Anne, I don't understand why you speak with such an admonishing and 
argumentative tone.  I actually agree with much of what you say: "It is 
'not' my intent to belittle subsequent evils within countries where slaves 
were taken (nor to challenge historians' choice of research matters, added), 
with the vastly greater (enslavement) numbers being to other than British 
colonial America and its subsequent United States where slavery finally was 
ended with great loss of military lives."  My point from the beginning is 
simply that the magnitude of African enslavement of Africans was orders of 
magnitude greater (number of enslaved and sold) than what occurred in the 
British colonies of America -- and that African atrocities, if not genocide 
of their own people, included horrendous evils far beyond that of British 
colonial America.  Freedom for all men, even all living creatures, is such a 
self-evident need and right since the beginning of time, not something new 
in 1776, and one does not need to be Christian or even religious to make 
such a declaration.  Mankind throughout the ages and the world (that 
includes Africa for my point) has certainly fallen short of their ideals but 
hopefully is improving, and may continue without bitterness toward each 
other for the shortcomings of our ancestors and predecessors in our racial 
lineages.

Neil McDonald

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Anne Pemberton" <[log in to unmask]>

>
> Neil,
>
> People will study whatever parts of history interest them. Putting the 
> name of an unknown African on a rock at Poquoson would not be correct, 
> inasmuch as the slaves came in initially at Jamestown.
>
> But, if you want to make the point that Africans enslaved Africans before 
> the British came to the idea, go ahead and write a book or two and make 
> your case. In the meantime, those interested in naming the AMERICANS who 
> were complicit in this long chain of immorality, should not be challenged. 
> The CHRISTIANS and those who cheered for and/or signed the Declaration of 
> Independence were promising a NEW way of living, an attempt at true 
> freedom for man, and then a decade later turned their backs on those 
> brought here as slaves.
>
> How can men claim morality when they profess their love of their own 
> freedom and deny that self-same freedom to their neighbors and workers?
>
> Anne

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