Racism The Precedent to Slavery in North America
Racism: The Precedent to Slavery in North America In tracing the origins of slavery or racism in either sense, one must keep in mind that neither is an event or circumstance that occurred in North America in the 17th through 19th centuries. We must examine slavery as an institution and racism as a mentality defined by the oppressor, independent to the oppressed. Europeans who came to North America in the 17th century were predisposed to the institution of slavery. Slavery had long since been a proactive institution in South America. Africans were also slaves in Europe before 1619. Slave trades that preceded the Trans-Atlantic slave trade also show evidence that there were black slaves in Europe from many centuries. Therefore, Europeans never arrived in the colonies with the thought that slavery was not a natural human institution, or that blacks were equal to them and deserving of rights. The racist views that derived from European's predisposed bias against blacks was a justification the race based slavery that existed in North American beginning in the 17th century.Whites had a negative proclivity towards blacks in pre-colonial times. In his book, The Write Man's Burden: Historical Origins of Slavery in the Uni
Africans, however, who were too far from home with out any means of contacting their families or anyone, could not tell their countrymen that they were being treated badly. I have shown that they were already predisposed to a racist sentiment against blacks before the 17th century. However he fails to note that there emphasis on viewing blacks as savage, and heathenish, etc, were the very differences between Europeans and Africans, that would be to Europeans, a justifications for the institution of race based slavery. It was this selfish mind and racist disposition that caused race slavery in the North America. "Africans pre-17th century could be indentured servants as well as slaves. When blacks first arrived in the colonies, their status was of a mixed nature. Late in the 18th century anti-miscegenation laws are an example of whites attempt to define systematic supremacy over blacks. There were some blacks that worked as indentured servants, some were slaves, and some were free and owned property and laborers of their own. Africans began being associated with the status of slaves. ted States, Winthrop Jordan describes Europeans reactions towards contact with blacks. After the transformation from blacks to equating to slaves, they had no hope (maybe sparing but mostly none) of acquiring neither their freedom nor their children's freedom. Africans were migrated by force to North America in sheer terror and morbid conditions. As I previously stated, we must look at slavery not as an event or what happened (or didn't happen) to an individual, but as an institution that existed as real as the air we breathe for centuries. This began for man clear and unclear reasons. " In order to create a massive institution such as slavery that oppresses any people, the oppressor must view the oppressed as less than human, less deserving of human rights.
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