I don't think that any of us feel that slavery was a good thing. But  
historically it was a fact of life. It should be remembered that  
slavery was legal and practiced in the North as well. But the  
economics in the North did not promote widespread slavery. It was  
found in certain industries (like the iron industry) where large  
numbers of the workers in places as far north as NJ, PA, and NY were  
enslaved. The Saugus IW north of Boston used prisoners of war for  
their workforce (not much better).

Most of us alive today wish that the Founding Fathers could have  
figured out a way to abolish slavery. But they did not and slavery  
continued to be a problem until it was abolished as a result of the  
American Civil War (or whatever you choose to call it). The abolition  
movement was a Christian movement. It took almost 2000 years, but  
other religions were in no hurry to end slavery until Christianity  
(supported by European navies and armies) appeared.

The fact remains that slavery as a world wide practice was ended by  
the nations of Europe (and the US), often by force. It was the US and  
British Navy that ended the West African slave trade by blockading or  
embargoing the coast. The East African and interior slave trade (both  
about equal in size to the West African trade) continued to flourish  
until they were essentially ended as a result of European colonization  
of Africa. Slavery continued to be legal in a number of countries  
until well into the late 20th century. It is still practiced, albeit  
illegally, in parts of Africa and Asia.

______________________________________
To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at
http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html