Chapter 3-Slavery and Immigrants from Africa

Chapter 3-Slavery and Immigrants from Africa

I was surprised to learn that more than 9 million of people were being transported into the new world.  People were involved in this trade because they had wanted to make profit…capitalist enterprise. A slave-based industry such that of cane sugar has contributed and affected economies all over the world enormously! Slavery began in each North American colony including Canada but only ended up being mainly in the southern colonies later on. Immigration definitely increased and became more well-known as slaves were entering the United States. During colonial period…1/5 people was either African American or a descendent of one…there were some staggering numbers about African American ancestry and descendants of white folks which I found very fascinating to know. African slave trade went on for four centuries…I mean that’s a pretty long time for something very inhumane and unjust to continue occurring without a stop to it. People were being taken advantage of and exploited and insulted in many different levels. The plantations were in demand of labor and growing cash export crops and that is how the slave trade positively attributed to the economic issues within society. I was very saddened to read all of the disturbing details about the slave trade within this chapter along with other books I’ve read in the past. I mean these slaves in the New World were doing hard physical and dangerous labor for little to no money most of the time. Long hours using difficult tools and the one of the things that helped them through was singing while they were out on the plantations. Many people misinterpreted and assumed they were very satisfied with their lives when it was the complete opposite filled with depression, misery and trying so hard to hold onto their faith. They wore very cheap and uncomfortable clothes for long periods of time and lived in very filthy huts clumped together. There was a lot of sickness, diseases, dirt etc. I can’t even fathom the idea of this and I cannot even imagine what they must have endured for all of those years and there’s nothing that could repay the years in their life that they lost! Mind you many of these women were also being raped and molested since they were the slaves and had to follow orders of their master/owner of the plantations. This is a very crude, unbelievable and unjust issue that occurred and we as a nation must learn and never allow history to repeat itself.