Thomas Jefferson’s views on slavery were well established when he signed the declaration of independence. However, there is much debate over his actual beliefs because he owned nearly two hundred slaves who worked his plantation. The question being raised is why he didn’t free those slaves if he was so opposed to slavery. Research shows ...
After seeing the movie “Amazing Grace” which focuses on the life of William Wilberforce, I became intrigued with the man, wondering if he would live up to his legend. After some research, I have to say that, indeed, he does. A well-known abolitionist, Wilberforce did not begin that way. In fact, he originally knew very ...
The British trade in African slaves proved both Britain’s darkest hour and its shining moment because of their early activity in promoting the slave trade, and their lead in ending all slave trading respectively. British merchants helped promote the trade in African slaves by finding trading partners, who traded slaves, and in turn trading those ...
In Olaudah Equiano’s book, readers are given an opportunity to view slavery during the 18th century from a perspective that is not commonly shared: that of a slave himself. Because many slaves of that time did not and could not receive proper education in reading and writing, Equiano’s account is both interesting and meaningful for ...
When thinking about slavery today, many people automatically assume that the origins of slavery were rooted in racial discrimination and the quest for European supremacy. Surprisingly, however, upon closer inspection we find that the catalyst for the initiation of the West African slave trade was not racism but greed. In the fifteenth century, Portugal has ...
As the Constitution was being developed by the Constitutional Convention in 1787, the framers chose not to address the legality of slavery in order to achieve a compromise between the north and south. Slavery was a divisive issue at the Convention, and the delegates from the north felt it would be better to ratify the ...
As with most of the customs of the colonial period, American slave trade had its roots in Europe. What began in the mid 1500s as a small trading business between an English navigator and The Spanish, limited to the West Indies, grew to a global empire by the beginning of the 18th century. Contrary to ...
Eleven-year-old Olaudah Equiano is carelessly tossed aboard a slave ship as cargo. He looks around helplessly at the horrible men with their light complexions and long hair and is sure that they mean to eat him. After he refuses to eat the food they offer him, he is tied down and severely flogged. The Interesting ...
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