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What does this account reveal about the nature of the slave trade and white attitudes toward
blacks in the eighteenth century?
Slavery was not conceptualized during this time, it had been going on for centuries prior and
civilizations prospered under the trade. Though medieval (and earlier) slaves were mainly
Slovak, the African slave network introduced a new people into the European-American labor
force and as such the involved states prospered. The Europeans served as the middlemen for the
princes of Africa and the plantations of the new found Americas. It wasnt only European
ideology that allowed for such a market, the native, ruling authorities of Africa would welcome
the European traders who brought gifts for the African princes. As much as this was the white
European/American man oppressing the black African, it was facilitated and encouraged by the
African rulers. I would reckon that this trade had less to do with racist ideologies and more to do
with cheap and convenient labor, but as the years progressed the obvious power dichotomy of
whites and blacks served to amplify the despots racist tendencies. Though it cannot be said for
all whites, those involved with the slave trade saw their prisoners as cargo to be bought and sold
for a profit. However, I think its important to note that racism wasnt the inherent cause for
slaver, but ended up becoming a major aspect of American life.
Personal Reflection
Growing up, I was always taught that slavery was the black mans plague brought on by
the white ruling powers, but there was little to no mention of the African rulers seeking out and
capturing seemingly their own people. If this were taught earlier, I feel a better understanding
and appreciation for the abominable trade could be reached. Rather than seeing a race oppressed
by another, it would be viewed as systemic power struggles between the powerful rich and the
weak poor throughout pre-modern civilization and with the white men as the ruling majority it

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was only a matter of speculation to root out the obvious differences between the oppressors and
the oppressed. That being said, it is my belief that the slave trade would have happened
regardless of race. The struggles of the weak versus the powerful were completely normal for
that time.