(no subject)
Noelle Jung
November 2, 2004
Snead p. 5
The Slave Kingdom & The Holy Land
Europeans were not the only ones guilty for the African slave trade. Despite the prevalence of the European role in the African slave trade, Africans were also responsible for the mistreatment of Africans. Henry Louis Gates takes us into Africa, and into all the places where major slave markets once flourished. He shows us where brother betrayed brother and subjected him to torture, backbreaking labor, and slavery for a few dollars.
Henry Gates starts out by showing us Ghanaian “slave coast,” where nearly 11 million Africans were sold to be slaves or indentured servants in America and Europe. One of the main port towns was Elmina. Although it has been many years since the slave trade diminished, you can see the clear evidence of Spanish and Portuguese influences. Elmina was always a thriving market town, but its success grew fantastically after they started selling slaves.
The African people were constantly warring. Whenever they fought a war, the victors would capture their enemies and sell them off as slaves. Convicts were also sold. It is hard to imagine why people would want to sell their own brothers and sisters. One possible explanation is that the Africans did not know about the horrors of slavery. But this is unlikely, for the large fortress where the slaves were held before deportation was in plain view.
Henry Gates took a tour inside that very slave building. During the tour, the guide speaks with startling frankness and honesty. He states that the Africans were just as guilty of the slave trade as the whites were. The conditions in the fortress were deplorable. So many people were packed into one room that there was no room to lie down, or even sit. The close quarters made it dangerous living, and half the slaves died of diseases before they could even get on the slave ships. Many desperate men and women committed suicide to escape the horrors of slavery.
The African kingdom that subjected their black brothers and sisters to this were the Ashanti. During its prime, this kingdom ruled over an area larger than Great Britain. The Ashanti kingdom ordered that Europeans be restricted to the coasts of Africa. The privilege of entering the interior was seldom granted. Today, the Ashanti royal family has no political power, but are very respected. All the way down from Ose Tutu, who founded Ashanti over 200 years ago, this family maintains dignity and honor. The Queen mother is looked at as a very wise woman. She is the mother of all. She is so wise that people come to her for blessings and advice. Any person, dignitary and commoner alike, are only allowed to ask her one question per day.
Henry Gates asked her what she thought about the Ashanti selling their own people to live in intense suffering and hardship. She responds wisely, stating that she believes the Ashanti who sold Africans did not know of the atrocities they were subjecting their brothers to. In Africa, there had been slavery going on for many years. However, no African ever treated another African the way the Europeans treated the Africans. Therefore, there was no way the Ashanti could have possibly conceived the evil of the whites.
Then, Henry Louis Gates takes us to Ganomey, another country that traded slaves. This empire was even more feared than the Ashanti, and was extremely wealthy. The royal court spanned over 100 acres, filled with almost 1,000 royal peoples. Almost 20% of all African slaves are believed to have come from Ganomey. Its main slave port was Ouidah. Slavery was so prevalent here that it was only completely ended 100 years ago.
This kingdom is very different from the Ashanti. The most notorious slave trader, Don Francisco de Sousa, was part of the Ganomey. Modern de Sousas believe (or try to convinve themselves to believe) that the original de Sousa was actually benevolent, and by shipping off millions of slaves saved them from death. The Ashanti Queen Mother readily accepted and apologized for the atrocities her ancestors had committed. But de Sousa’s descendants seem to believe that Africans were not to blame as much as the Europeans.
However, not all of de Sousa’s progeny think this way. One of Henry Gates’ new friends is a woman from the de Sousa family. She believes that de Sousa was very wrong to betray his fellow countrymen. It is better to die honorably in war than to die slowly and humiliatingly as a slave. She says that there is a devastating impact on the family of these dreadful slave traders. She says simply that behind every civilization is barbarism. Although there are mixed ideas between some people, it is apparent that Africans and Europeans alike were responsible for selling Africans into slavery.
November 2, 2004
Snead p. 5
The Slave Kingdom & The Holy Land
Europeans were not the only ones guilty for the African slave trade. Despite the prevalence of the European role in the African slave trade, Africans were also responsible for the mistreatment of Africans. Henry Louis Gates takes us into Africa, and into all the places where major slave markets once flourished. He shows us where brother betrayed brother and subjected him to torture, backbreaking labor, and slavery for a few dollars.
Henry Gates starts out by showing us Ghanaian “slave coast,” where nearly 11 million Africans were sold to be slaves or indentured servants in America and Europe. One of the main port towns was Elmina. Although it has been many years since the slave trade diminished, you can see the clear evidence of Spanish and Portuguese influences. Elmina was always a thriving market town, but its success grew fantastically after they started selling slaves.
The African people were constantly warring. Whenever they fought a war, the victors would capture their enemies and sell them off as slaves. Convicts were also sold. It is hard to imagine why people would want to sell their own brothers and sisters. One possible explanation is that the Africans did not know about the horrors of slavery. But this is unlikely, for the large fortress where the slaves were held before deportation was in plain view.
Henry Gates took a tour inside that very slave building. During the tour, the guide speaks with startling frankness and honesty. He states that the Africans were just as guilty of the slave trade as the whites were. The conditions in the fortress were deplorable. So many people were packed into one room that there was no room to lie down, or even sit. The close quarters made it dangerous living, and half the slaves died of diseases before they could even get on the slave ships. Many desperate men and women committed suicide to escape the horrors of slavery.
The African kingdom that subjected their black brothers and sisters to this were the Ashanti. During its prime, this kingdom ruled over an area larger than Great Britain. The Ashanti kingdom ordered that Europeans be restricted to the coasts of Africa. The privilege of entering the interior was seldom granted. Today, the Ashanti royal family has no political power, but are very respected. All the way down from Ose Tutu, who founded Ashanti over 200 years ago, this family maintains dignity and honor. The Queen mother is looked at as a very wise woman. She is the mother of all. She is so wise that people come to her for blessings and advice. Any person, dignitary and commoner alike, are only allowed to ask her one question per day.
Henry Gates asked her what she thought about the Ashanti selling their own people to live in intense suffering and hardship. She responds wisely, stating that she believes the Ashanti who sold Africans did not know of the atrocities they were subjecting their brothers to. In Africa, there had been slavery going on for many years. However, no African ever treated another African the way the Europeans treated the Africans. Therefore, there was no way the Ashanti could have possibly conceived the evil of the whites.
Then, Henry Louis Gates takes us to Ganomey, another country that traded slaves. This empire was even more feared than the Ashanti, and was extremely wealthy. The royal court spanned over 100 acres, filled with almost 1,000 royal peoples. Almost 20% of all African slaves are believed to have come from Ganomey. Its main slave port was Ouidah. Slavery was so prevalent here that it was only completely ended 100 years ago.
This kingdom is very different from the Ashanti. The most notorious slave trader, Don Francisco de Sousa, was part of the Ganomey. Modern de Sousas believe (or try to convinve themselves to believe) that the original de Sousa was actually benevolent, and by shipping off millions of slaves saved them from death. The Ashanti Queen Mother readily accepted and apologized for the atrocities her ancestors had committed. But de Sousa’s descendants seem to believe that Africans were not to blame as much as the Europeans.
However, not all of de Sousa’s progeny think this way. One of Henry Gates’ new friends is a woman from the de Sousa family. She believes that de Sousa was very wrong to betray his fellow countrymen. It is better to die honorably in war than to die slowly and humiliatingly as a slave. She says that there is a devastating impact on the family of these dreadful slave traders. She says simply that behind every civilization is barbarism. Although there are mixed ideas between some people, it is apparent that Africans and Europeans alike were responsible for selling Africans into slavery.