Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Another New View of Slavery and then Indentured Servitude's Abhorrence
Today we watched an intense film that presented a very detailed account of the conditions and abhorrence of slavery and then indentured servitude. At the end of class, we briefly discussed one new idea that surprised us. Please offer 2-3 new facts or concepts that you discovered today and what effect they have personally on your evaluation of various areas of the English, Dutch, Spanish, and Portuguese colonies (Note: you can choose one of these to focus on, but if you choose England, be sure to focus on different regions.) Please offer a careful and thoughtful response that is well written and offers both facts and personal reflection. The response should be at least 10 sentences.
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One new fact that I learned today was about the role of the Dutch West India Company and their role in establishing slavery. I hadn’t previously known the specifics of how the first slaves came and were used to build the original Dutch colonies. I had known little previously about the Dutch colonies, but this gives a clear view of how the enslaved africans deserve a good deal of credit for assisting the Dutch to put together their towns. The fact that these enslaved africans built the whole infrastructure of the town but were denied many rights illustrates the injustice that would come to hit even stronger in the future. One concept that I found particularly striking was the idea of “half freedom”. The idea that people had negotiated this system of becoming “half free” is very intriguing. This system becomes problematic, of course, in the sense that being half free is being not truly free at all, and one sees this when looking at the way things played out and how these people were treated. I also believe the details about the rights of children that were born into slavery was very telling about how society was going to run. It was interesting, however, to hear about how these original slaves realized that they were necessary and were able to negotiate slightly better rights and opportunities for themselves. It is clear that they had more power than future slaves due to their small number and the unclear rules. Though they were ultimately taken advantage of, the way that the original enslaved africans affected the way they were being treated is an incredible feat. Seeing that the Dutch West India Company used enslaved Africans to build virtually their entire territory shows that the slaves were responsible for the initial success of the Dutch and also in building the strength, power, and success of many other groups as well.
ReplyDeleteBefore watching the film today in class, I didn't realize how much I didn't know about the abhorrence of slavery and indentured servitude. One of the main things that I learned was that the conditions worsened and freedom became more difficult to obtain for indentured slaves and slaves as time progressed. I also hadn't stopped to consider the indentured slaves and slaves that were not from Africa and their struggle that existed as well. This also brings up one thing that surprised me in the video, which was that initially, slavery had less to do with race than it did in later years. The further into the video that we watched, the more I came to contemplate the truth of what it means to see people as property; the more the realization that slavery was the law and justice meant something much different than what it means today. I found the story of Francis particularly compelling. She represents an example not only of the brutality and injustice of the slavery, but also of the strong will and determination of the people. Maryland and New York (English colonies) were the first to legalize slavery in 1665. This, among other things, shows that slavery truly was accepted and followed; it was the law. The priorities and goals of the European countries are clearly expressed in their exploitation of slaves. The general acceptance of slavery by the people is really disappointing and it makes me wonder about what led the public to accept and promote slavery: the fact that they distanced themselves from the problem and turned a blind eye to the human suffering or true ignorance of the problem.
ReplyDeleteOne of the things that I found most interesting was that slavery worsened and worsened over time. When I thought about slavery I just thought about the more recent parts of it and not back when it first started. The more recent parts of slavery include the harshest of laws because they had evolved and been changed over time. In the beginning when the first slaves came they were mostly indentured servants and had more rights than the slaves did. This led to them having more rights, for example, going to taverns to complain about their masters which led to "interracial bonding." Another thing was that when the first few came over they basically built the entire colony, and they knew that the Dutch needed them. This allowed them to bargain for more rights, although they weren't that much better. Another thing was that they were able to use the courts to their advantage. Hearing about Francis and how many times she went to court showed how they still could win. Later on, the laws changed and peoples views changed and eventually it was very hard for African Americans to win. Knowing this really opened my eyes to seeing how, as time progressed, the Europeans took advantage of the slaves more and more, which led to worse and worse rights.
ReplyDeleteBefore viewing the film today, I didn't know about the role the courts played in turning slavery into a racial divide. Originally, after the British in Virginia failed to force Native Americans to work for them, Europeans brought in other Europeans, notably British laborers, to work for them. Servants of both white and black skin were treated poorly, and neither group had rights at all. It wasn't until a court in Virginia sentenced two servants, who were white, and their companion who fled with them, who was black, to different sentences based on skin color; the whites were given an extra number of years to their service while the black man was sentenced to a life of service for committing the same crime. This court decision in 1640 established a precedent for later decisions in the colonies. People begin to profile not based whether or not one is free, but based on whether or not one is black or white. The courts also discriminate against a young black female named Francis. Though the courts do recognize her status as free eventually, she is sentenced to lashings after being accused by her master of fornicating. She tries to say that her master fathered her child, but the court won't have it. These two examples show how courts ruled in favor of whites and established many precedents for the new colonies.
