William J. Raboteau 's The New World Slave Control

Within this review of Gomez’s work is a comparison of the “truth” I knew and the “truth” I now know. Upon completing Reversing Sail, I argued with my own thoughts regarding Africans and their status prior, and post, enslavement.

African slaves were brought to America from many tribes and they brought with them a variety of beliefs and practices. In some ways, the religion that many West Africans practiced bears a striking resemble to the practices of Christianity and Judaism. There are however several differences that make it clear that it is its own separate faith. On the plantations in America slaves were taught a “modify” version of Christianity so that they would obey their masters, and often times slaves would hold their own services. Other slaves believed in and practice what was called “conjuration” along with Christianity.

Lastly, this paper will analyze these two themes used as a justification of African Slavery in early history of America

Many people believe that Christians played a great role in abolishing slavery. However, Douglass’ ideas about religion and its connection to slavery shine a light on the dark side of Christianity. Douglass’ account of his own life is a very eloquent first hand retelling of the suffering and cruelty that many slaves were going through. His account gives a detail of the ills that were committed against the slaves. The atrocities committed by the various different masters varied in intensity depending on the masters’ individual personality (Glancy 42). This first hand narrative gives us a glimpse in to the connection between religion (Christianity) and slavery.

During a most dark and dismal time in our nations history, we find that the Africans who endured horrible circumstances during slavery, found ways of peace and hope in their religious beliefs. During slavery, African's where able to survive unbearable conditions by focusing on their spirituality.

This showing that the average African-American’s faith is what kept them strong and able to do whatever it takes in their struggle for freedom. However the sermon in a typical “Negro” church would also show just what kept them so strongly endowed in their religion.

For almost eight decades, enslaved African-Americans living in the Antebellum South, achieved their freedom in various ways—one being religion—before the demise of the institution of slavery. It was “freedom, rather than slavery, [that] proved the greatest force for conversion among African Americans in the South” (94). Starting with the Great Awakening and continuing long after the abolition of slavery, after decades of debate, scholars conceptualized the importance of religion for enslaved African-Americans as a means of escaping the brutalities of daily life. Overall, Christianity helped enslaved African American resist the degradation

The idea of race suggests that observed differences in cultural and social status are the product of biologically based differences among major ethnic groups. Out of that distinction the idea of racial superiority was evolved. In the majority of the population’s eyes at that time, the African race was inferior. They were seen as primitive and un-evolved. This was also another justification for the white populations, to both the governments, to uphold slavery as it was seen as a part of nature, and it also justified the idea to themselves. It was an excuse and a rationalisation for their actions, and an explanation to their own morals and Christian values.

Blassingame, John W. The Slave Community: Plantation Life in the Antebellum South. New York: Oxford University Press, 1972.

One of the first things that attracted the African American slaves to Christianity was a way of obtaining the salvation of theirs souls based on the Christian’s idea of a future reward in heaven or punishment in hell, which did not exist in their primary religion. The religious principles inherited from Africa sought purely physical salvation and excluded the salvation of the soul. However, they did believe in one supreme God, which made it easier for them to assimilate Christianity.

The author starts out by describing the harsh situation slaves were put in and how the black experience in America is a history of servitude and resistance, of survival in the land of death. The spirituals are the historical songs which tell us what the slaves did to hold themselves together and to fight back against their oppressors. In both Africa and America, music was directly related to daily life and was an expression of the community’s view of the world and its existence in it. The central theological concept, which is the prime religious factor, in the black spirituals is the divine liberation of the oppressed from slavery. Further, the theological assumption of black slave religion as expressed in the spirituals was that slavery contradicts God, and therefore, God will liberate black people. This factor came from the fact that many blacks believed in Jesus, and therefore, believed that He could save them from the oppression of slavery because of his death and resurrection. The fact that the theme of divine liberation was present in the slave songs is supported by three main assertions: the biblical literalism of the blacks forced them to accept the white viewpoints that implied God’s approval of slavery, the black songs were derived from white meeting songs and reflected the "white" meaning of divine liberation as freeing one from sin (not slavery), and that the spirituals do not contain "clear references to the desire for freedom". The extent of

Through out the entire time period of slavery, religion remained a high priority and a way in which to label different social groups. The lack or complete non-existence of religion among Africans led to them being viewed as somewhat inferior. Later in the second chapter Jordan talks about how during the slave era religion distinguished whites from blacks. Also how classification changed once Africans began to enter the Christian church. He himself viewed this type of labeling somewhat ridiculous, in that many of the Africans were baptized before the came to the New World. Thus they in many circles would be identified as Christians. This important information helps show the reader how the justifications for slavery evolved. Jordan captures the utter and blatant hypocrisy that the colonies exuded with regards to the slave situation. Jordan also sees religious injustice within the treatment of Indians and Africans. The English made attempts to convert the Indians and had little desire or intention to do the same for Africans. This again shows to what lengths early Americans went in creating a subculture for the purpose of slavery.

22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without. 23 And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness. 24 And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him. 25 And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. 26 And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. 27 God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.

As American’s our country’s history has been drilled into our education. There are many things to make us proud, as well as ashamed. An atrocious attribute to our country’s past is slavery. Slavery not only happened in America but in numerous countries for far too long. So many people of color were discriminated, abused, abducted and often times killed without remorse. There are millions of individuals, who if were still alive today, could identify with each of those things stated above and tell their own story. One person who would proudly protest their unfortunate experience would be a man by the name Solomon Northup. He wrote a memoir addressing his oppressors and coming clean with all the unjust actions that had taken place. In his book Twelve Years a Slave, the role of religion was very evident not only in his own life, but the lives of the people who played a role in his captivity in slavery. Religion is portrayed in several different perspectives throughout Twelve Years a Slave. Northup uses this important common ground to cultivate the true relationship between slave and owner. By frequently visiting the topic of faith a realization can be made that both parties are indeed human, this further sheds light on the injustices of Northup’s 12 years in slavery.

Author of Guns, Germs, and Steel, Jared Diamond, explains why Eurasians were the peoples to conquer and or exploit present day, less developed countries. The prologue of the book introduces the first exchange between local New Guinean politician, Yali, and Jared Diamond that took place twenty-five years before publishing Guns, Germs, and Steel. Yali then expresses a puzzling question regarding different peoples’ progression and chronological events leading up to the exploitation and colonization of other countries, “Why is it that you white people developed so much cargo and brought it to New Guinea, but we black people had little cargo of our own”(Diamond, 14). In response to Yali’s question, Diamond makes known that there are obvious answers: “…the rise of capitalism, mercantilism, scientific inquiry, technology, and nasty germs that killed peoples of other continents…” (Diamond, 10), but unfortunately these answers are classified as proximate causes, not an ultimate elucidation. Diamond explores the idea as to how these components of colonization and world domination arose in western Eurasia rather than in another world region. Diamond’s four ultimate causes follow a 19th -20th century approach on human behavior and development called environmental determinism; Environmental determinism claims that the physical environment caused human activities and development.