> Why focus on slave traders and only consider a
> secondary few in Virginia when others were
> primarily responsible for the endless supply to
> the world over centuries?
I'd like to offer an opinion, but please forgive me if I just misunderstand
the question.
I think the question emphasizes a distinction between the scale of atrocity
in the slave trade overall and the scale of atrocity in Virginia. I don't
disagree that the overall view is important in its own right, but the reason
the slavery-era past in Virginia and in America is more important to me is
simple: it is this state and this country that have been uniquely privileged
and burdened to try to realize Enlightenment ideas. So what happened overall
is important, but what happened in Virginia and America in the slavery era
is crucial, to me anyhow.
And so is the continuing effort to understand it. Here in Tidewater, for
example, many still don't even understand that Emancipation was far more
than just white politicians deigning belatedly to confer freedom on
helpless, feckless victims. By many it's still seen that way, even though
understanding is increasing that the initiative of self-emancipators not
only affected the course of the Civil War, but helped to drive the messy,
imperfect politics of the Proclamation itself.
And that's just one example. So yes, what African and Portuguese and English
slave traders did matters a lot, but what matters even more -- to me,
anyway -- is the trajectory of this history right here, from 1619 into the
future. I myself don't believe in American exceptionalism, but I do believe
in the exceptionalism of ideas that America seeks to realize. In that
framing it seems to me that the slave trade here is an even bigger deal than
the slave trade overall. I'm glad these scholars are pursuing what they're
pursuing, and I'm grateful to hear their occasional updates.
(Again I ask for pardon if I've gone off on a tangent -- like the late Gilda
Radner's Roseanne Roseannadanna -- thanks to having misunderstood the
question. It was still fun in either case.)
Steven T. (Steve) Corneliussen
Poquoson, Virginia
----- Original Message -----
From: "macbd1" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, June 24, 2008 5:28 PM
Subject: Re: [VA-HIST] Richmond and VA slave Traders, plus Africa
> Lyle & Craig,
>
> Of likely greater importance to others, can someone provide the name of
> one
> African man who may share accountabilities for the enslaving of Africans
> and
> selling them at various African ports for profit, as described below. The
> name of just one who was responsible for the relatively few slaves who
> arrived in the British colony of Virginia would be particulary appealing
> for
> a fiery inscription on a large rock maybe placed on the south bank of the
> Potomac? The name of just one man who may be held accountable for some of
> the atrocities described below...? And when do atrocities amount to
> genocide...by Africans against Africans! Why focus on slave traders and
> only consider a secondary few in Virginia when others were primarily
> responsible for the endless supply to the world over centuries?
>
> More at this link:
> http://www.slaverysite.com/Body/maps.htm
>
> An excerpt for those who don't open the link:
>
> "A map of Africa today is shown; the sub-Sahara region, not including
> South
> Africa, is where the European slave traders were active. The Portuguese
> began dealing in black slaves from Africa in the 15th century. Initially,
> they purchased slaves from Islamic traders, who had established inland
> trading routes to the sub-Sahara region. Later, as the Portuguese explored
> the coast of Africa, they came upon the Senegal River, and found that they
> could purchase slaves directly from black Africans. The European slave
> trading activity moved south along the African coast over time, as far
> south
> as Angola. On the east coast of Africa and in the Indian Ocean region,
> slaves were also taken from Mozambique, Zanzibar and Madagascar. Many of
> the
> slaves were from the interior of Africa, having been taken captive as a
> result of tribal wars, or else having been kidnapped by black slave
> traders
> engaged in the business of trading slaves for European goods. These slaves
> would be marched to the coast to be sold, sometimes traveling hundreds of
> miles. Many perished along the way - the numbers can only be estimated.
> Lovejoy notes that losses on the ships were estimated at 9-15 per cent,
> and
> losses at Dutch-ruled Cape Coast castle were reported to be 6-7 per cent.
> Losses from the point of capture to the point of arrival at the slave
> trading forts were estimated to be 40% by Miller based on data from
> Angola.
> Using Thomas' figure of 11,128,000 live slaves delivered to the New World
> during the Atlantic slave trade, and considering Lovejoy's and Miller's
> estimates of losses, the number of captured slaves in the interior of
> Africa
> is estimated to be from 21.7 million to 23.5 million people. This figure
> does not include the many who may have been killed in the process of
> capture."
>
>
>
> Neil McDonald
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Craig Kilby" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Tuesday, June 24, 2008 1:33 PM
> Subject: Re: [VA-HIST] Richmond and VA slave Traders
>
>
>>
>> Lyle,
>>
>> What a great question, and I am hoping the answer is yes. I am
>> currently
>> working on a VFH grant to the Mary Ball Washington Museum and Library to
>> abstract the estate records of Lancaster County from 1835-1865. We've
>> finished the gathering phase and are now in the computer input stage.
>> Needless to say, mention is sometimes made of a slave being sold in
>> Richmond, but seldom by whom.
>>
>> To our surprise, such cases were rare. Perhaps about 10 such entries
>> out
>> of 1200 records. Even less frequent was the case of a slave being sold
>> out of the estate at an estate sale or during the term of an account.
>> Perhaps about 5 such entries for such an event. It seemed to be the
>> norm
>> to keep the slaves within the estate, and when divided between heirs to
>> keep them in family groups.
>>
>> Regardless, I too would be interested in such a list. It would be a
>> very
>> valuable addition to this project.
>>
>> Thanks for thinking of the question,
>>
>> Craig Kilby
>> Lancaster, VA
>>
>> On Jun 24, 2008, at 1:42 PM, Lyle E. Browning wrote:
>>
>>> Before I do this the hard way, has anyone got a spreadsheet or other
>>> computerized list of slave traders for Richmond and for the rest of VA?
>>>
>>> Thanks in advance,
>>>
>>> Lyle Browning, RPA
>>>
>>> ______________________________________
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>>> at
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>>
>> ______________________________________
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>>
>>
>>
>
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