|
The ideas, thoughts, and words on this non-profit page were compiled from the excellent PBS site, Africans in America, which chronicles America's journey through slavery . For further study of this pivotal topic, this site is among the best resources. Some wording and phrases from the original source have been slightly edited / modified for middle school use by Sam Greene. To view the source articles, navigate to the following link: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/home.html Prior to reading this passage, make sure you've previewed the questions to focus your reading of this article. This is a reading strategy you can and should use in all your classes. The English
never attempted a full scale enslavement of the native population they
encountered in the Americas. Instead they turned to the African continent,
and the trade in human chattel would be lucrative for over two hundred
years. Upon first seeing the natives, the Europeans viewed them as not so
different from themselves. Africans, on the other hand, were beyond
salvation. They were dark skinned, black, a color that conjured up images
of devils and Satan to the Elizabethan European mind. For that reason,
among others, blacks were not considered human, rather sub-human, and the
European had no qualms tearing him from his family, taking him thousands
of miles away to a strange continent and making him work. Slavery
though was not uncommon among Africans themselves. There is often a mental
image of Europeans raiding the African shore in order to take more humans,
and this just didn't happen often at all. Slavery had been an established
institution in Africa for centuries. The nature of slavery was different
though. Slaves were given a much higher status in Africa than in Europe.
African slaves were also generally prisoners of war; they were the
captives when they lost in a dispute. By a twisted hand of fate, the
Europeans happened to explore Africa and the Americas during a time of
great civil war in Africa. When the Europeans proposed purchasing the
slaves, of course the victorious party agreed. After all, it was better
than having them in their land, perhaps to fight again. So they sold them.
The results in Africa were often devastating. Villages lost entire
generations of men, and the birth rate dropped. Still the ruling party
would gather slaves to sell to Europeans and would make a great deal of
money from the sale. The slave trade involved willing parties of Europeans
and Africans, while no one cared about the slaves themselves. To put it
mildly, slavery was a terrible hardship. The slaves were put in climates
they weren't used to, forced to endure the pain of being separated from
loved ones, as well as the pain of hard labor. Slaves were taken from many
areas of Africa and they spoke just as many languages. So not only were
they thousands of miles from home, they could barely communicate with the
people they were with. Care was taken to separate the slaves who could
communicate for fear that they would rebel if they could talk. For those
slaves working on farms the work was a little less tedious than tobacco
cultivation, but no less demanding. The variety of food crops and
livestock usually kept slaves busy throughout the year. Despite the
difficult labor, there were some minor advantages to working on a
plantation or farm compared to working in an urban setting or household.
Generally, slaves on plantations lived in complete family units, their
work dictated by the rising and setting of the sun, and they generally had
Sundays off. The disadvantages, however, were stark. Plantation slaves
were more likely to be sold or transferred than those in a domestic
setting. They were also subject to brutal and severe punishments because
they were regarded as less valuable than household or urban slaves. Urban and
household slaves generally did not live in complete family units. Most
domestic environments used female labor; therefore there were few men, if
any, on domestic sites. Most male slaves in an urban setting were
coachmen, waiting men, or gardeners. Others were tradesmen who worked in
shops or were hired out. In general, urban slaves did not have the amount
of privacy that field slaves had. They lived in loft areas over the
kitchens, laundries, and stables. They often worked seven days a week,
even though Sunday's chores were lessened. Their work days were not set by
the sun; instead, they were set by tasks. There were advantages, however. Urban and domestic slaves usually dressed better, were fed better rations, and had greater opportunity to move about in relative freedom. They also were go-betweens for field slaves and the owners. They were privy to a great deal of information discussed in the "big house." They knew everything from the master's mood to the latest political events. The marketplace became the communal center, the place for "networking." At the marketplace slaves would exchange news and discuss the well-being of friends and loved ones. They often aided runaways, and they kept a keen ear to those political events that might have had an impact on their lives. Regardless of a slave's occupation, there was considerable fear and angst caused by an environment of constant uncertainty and threats of violence and abuse. |