For generations, schools in the US have failed to teach children the actual reality of slavery. Children in schools have been spared the entire truth of how slavery took place in US history.
Slavery was legal in the US for 246 years, and until 159 years ago, people were enslaved. Slavery has existed in America for a long time. It has a role in US history and the present as well. Most slaves were brought in from Africa. They lived near the coastal colonies in Georgia and Virginia.
However, there’s so much more to this story that you didn’t learn in school.
Where Did the Slaves Come From?
Many say that slavery began in Jamestown, Virginia, in 1619. However, it has been said that the first slaves documented were in the 1500s. Sailing ships coming to Africa would bring in the slaves to the British American-dominated areas and colonies. Later, these slaves were shipped to the southern states in the US.
Some slaves were also shipped to the Caribbean islands. But where were these African slaves coming from? Surely, the sailing ships didn’t just randomly pick up Africans along their journey.
These slaves were offered by the tribes living in Africa in place of money or goods. They were loaded onto the ships by other tribes on the land in exchange for the goods that the ships would bring to Africa. These tribes would accept any food they could either find on the land or receive from others.
Killing people and enslaving members belonging to other tribes was a way of life for all tribes. Agriculture wasn’t widespread back then. Enslaving people and offering them food was a convenient way for these tribes to not only reduce the members in the other tribes but also get a good bargain for food and other goods.
The Other Slavery in America
When Europeans entered the New World, slavery had existed in America for over 10,000 years. It was also common in most American Indian tribes, and it continued to be a part of their lives well into the late 1800s.
What Ended Slavery?
Two things were involved in closing the slavery chapter in the US. During 1680 and 1690, Individual Rights treaties were written by John Locke. American Constitutional Convention (1787) and French Revolution (1792) also brought in the idea of a human having individual rights.
Slowly, the US constitution began changing the government, and they waited for more resolutions that would help end slavery. Later, the Industrial Revolution in the mid-1700s in Britain deemed slavery as an inconvenience for the economy, and that made it easier to end slavery.
Humans were now being required for physical labor, and while this allowed them a little more freedom with fewer restrictions, it continued to be a form of slavery in many states in the US. Thirty million people are still enslaved in the US.
People are still unaware of the facts revolving around the history of slavery in the US. Check out Mercy Anim’s new book, The Warrior Princess and the Invisible Gold Bracelet, which shows the lives of Black Americans living in slavery through a little nine-year-old girl’s eyes. It’s an amazing ebook on the lives of Black Americans.
Buy The Warrior Princess ebook.