ReplyDeleteTwo facts I learned from today's film was that slavery was not always based on racial background, and slavery was very wide spread, occurring in more places than just the commonly heard south. In 1640, there was a major turning point in which black people were treated differently than whites. Previously, free people were treated differently from those who weren't free. However, after 1640, white people had much more of an advantage over black people. By 1665, more places, like Maryland and New York, were legalizing slavery. By this time, children of slaves were also supposed to become slaves and were very "valuable" workers. In the Chesapeake Bay area around the beginning if the 18th century, slavery had become entirely based on face and people had become property. It is absolutely horrible to think that all of sudden children were automatically slaves. Also, because of the strong racial divides in English colonies, specifically Chesapeake Bay area, no matter what status a black person had, they were still treated awfully and disregarded by the court systems; this meant the society being built was continuously growing more and more unjust.
ReplyDeleteSomething that I quite didn’t know before the class, even though it seemed to be obvious now was how slavery was potentially created and how it progressed through the years. Coming from Africa and Europe, there were white and black slaves who were brought for making the new colonies. All of them were poor, showing a very low social status as workers. It didn’t matter what the weather conditions were, what was important to these slave owners was the value of the their work, not the people they owned. However, even during this time, even though there were black and white slaves, the whites still had an unfair inferiority over the blacks. This started showing more and more frequently over the years by giving the black slaves much worse punishments compared to the white slaves even though they may have committed the same crime, they were still not equal to another. In one circumstance that was shown in the film was were three slaves ended up running away from their owner; two white slaves and one black slave. They were soon caught and brought to court. The two white men’s punishments were to serve their owner for a couple more years. The black man’s punishment was to serve his owners for the rest of his lifetime. In conclusion, this clearly shows the beginning of racial superiority and how that started to play a big part in the America’s at this time. Another situation that I found particularly interesting was the story of Francis. Her story shows the power and determination one might have for wanting to be rightfully free, and how she used the court was very interesting. I find it astounding why people would brutally harm others in that way that people did to the slaves in this time period. To me, my overall reaction to the film is that I find it difficult to even watch or listen to some parts of it. Not saying they showed any gruesome details but more realizing this was the world we live in now not even that long ago and it makes me wonder why somebody would encourage this to be the way of living then.
ReplyDeleteSimilarly to other commenters, I was interested to learn the beginnings of slavery. I hadn't know the specifics of how slavery began and hadn't really thought about this, as most of what I've learned about slavery relates to the Civil Rights era. It was interesting to find out the small scale on which slavery started: 11 slaves brought to New Amsterdam by the Dutch West India Company to help build the colony. I was not surprised to find out that slavery begun as an unregulated, difficult, and harsh job, something that clearly stayed a part of slavery for many years. Another interesting but sadly unsurprising piece of information to me was the reaction of the court when the three slaves fled their owner but were captured and returned. As a punishment, the two white indentured servants simply had years added to their service, but the black man's punishment was servitude for life. This severe reaction clearly shows the beginnings of racism: that simply because of a person's skin color or ethnic origin, they are inferior.
ReplyDeleteThese facts really changed my perception of the colonists. On a superficial level, the colonists came in and expanded their countries' territories, bringing crops and animals with them along the way. However, when we look at a slightly deeper level and take a look at slavery, this superficiality is instantly replaced by a sense of hatred for the cruelty that these colonists showed.
I learned a lot of valuable information from watching this video in class (and at home) today. Until earlier today, I was very unaware of many aspects of slavery. It was eye-opening to learn how much I really didn't know about slavery in that time. I didn't know much about the beginning of slavery, how it started from Africa and Europe. I was also surprised and startled to learn that slavery got worse and worse for some time. I had also not really known how the slaves were both white and black until white slaves and people generally had more power. I found it fascinating how free slaves had it just as bad or worse than slaves who weren't free, having to fend for themselves. In my mind, France's story was the most significant in the video. I enjoyed learning about this brave, black female slave and her drive. Watching this video almost scared me, seeing humanity and how bad and unjust things were. However, some people, including myself, would view it as inspiring because it conveys how society has changed in a positive way since then.
ReplyDeleteNoah Cohen
ReplyDeleteI learned that black people could use the court system successfully in that time period. Francis used the courts twice successfully against a white landowner. This is amazing because later in America black people would never win court cases because the judges were very racists. Another interesting thing is that Francis then made herself an indentured slave. She had to do this because she was so poor. I had assumed that when Francis was no longer an indentured servant she would be able to make money. However she had to go back to being indentured servant because she could not make any money. This shows the two sides of English/America. The first side is the “fair” courts where an indentured black woman won a legal case against a landowning white male. However the other side is the side in which in a blooming economy a free black woman cannot get enough money to live without becoming an indentured servant. This shows how hard it was for black people to live in America.