Essay Example on The Beginning of Slavery in America

The slavery in America begun in 1619, the moment the Dutch ship transported about 20 African slaves onto land in the British colony of Jamestown, Virginia. All the way through the 17th century, European colonists within North America turned to African slaves as an economical, more plenteous source of labour as compared to indentured servants, who were mostly poor Europeans (Kolchin., 2003). However it is difficult to offer exact statistics, some historians have projected that about 6 to 7 million black slaves were traded in to the New World all through the 18th century only, depriving the African land of some of its fittest as well as capable men together with women. These Slaves worked in the farms of the Europeans especially tobacco and rice plantation among others.

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In the highlight of the difference of the North American slave and that of the ancient societies, systems of slavery were common within various region of Africa, as they were in much of the ancient globe (Ling., 1972). In several African societies where slavery was widespread, the subjugated individuals were not mistreated as chattel slaves and were issued certain privileges or freedom in a system comparable to indentured slavery somewhere else within the universe. On the other hand, the North American slaves were not given any rights by the law and the experience there was very brutal. Americans believed that Africans were strong enough to work on their lands and were resistant to various diseases. It is with this argumentation that they took Africans as slaves to work on their farms (Countryman., 1999).

The South Carolina wanted slaves that were strong enough to work on their farms. For one thing, they had agreed that the people of Africa were suitable to the back-breaking labor of rice cultivation as compared to Indians. For another, black individuals appeared to have a stronger opposition to white illnesses like small pox as well as yellow fever. And lastly, white men learnt that if a Native American slave disappeared, they perhaps were not going to catch him another time (Morgan., 2003). However, strong connections formed amongst South Carolina's Native Americans together with the African people who were taken to the shore. These connections were particularly strong in respects to religious conviction. In addition to working as one within the farms, they survived as one in common living residences, started to harvest communal guidelines for food as well as herbal medicines, shared traditions and mythologies, and eventually intermarried (Ling., 1972). Besides their communal mistreatment at the hands of colonial slavery, Africans and Native Americans got same global-views engrained in their historic correlation to the subtropical coastlands of the middle Atlantic. The ties between these two groups were at some point surprising as they become one and had same belief.

In the course of work as well as outside of it, slaves went through physical exploitation, for the reason that the government accepted it. Treatment was generally punitive on large farms that were frequently controlled by supervisors and possessed by run-away slaveholders. Small slaveholders operated as one with their slaves and at times handled them more gently. The first Africans that were brought to the Jamestown were treated as servants and were no longer slaves during that time (Morgan., 1972). This brings in the belief that they were treated equally at the colonies at some point. In the creation of the laws to govern the whites and the slaves, discriminations were seen as the blacks were not allowed to mingle with the whites and this brought about racism during this period. In addition, the mulatto women as well as the blacks were not to have a child with the whites as that was an offence according to the laws. According to my understanding, the biasness already existed and the whites already had discrimination towards the Africans and that's the reason why they exploited and imposed harsh laws on Africans (Countryman., 1999).

Mulatto is someone whose parents are from diverse racial background. This was present in America due to the connection between the blacks and the whites after bearing children. The Americans never had good intentions to individuals of mixed races since they were not allowed to enjoy various rights including denial to relate to the whites (Hall., 2006). Several laws were put in place to avoid this mixed race since the white colonialist never liked. This was put as one of the ways of preventing the occurrence and severe punishments were put in place for any individual that breaks them.

Indeed, slavery led to freedom since it brought about the creation of several forums that were against slavery. Several institutions protested against slavery hence it brought the end of slavery as well as racism. Some of these institutions came with various challenges as the protestors' life were in danger as they also faced critics from the whites. Some of them had to fight hard just to achieve the goal of ending slavery and bring freedom to the Africans (Morgan., 2003).

In conclusion, several individuals suffered during the time of slavery as they were brutalized by the Americans and were forced to work on various plantations including rice and tobacco plantations. Slavery led to mixed races that were also not interesting to the whites and were also treated as slaves and could not enjoy the human rights. Several organizations had to be put in place so as to end the slavery and to bring freedom to the poor Africans that were suffering in the hands of the whites as slaves. These organizations led to freedom that the Africans enjoyed thereafter.

Reference

Cohen, W. (1969). Thomas Jefferson and the problem of slavery. The Journal of American History, 56(3), 503-526.

Countryman, E. (Ed.). (1999). How did American slavery begin?. Bedford/St. Martin's.

Hall, G. M. (2006). Slavery and African ethnicities in the Americas: restoring the links. The Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology, 11(2), 436-438.

Kolchin, P. (2003). American Slavery: 1619-1877. Macmillan.

LING, W. W. F. (1972). The founding fathers and slavery. The American Historical Review, 77(1), 81-93.

Morgan, E. S. (1972). Slavery and freedom: The American paradox. The Journal of American History, 59(1), 5-29.

Morgan, E. S. (2003). American slavery, American freedom. WW Norton & Company.