Jeremy: I am sorry that my quote that people on this list that are
discussing the article in the Washington Post are perhaps treating the
continued concerns about the middle passage as a joke or a lark that was
quoted by myself. Some European-Americans in a lot of ways do not (or
perhaps cannot) feel the deep pain within when this very worn out subject
continues to come up on a daily basis. Many people (it now seems to me)
are blaming the many African people who participated in this as the main
perpetrators of blacks being enslaved in the American colonies. Did the
people in charge in these western African nations build the boats to send
these captives of war here? Could they see into the near future the brutal
plantation society that was the eventual by-product of the result of this?
Was this planned by them and only by them? No. You are right and so am I
because it indeed does take two to tango,plan and fight the war,enslave the
person,ship them away from their home lands and separate them from friends
and families.
For once on this forum could we see people of color as survivors? Could we
not look at their ancestors who survived this most brutal of conquests as
the true winners? This is the 21st Century and we have people like Tiger
Woods not only winning golf tournaments but building youth organizations
that have things for all of our children for the future,NBC Commentator
Lester Holt risking his life to present first hand accounts of the conflict
in the Middle East along with Ann Curry and also July's successful space
shuttle mission which featured a black female astronaut successfully
working in space along with a racially mixed team of talented individuals.
Yes this is a discussion board that is discussing the past and rightly so
but let's admit that it was sad,selfish individuals on both sides of the
Atlantic along with certain countries in Europe and Western Africa that
started this mess in the first place. And it is up to us to show this for
what it is and not blame one group of people for the downfall of their "own
kind". Jane Steele,MA.
> [Original Message]
> From: Jeremy Boggs <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: 9/7/2006 2:56:58 PM
> Subject: Re: [VA-HIST] "Mystery of Va.'s First Slaves Unlocked" (Wash.
Post)
>
> A few thoughts after reading Mr. Adams's email:
>
> > ... I would
> > like to add, that it was the African tribal chieftans, war lords
> > and Muslim
> > victors of their African campaigins that so many of the 'kidanpped'
> > people
> > were sent out from Africa to be sold to originally the Spanish.
>
>
> I imagine (or hope) that most folks on this list are aware of who was
> involved in the slave trade. I'm just not sure how pointing out that
> "African tribal chieftains, war lords and Muslim victors" were part
> of the slave trade helps us figure out if the "20 and odd" were
> brought to Jamestown and lived as slaves, indentured servants, or
> something else. It might be good to ask, though: Were the "20 and
> odd" the losers in a war, and given to the Portuguese by "Muslim
> victors" or "tribal chieftains"? Or were they kidnapped by the
> Portuguese and whisked away? If either answer is "yes", then Ms.
> Steele point that "these people were brought here against their will"
> is a valid one, even though her claim that folks on this list are
> treating this as a "joke or lark" seems unwarranted. Maybe I read
> something wrong?
>
>
> > The traders at this time were the Portugese, Italians, Spanish,
> > Dutch and
> > English shippers. The only reason so many did this 'trade' was that
> > it was
> > so profitable. It takes two to tango, as the saying goes and there
> > was a
> > ready market in Central and South America as well as, after 1620 in
> > the
> > English colonies.
>
>
> The slave trade was very profitable to most of the parties involved
> (except, of course, the slaves themselves). If we're going to
> approach the topic this way, then, the questions I would ask are:
> Were the "20 and odd" profitable to someone, in some capacity? Did
> someone gain wealth by selling them, trading them, or using their
> labor? If so, how? If not, why not? The quote in the Post from John
> Rolfe says that they were purchased by the Governor and Cape Marchant
> "at the best and easiest rate they could." I'll have to go find this
> source during my next break (has this source been put online
> somewhere?), but I'm wondering what parties, if any, made a profit
> from the arrival and presence of the 20 and odd, including the 20 and
> odd themselves, if they were in fact not slaves and/or eventually
> gained their freedom.
>
>
> > I would like to also remind those from the NORTH, it was people
> > like Captain
> > Brown, of Brown university fame, that were the most aggressively
> > involved in
> > the 'trade'. You would have thought by the 1800's, that there would
> > have
> > been a slackening off of this abomnible business by those who were
> > condemning the south for the continued use of slaves.
> >
>
>
> I think we should remind EVERYONE from EVERYWHERE that lots of
> different people (not just Captain Brown, "of Brown university fame")
> were "aggressively involved" in the 'trade'. It actually took MORE
> THAN TWO to dance this tango. I still do not see, though, how
> reminding "those from the NORTH" helps us understand more about the
> "20 and odd." It certainly doesn't help us determine if they were
> slaves, indentured servants, or otherwise. I imagine that the folks
> who were "condemning the south for the continued use of slaves"
> weren't the same folks as those who were buying and selling slaves,
> whether those folks were in northern colonies/states or southern.
> Granted, lots of hypocrites existed that disliked slavery but owned
> slaves (some might even have been President). But again, I'm not sure
> which people Mr. Adams is referring to when he say "those who were
> condemning the south." Was Captain Brown condemning the south?
> Others? And in what ways do these people, in their time, relate to
> the "20 and odd" that came before them nearly 150 years ago?
>
> Also, how do we measure the aggressive involvement of those
> participating in the trade, and what does that gets us? How were
> Captain Brown and people like him (again, who exactly are these
> people) MORE aggressive than others, and how is measuring
> aggressiveness or involvement helpful to us in understanding WHO the
> "20 and odd" were, what their roles were, and what their lives were
> like?
>
> I guess my point (and I think I have a point) is that broad
> generalizations like this really don't help us understand much about
> the history that took place, specifically with regard to the first
> Africans in Jamestown. Then again, maybe I've read this wrong, and
> if so I apologize.
>
> It seems to me that the topics at hand for this thread are 1) what
> inaccuracies exist in the Post article; 2) What are the best
> supported interpretations of the arrival of the "20 and odd", given
> the evidence available. And, as the messages from Dr. Finkleman, Dr.
> Deal, and Emily Rose (among others) have shown, there are lots of
> interesting questions we can ask about these topics, the answers to
> which we may never know for certain. I'm certainly intrigued enough
> to compile a small bibliography of the literature on the subject,
> thanks to others on the list. I also plan to review things I read
> years ago, assigned to me by people who also subscribe to this list!
> Who knows, maybe I'll answer some of my own questions, or find out
> that I was asking the wrong questions!
>
>
> Best,
> Jeremy
>
> --
> Jeremy Boggs
> Web/Multimedia Associate
> Center for History and New Media
> PhD student, Department of History and Art History
> George Mason University
> 4400 University Drive, MSN 1E7
> Fairfax, VA 22030
>
> [log in to unmask]
> 703.993.9278
> http://chnm.gmu.edu
> --
>
>
>
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