Slavery to presidency

From Slavery to the Presidency ENG/101 February 16, 2014 When Barack Obama was born in 1961 it was inconceivable that America would one day have a black president. Generations of African-Americans before him carved out lives as slaves, with no hope of emancipation. Through the decades several small steps towards equal rights were made by several pioneering figures such as Martin Luther King, Malcom X and Rosa Parks to name a few. The perils of slavery have taught the African American how to endure the pressures and ridicule of being a president. (The Daily Mail,2008). History documented the beginning of slavery from Africa, as early as 1441. Two Portuguese Captains Antao Goncalves and Nuno Tristao captured 12 Africans in Cabo Branco, which is modern day Mauritania and took them to Portugal as slaves. Slavery was a grand business all across Europe, long before the New World was found. In 1452, was the start of the sugar-slave complex. On the Portuguese island of Madeira, sugar is first planted and African slaves were put to work on the sugar plantations. (Carey,1999-2013). In 1619, 20 or so Africans were brought to the shore of Jamestown, Virginia. They were brought by Dutch Traders who had seized them from a captured Spanish slave ship. They were brought on the ship called, The White Lion. The colonist bartered for food and services for the human cargo. At this time, the colonist had no model for slavery. The Africans would become indentured servants along with other poor white Europeans. They would work for seven long hard years for land and their freedom. At the end of this period, the Colonist were reluctant to loose their workers, due to the colonies were prospering and becoming profitable. The European servants were citizens in their home countries and were freed, but the Africans were not subject to the English Common Law. They were workers without rights. (History.com,1996-2014). In 1641 slavery was legalized, starting in Massachusetts. Africans