Research Paper on Black People in a White Peoples Country by Gary B. Nash

Introduction

In his document titled Black People in a White Peoples Country, by the historian, Gary B. Nash exhausts on the history of slave trade transacted between Africa and the European countries, as well as America. In this case, Africans were the main property of trade sold by the African merchants to the European countries as well as the American continent. The document, once read, raises quite interesting points and questions especially on slave trade when the nature of how it transpired is European, Americans, and Africans are seen, alongside the factors which contributed to the development as well as commercialization of the African trade in slaves. Such points are analytically brought out in the subsequent paragraphs.

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In his thesis, Gary B. Nash tries to clear the misunderstandings which are commonly held concerning the slave trade. He brings out that contrary to the usual understanding of Africans being Europeanized during the slave trade; most of the Europeans were Africanized in the evolution of the slave trade process. He justifies his claim by stating that as more and more Africans were taken to Europe, most of them got to engage in interracial marriages which resulted in the intensification of racial fears since their numbers were increasing. It can thus be seen that the growth of some African populations in the European countries had influences in the Europeans' cultures through intermarriages which then prompted them to enact some regulations limiting the rights of African slaves, hence reducing them to pieces of property for their masters. Further, there is the expounding on the misconception regarding the historical unfolding of the slave trade. There is the statement that as opposed to the majority thinking of the people that the Europeans invaded the continent of Africa to enslave its natives, such an assumption is false since Africans contributed immensely to the enslavement of its people. In this case, since the very onset of the slave trade, the African leaders welcomed the Europeans for their whims of acquiring firearms, iron bars, cotton goods, weapons, and gun powder used in the fight of their enemies while keeping their areas of jurisdiction safe and lasting. It culminated to some African kings and leaders fighting their neighbors in search of slaves. Hence, the deal was to sell slaves to the Europeans in exchange of such properties, making the Africans man enemy of its people.

Further, there was the capturing of African slaves in the interior of Africa who was then taken to ports in western and eastern Africa for transportation to Europe. It was a quite inhuman manner since the welfare of slaves was not observed at all, hence painful to them. One of the companies facilitating such activities was the Royal African Company which took the slaves to English countries. The company was run by the English empire helped by their African counterpart merchants. It took a region of five thousand slaves annually and had its peak in the 1680s. After its fall nearly a century later, most of the slaves in England were diverted to its colonies in various parts of the world, especially the African countries. It is thus evident how they valued slaves a mark of their property. Also, the slaves were majorly transported across Atlantic to Europe to serve in large scale plantations. Therefore, it is evident that the slave trade was organized in some manner to the benefit of the masters while mistreating the slaves as their rights were not considered through the whole process of being hunted and captured in their villages through transportation and finally into their destinations.

Besides, there was the development of slavery in English colonies across African countries. It was carried out by the English governments mainly to balance the rival pressure of the developed Spanish, Portuguese, and the Dutch as well as fill in the colonial gap. The English governments had gone to Africa in the name of civilizing them in matters politics, religion, and sensible cultural adoptions, only to also engage in brutal slavery. Such slavery activities were motivated by the stereotypes held by the British upon Africans. It can thus be seen that there was a semblance of irony in the whole process. In this case, the British found the Africans to be useful in their workings on firm while stereotyping them as being inferior in various spheres as cultural practices and day to day lifestyle orientations. For the case of the North American Colonist, they turned into slave trade activities aimed at also filling the labor needs. In this case, Africans were the main available people to serve as slaves across the world. It is thus quite evident that Africans were treated by the Europeans' and British attitude of considering them inferior. They incepted them into slavery in their countries and colonies even having considered the explorations into such countries as for westernization and civilization.

Bibliography

Allard, William Albert. 2011. Portraits of America. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Insight.

Hirsch, Jerrold. 2013. Portrait of America: a cultural history of the Federal Writers' Project. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. http://site.ebrary.com/id/10064764.

Iceland, John. 2014. Portrait of America - the demographic perspective.

Oates, Stephen B., and Charles J. Errico. 2012. Portrait of America. Boston: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.