Chapter 3 Analysis
From reading chapter 3 about “The Hidden Origins of Slavery” in the book titled A Different Mirror by Ronald Takaki it is found that there is much evil spoken of about black skinned people and their relationships with white people. Takaki mentioned, “In the English mind, the color black was freighted with an array of negative images: deeply stained dirt, foul, dark or deadly in purpose, malignant, sinister, wicked. The color white, on the other hand, signified purity, innocence, and goodness.” Today in our country majority of people regardless of their race would be opposed and even disgusted with this statement of offense.
Takaki mentions the significance of Shakespeare’s play that was first performed in London in 1611, and at that time there were no African slaves (referred to as Calibans) in Virginia. Two years after the play was performed the colony sent its first small shipment of tobacco to London. By 1620 the production of tobacco grew enormously. The first Africans were brought to Virginia as indentured servants just as the white men were, but the land owners in Virginia didn’t want a lot of African servants because they wanted to build a new England in Virginia and planned on staying there with their families and didn’t want a significant amount of blacks in their community. From 1619-1650 only 2 percent of the colony were blacks and by 1675 only 5 percent were blacks.
Africans were definitely victimized in the colony, but the people began to notice that the blacks were superior laborers, and the unjust punishments they received were to be servants for the rest of their natural lives while the white people were only required to add 3-4 years onto their term for their punishment from their wrong doings. It is simple see how the divisions of the social classes were developed with the plantation owners at the top and the yeoman farmers, non-landholders and un-free laborers (in order from top to bottom) were formed as the people began to notice that the
Takaki mentions the significance of Shakespeare’s play that was first performed in London in 1611, and at that time there were no African slaves (referred to as Calibans) in Virginia. Two years after the play was performed the colony sent its first small shipment of tobacco to London. By 1620 the production of tobacco grew enormously. The first Africans were brought to Virginia as indentured servants just as the white men were, but the land owners in Virginia didn’t want a lot of African servants because they wanted to build a new England in Virginia and planned on staying there with their families and didn’t want a significant amount of blacks in their community. From 1619-1650 only 2 percent of the colony were blacks and by 1675 only 5 percent were blacks.
Africans were definitely victimized in the colony, but the people began to notice that the blacks were superior laborers, and the unjust punishments they received were to be servants for the rest of their natural lives while the white people were only required to add 3-4 years onto their term for their punishment from their wrong doings. It is simple see how the divisions of the social classes were developed with the plantation owners at the top and the yeoman farmers, non-landholders and un-free laborers (in order from top to bottom) were formed as the people began to notice that the