- May 9, 2012
- 341
- 105
Who Was Responsible For The Slave Trade???
This seems to be a good question. But this question is aimed as a diversion tactic away from the real atrocities of slavery, which for African descendants in the New world IS the relevant topic.
Sure there is evidence that some corrupt African leaders were complicit in the slave trade.
But the real question which is seldom if ever addressed or acknowledged is:
Who was responsible for the treatment of the slaves?!!
Most Europeans, whose countries were part of the slave trade, are trying to sidestep this issue or deflecting blame by diverting the topic to the fact that they were not the only ones involved in the slave trade.
Fine.
But what does that have to with the way they mistreated and abused the slaves?
Is it the Africans' fault that the Europeans raped their slave women?
Is it the Africans' fault that the Europeans tortured their slaves?
Is it the Africans' fault that the Europeans treated their slaves worse than animals?
It's like someone blaming 7 Eleven for his/her smoking habit, or their alcohol habit.
Or a husband blaming his wife's parents for him beating her.
How about that other argument that Africans also had slavery?
True, but there is no African Kingdom in history that had an entire economy totally based on slave labor as was the case in colonies in the New World and in the American South! In Africa slavery was used as a means to pay a debt. The debtor was generally free to go after the debt was paid and he wasn't whipped, beaten, dehumanized or raped as was the case in European colonies and the American South.
And then there is the argument that the Europeans did the slaves a favour by "rescuing" them from living in the jungle or in trees, thereby revealing their willful ignorance about Africa in general.
Let's look at what those "jungles" looked like during the time of slavery:
These are all areas that we know the largest part of slaves came from.
Kumasi - The Asante Kingdom's City(Ghana):
Benin :
Loango(Congo):
As you can see these were all well organized and structured cities.
The point is don't waste your time arguing the wrong debate which is not relevant to the treatment of slaves, from which scars are still present in some of their descendants.
The last diversionary tactic is. Well this was so long ago, how long are you going to keep bringing all this up?
Well I don't know...uhm how long should I remember the American Revolution? How long should I remember the Napoleonic wars? How long should I remember Columbus, who incidentally was totally of course, whereby we now have two peoples we call Indians...
This seems to be a good question. But this question is aimed as a diversion tactic away from the real atrocities of slavery, which for African descendants in the New world IS the relevant topic.
Sure there is evidence that some corrupt African leaders were complicit in the slave trade.
But the real question which is seldom if ever addressed or acknowledged is:
Who was responsible for the treatment of the slaves?!!
Most Europeans, whose countries were part of the slave trade, are trying to sidestep this issue or deflecting blame by diverting the topic to the fact that they were not the only ones involved in the slave trade.
Fine.
But what does that have to with the way they mistreated and abused the slaves?
Is it the Africans' fault that the Europeans raped their slave women?
Is it the Africans' fault that the Europeans tortured their slaves?
Is it the Africans' fault that the Europeans treated their slaves worse than animals?
It's like someone blaming 7 Eleven for his/her smoking habit, or their alcohol habit.
Or a husband blaming his wife's parents for him beating her.
How about that other argument that Africans also had slavery?
True, but there is no African Kingdom in history that had an entire economy totally based on slave labor as was the case in colonies in the New World and in the American South! In Africa slavery was used as a means to pay a debt. The debtor was generally free to go after the debt was paid and he wasn't whipped, beaten, dehumanized or raped as was the case in European colonies and the American South.
And then there is the argument that the Europeans did the slaves a favour by "rescuing" them from living in the jungle or in trees, thereby revealing their willful ignorance about Africa in general.
Let's look at what those "jungles" looked like during the time of slavery:
These are all areas that we know the largest part of slaves came from.
Kumasi - The Asante Kingdom's City(Ghana):
Benin :
Loango(Congo):
As you can see these were all well organized and structured cities.
The point is don't waste your time arguing the wrong debate which is not relevant to the treatment of slaves, from which scars are still present in some of their descendants.
The last diversionary tactic is. Well this was so long ago, how long are you going to keep bringing all this up?
Well I don't know...uhm how long should I remember the American Revolution? How long should I remember the Napoleonic wars? How long should I remember Columbus, who incidentally was totally of course, whereby we now have two peoples we call Indians...
... please make yourself at home ... 