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First, you have to look at the entire history of African slavery. Mostly, they were sent to islands, not the mainland, because they couldn't survive on the mainland continent. Their immune systems couldn't take it. Thats why Haiti, and other caribbean countries are mostly black.
Secondly, the first slaves were brought here by dutch traders needing work on their boats in Virgina. Luckily, by the time they were really brought here, mid to late 1700's, we had conquered the climate and made it where slaves could live. It was expensive to have slaves, lots of upkeep, and slave owners preferred indentured servants from Ireland and other regions because they were able to adapt to the weather much easier.
Slavery really didn't take off in this country with Africans in large numbers until the invention of the cotton gin.
So, go get some history books, and look at what was really going on in the world.
African decendants have it much better here, then they would in their own country. Thats why many decided to stay instead of going to Liberia.
No most were sent to the Carribean and Brazil because of sugar. Sugar was the boom crop of the 16-18th centuries and sugar plantations required a lot of labor. In fact nobody really cared whether slaves lived or died. Brazil had a death rate among slaves that was tremendous, but it did not hamper the trade one bit. The only role climate played was whether or not you could grow sugar cane somewhere.
With that said you did not at all dispute my point which is essentially the slave trade ravaged West Africa for centuries and so saying...well if slavery never happened the quality of life for Africans in America would be lower is silly because the impacts of slavery on West Africa were immense and we have no idea what West Africa would be like today if they had not been through 300 years the Atlantic slave trade.
Nothing like good ol' conservative retroactive optimism to eliminate any lingering pain and resentment from the collective black conscience. Come to think of it, the Holocaust couldn't have been so bad either. After all, they have Israel now. Indigenous peoples, they have casinos. What more could you want?
Neither slavery or the Halocaust were a blessing to anybody that lived through them IF they lived through them but they did benefit the decsendants of those people to an extent. The Jews gained a homeland called Israel and the blacks gained American citizenship as well as 30 acres of land and a mule (later taken away) and the Indians gained Sequoyah (later taken away and renamed Oklahoma).
Slavery really didn't take off in this country with Africans in large numbers until the invention of the cotton gin.
False, just take a look at the 1790 census. Jefferson, and others, were actually working on an idea of ending slavery by the federal government purchasing the nations' slaves. The 1790 census destroyed that idea.
Are things not significantly better in the United States then Nigeria and other African nations?
I mean, for the slaves, it sucked. For their ancestors? Much better.
My Great Great Great...... Grandfather was an indentrued servant from Ireland in the early mid 1700's. About the same as the African slaves at the time.
I mean, what the guy said was stupid in a political sense, but if you stop and think about it.....
So the ends justify the means? Slavery was no big deal, because it ended semi-ok for the descendants of slaves?
As another poster said, by that logic, the Holocaust and genocide of 6 million Jews was probably no big deal, because hey, their descendants are part of the most powerful minority on Earth.
So the ends justify the means? Slavery was no big deal, because it ended semi-ok for the descendants of slaves?
As another poster said, by that logic, the Holocaust and genocide of 6 million Jews was probably no big deal, because hey, their descendants are part of the most powerful minority on Earth.
Oh God no, I'm not saying that at all. I think Slavery was a terrible thing, and I wish it had never be done.
But what the Arkansas state representative said is true. It was a blessing in disguise for their decendants.
Nothing about the actual people who had to live through it.
There are quite a few people that suggest Africa is still recovering from the impacts of slavery and the triangle trade. Slavery stole millions of people from the content and started a large amount of war. So it is highly questionable whether West Africa would be in the shape it is in today but for slavery.
Uh; many other places had it real bad not too long ago but are doing Ok in 2012 like Ireland, Germany, Poland, Korea, China and so on. We're just talking about since the 1950's. The real problem ain't so much with wars but how people "get it done" when the lead stops flying.
What?!?! Slavery had a deleterious, perhaps even crippling effect on Africa?!?! Fiddlesticks!!! What is this pseudo-historical nonsense you are writing?!?!
Uh; if it weren't for other Black people, there'd probably just a few Black slaves in the US, Brazil, Haiti and so on. It was death for white people to go INTO Africa like it was death for the Indians here: both groups dropped like flies from diseases like 9 out of 10.
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