their own culture — something we tend to not do until we are pulled out of it.” 

Watts described studying abroad as spiritual development, not just in a religious context, but in terms of learning about our common humanity in a way that shapes students, their relationships with the world and develops identity. 

“The intellectual work done while studying abroad in addition to experiencing the culture that shapes the daily lives of others is critical,” he concluded. “If we inserted ourselves and our own understanding of someone else’s identity onto their actual identities, it’s just another form of colonizing.” 

This trip through Portugal and Spain exemplifies the profound impact that studying abroad can have on students' personal and intellectual growth. By challenging preconceptions, fostering cultural immersion and encouraging critical thinking about complex historical and contemporary issues, such experiences broaden horizons and deepen understanding in ways that classroom learning alone cannot match.