Slavery and Racism In Early Colonies free essay sample

Today, the idea of slavery is taboo in Western society while racism is still a very real thing. Slavery was a huge part of the early colonies of America. You might be surprised to read that Africans, not Indians, were the first American slaves. By 1617, one hundred and twenty five years after Columbus and his European men arrived in North America; Virginian had become an established colony and they were in trouble. They had lost hundreds as a result of starvation and had become desperate for both food and labor.This, you could say was the historical force behind slavery in the colonies. Virginia could not enslave the Indians; they were outnumbered and would have lost lives trying to do so. It was normal for the white people to look at the black men as slaves, because Portuguese and Spanish people had been stamping them as slaves for hundreds Of years before that. We will write a custom essay sample on Slavery and Racism In Early Colonies or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The historical force that led to slavery in the colonies was the fact that the white men were new to America.The Indians thrived off the land and were at home there while the English people struggled to adjust to their new world. Like it says in Drawing The Color Line: There may have been a kind of restated rage at their own ineptitude, at the Indian superiority at taking care of themselves that made the Virginians especially ready to become the masters of slaves Of course the African people were going to be used as slaves in the colonies.They were not considered savages as the Indians were, they were as advanced as the English and going through crisis of their own, making them easy to target and good for the modern work of the English. This leads me to my next topic, was the color of their skin, or circumstance that led to not only slavery, but such hate and racism in America as well? The slaves taken from Africa couldnt brace themselves enough for what they would be going the roug h once they found themselves in the colonies. They were mistreated and overworked, beaten and belittled.It was to be expected that the English forced them to work with nothing in return. And it was to be predicted that there would be some type of superiority of the English over their black slaves, leading to hatred on both sides. The English serfs needed to produce goods to sell and trade and they needed cheap labor to do so. Therefore the societal divisions between serfs and slaves ere insuppressible. To capture and transport Africans and force them to be slaves, we could say is racism in its self. T is taking a certain race and belittling them by refusing their rights to fair labor and living. Treating them like animals, throwing them into cages and leashing them while be transported to America. Then, once they are here, the English overworked and beat them for years and years. Leading to a conflict up until this day! It was historical circumstances that started racism but human choice continue it. Slavery is considered taboo in North America today, but racism is still a ere huge part of our culture.After civil war and color segregation racism had slowed. I take my hat off to the African slaves who broke their backs in order to build this country. To me, the English people had the right idea, purchase slaves to work for free so that they could invest. Although, it is terribly sad that Africa Americans were targeted for that reason. Who knows what The Elicited states would be without the enslavement of the Africans in the early colonies.