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