Origins of American Slavery
The Origins of American Slavery
The Origins of American Slavery, by Betty Wood, is a short book about the early backgrounds of American slavery. The book focuses on why the English decided to enslave others as well as why they targeted the West Africans. As explained throughout the book the reasoning comes from a combination of both economic and racial considerations. The English had no intention of enslaving anyone when they first arrived in the New World. Overtime they realized for their own success enslaving the West Africans would be the new labor they needed.
Wood begins the book by talking about race and how the English viewed the West Africans. The English perceived the West Africans as different because of their dark skin. Wood states on page 23, “If, as the English believed, the color black epitomized sin and evil, then presumably those same defects must attach to the black-skinned person”. The English did not understand the blackness of the West Africans. They had never seen anyone who had dark skin. From a religious view the English believed that all humanity came from Adam and Eve, thus the color of the West Africans could not be rationally justified. The English viewed the Native Americans in a completely different way. The Native Americans assisted the English with hunting, which allowed the English to succeed in there fish and fur trades. The Native Americans were culturally different than the English; it was hard for them to view them as equals. The English found the differences between themselves and the indigenous Americans easier to accept than the differences between themselves and the West Africans. As the English started to settle in the New World and adapt to the indigenous Americans. The disappearance of the Roanoke colony helped lead the English to know that the Native Americans might be harder to take over then they thought. The English believed that is was okay to declare war if they needed in order to obtain more land in the new
The Origins of American Slavery, by Betty Wood, is a short book about the early backgrounds of American slavery. The book focuses on why the English decided to enslave others as well as why they targeted the West Africans. As explained throughout the book the reasoning comes from a combination of both economic and racial considerations. The English had no intention of enslaving anyone when they first arrived in the New World. Overtime they realized for their own success enslaving the West Africans would be the new labor they needed.
Wood begins the book by talking about race and how the English viewed the West Africans. The English perceived the West Africans as different because of their dark skin. Wood states on page 23, “If, as the English believed, the color black epitomized sin and evil, then presumably those same defects must attach to the black-skinned person”. The English did not understand the blackness of the West Africans. They had never seen anyone who had dark skin. From a religious view the English believed that all humanity came from Adam and Eve, thus the color of the West Africans could not be rationally justified. The English viewed the Native Americans in a completely different way. The Native Americans assisted the English with hunting, which allowed the English to succeed in there fish and fur trades. The Native Americans were culturally different than the English; it was hard for them to view them as equals. The English found the differences between themselves and the indigenous Americans easier to accept than the differences between themselves and the West Africans. As the English started to settle in the New World and adapt to the indigenous Americans. The disappearance of the Roanoke colony helped lead the English to know that the Native Americans might be harder to take over then they thought. The English believed that is was okay to declare war if they needed in order to obtain more land in the new