Race Relations During The Early Colonization Of America

Race is still an open topic in America and in the world, as it has always implied differentiation, inequalities and division among human beings, and has been the basis for some of the most tragic events in history.

From the very first interaction, the social and political relations between the Native Americans and the Europeans had begun with much tension. Many Europeans came to the Americas with the intention of discovery. However, when it became apparent that these new lands were inhibited the motives changed, and then the natives were colonized, abused, and in many cases killed. From then and throughout the impending periods of time, the relations between the natives and the Europeans had a few points of mutual peacefulness, but were overall negative.

There are many reasons Native Americans and European Colonists did not have a good relationship. The reason for conflict between Colonist and Indians was due to the Colonists insatiable greed for power and land. Some of the reasons not only included physical mistreatment but also an ethical mistreatment of the Native Americans. European Colonists not only brought with them many different diseases that would later aid in the genocide of many Native American tribes, but also a mindset in which they felt superior to there Native neighbors. This feeling of superiority led to an outbreak of violence and many different civil wars. Due to the Native American and the Colonists irreconcilable

People used religion as a way to justify the act of slavery. They believed that God determined people’s places in life, so slavery was considered a “misfortune” controlled by God and not a social evil (Shi and Tindall, 91). Africans were also seen as “heathens” which lead people to believe that they had the right to enslave the Africans (Shi and Tindall, 92) The Africans brought the skills they had in Africa with them which made them very desirable in the American economy. Also, there was the creation of the slave code allowed slave owners more control over their slaves activates and movements (The Virginia Slaves

I believe race is so central to how we organize social life in many societies because it has been the defining factor that breaks humans apart from one another just based off of something as simple as sight. It is the easiest way to classify individuals aside from gender or nationality. Race has also become something that individuals have personally adopted, and I believe many people are more comfortable being around those that share the same characteristics as themselves.

The creation of slavery or institution led to conflict in the colonies because African Americans were abused and treated as they weren’t people. In source 9 the Native Americans and the Africans are interacting.“When they have been brought to the very edge of collapse by the labors to which they are put and begin to drop from hunger and toil as they stumble through the mountains with enormous loads on their backs, the Spanish kick them and beat them with sticks to make them get up and resume their wearisome trudge. They do not let them stop and gasp for breath, and even knock their teeth out with the pommel of their sword.” Slaves were abused and forced to work until they collapse and ask their owners to kill them because they could not handle it anymore. Another example is source three. This source shows the interaction between all three Africans, Native Americans, and Europeans. “The work is hard and the Spaniards are not willing to do the work, Natives who have become Christians are not allowed to be forced to do the work because

For many people, the idea of a slave culture or of slaves exercising control and autonomy within the context of the master-slave relationship seems impossible. After all, the entire concept of the system of slavery is based upon the ownership of another person, which implies total control. However, Drew Gilpin Faust's essay, "Culture, Conflict, and Community on the Antebellum Plantation," which is based upon meticulous records kept by slave-owner James Henry Hammond, reveal that the master-slave relationship was far more complex than one might believe. Even when faced with rigid systems of control, slaves exercised some autonomy. Even with a rigid master, such as Hammond, these efforts at self-control frequently modified behavior on the plantation. In fact, while it is almost certain that some masters ruled through tyranny alone, it appears that the back-and-forth nature of the master-slave relationship meant that masters had to provide some inducements to produce work from their slaves.

Race in the United States has always been a problem in the past and still remains the same in the present society. Race relations is defined by relations between members or communities of different races within one country (en.oxforddictionairies.com). Minorities have been denied legally and socially rights in the past by the dominant race, White Americans. Now in modern society minorities are the majority of the United States, but are still being racial targeted, profiled and killed by White Americans.

Whites have always considered themselves superior to blacks, no matter if they were slave owners or not. Blacks were considered lower than humans, making them a main target of oppression of whites. So even when a small group of blacks were given their freedom, they weren’t truly liberated from the chains of slavery and oppression. Blacks were freed in the early 1800s, giving a limited amount of blacks the freedom they deserved. These blacks were usually rural, uneducated, and unskilled domestic servants who had to work hard to survive in the society that shunned them. Free blacks were still given restrictions and laws because of their status in society. In the early 1830s, a law in Virginia was made to prohibit all blacks from getting their education. They even took it to the level where free blacks who went out of state to educate themselves were not able to come back and return to their own state. The worst restriction was that blacks could not testify in court. When a slave owner claimed that a free black was their slave, they could not defend themselves, and would have to conform back to their slavery. Despite the terrible treatment given to blacks, some rose above the oppression and became successful, therefore achieving their goals and potentials of being a free black man, leaving a huge impact on society in the 1800s.

In the novel, Kindred, by Octavia E. Butler, the antebellum whites were able to control the black race by using methods of control, such as fear, sense of inferiority, and divide and conquer. For example, in chapter 3 it shows how a slave is whipped in front of other slaves, “The whipping served its purpose as far as I was concerned. It scared me, made me wonder how long it would be before I made a mistake that would give someone reason to whip me. Or had I already made that mistake?,” (92). As a general rule, when slaves witness other slaves being whipped, the slaves will most likely have a sense of fear which will cause them to not produce any trouble. It is also human nature to avoid all

For centuries, the English and European colonizers wanted a piece of the new world. Many of these colonists were very curious of what was at this new world and wanted to create opportunities for themselves by extracting resources through the labor of the indigenous people and imported slaves.

White over Black: American attitudes toward Negro 1550-1812 is a book written by Winthrop D. Jordan, who was a historian in the subject of the history of slavery in the Americas.

Amiri Baraka’s play the “Dutchman” is a portrayal about the interactions between the two major characters Lula and Clay. The two came from different races, whereas Clay is a twenty year old African American, while Lula on her thirties is a white woman. It all started when Lula had the courage to approach Clay, accusing the latter intent of staring from the window of a train. In their conversation, it demonstrates how Lula was trying to manipulate the situation, depicting the relationship between the two races and the problem about stereotyping. In the play, Lula first appeared as a beautiful and attractive white woman with an apple at her hand (Baraka, 1). Somehow, if her character will be interpreted based on Biblical teaching, it appears that she is more like a temptress like Eve. Although, Lula only met Clay for the first time, but she acted like knowing everything about the latter. She even mocked and insulted Clay, especially with regards to his intellect and clothing. Through this portrayal, the Lula was trying to reveal her true nature as a rude individual, and there is no way Clay could approach her on the same footing.

The interchangeable nature of the term “race” must be understood in order to accurately explore the process of race thinking in Colonial Latin America. The use of the concept “race” over the course of the sixteenth and seventeen centuries in Spanish America was restrictive and unreflective of the prevalent perspective of the twenty-first century. The underlying issues associated with race thinking were centralized around the belief that Spaniards were actively expressing racism towards Indians, Africans, and other groups of people. However, the individuals living during this time were unfamiliar with the diversity that existed within their world which is suggestive of mere attempts to make sense of the people they were encountering. The Spaniards

Inequality has been a major issue in the Colonial Virginia and it was originated within a hierarchy of race, gender, and social class that already existed in the mother country of England.