The African Diaspora and the "Black Atlantic"
This week covers the early impact of African Americans in North America. Despite the brutality of slavery Africa and African-Americans produced enduring legacies that survived the colonial and early national periods.
Readings:
Taylor, chap. 9
Equiano
Points of Entry:
slavery in colonial Williamsburg:
http://www.history.org/almanack/people/african/aaintro.cfm
Equiano Museum:
http://www.equiano.org/about_equiano.html
Questions for discussion:
How did slavery shape colonial racial ideologies?
Qilombo
Amazing Grace
Slavery shaped racial ideologies in many ways. Since its inception into the major world scene, both the native peoples of the Americas and blacks shipped in from Africa were the predominant races enslaved by Europeans. As the slave trade evolved over time, Africans became the main source of slaves due to their availability and longer life span as compared to the Natives from the Americas. Being the predominant slave race, negative racial ideologies were heavy-set over Africans by the Europeans. Europeans saw Africans as inferior and incapable of surviving without the help of their masters. This is evident in the Equiano reading on page 21 when several white men tried to kidnap Equiano and claim him as a runaway slave. When Equiano spoke to deter them from doing it, "The men realized that 'I talked too good English' for them to trick." This is a perfect example of the racial ideologies set on Africans by Europeans; they think all Africans are unintelligent so they try to take advantage of them.
ReplyDeleteIt was fascinating to learn through our class discussion this week, and our readings, that the idea of race was established during the colonial period. But I suppose when conditions, such as slavery, became prominent in the Americas, a social construct like racism would be necessary to justify such a blatant violence and injustice against a group of people. I know I have read that one of the justifications for slavery was the curse of Hamm, a supposed biblical narrative that justifies the enslavements of Africans. I wonder when this interpretation came along, and how it became a popular belief.
ReplyDeleteIn both, "Quilombo" and "The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano," we witness examples of brutal treatment and exploitation; themes relative to the topics we uncovered during lecture and through the readings. Equiano, through the use of personal encounters and lessons, tactfully describes his life amid colonial enterprise and the pangs of slavery. His narrative gives us a perspective and voice usually unheard. Although a new view into slavery is discovered as he exhibits personal success, we are quickly reminded that freeman or slave, the individual is strictly dealt with according to his skin color. Throughout the narrative, Equiano encounters circumstances where he is cheated and offended as a result of his skin color. His social designation prohibits him from equal treatment and representation before the law.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to "Quilombo", the content within the movie is effective in depicting the struggles encountered by the African population in Brazil. Much of the abuse experienced in the West Indies (and later in the American colonies) may also be applied to Brazil. Taylor suggests that we may find origins of this brutish treatment in Barbados, where minimal standards were systematized in a slave code in 1661. He adds that they had "No precedents for managing a system of racial slavery" (213) and had to develop their own.
The movie Quilombo, gave a great dipiciton of how slavery was back then. Much like the narrative of Equiano, it gave a view point from the slaves perspective. With the slaves actually being able to have a sense of freedom in Quilombo it shows different wasy the tribes use to celbrate, or worship to keep up the moral of the people. These people of this time had great courage to go through what they went through. I think both the narrative and the film both show a differnet aspect of slavery, but how with keeping a positive attitude there can be things gained through those terrible time.
ReplyDeleteAmazing grace was a great movie that showed the passion of how there were Englishmen that were trying to get rid of slavery. They saw that it was not the way to treat fellow human beings and that they needed to get rid of it. A great aspect to the movie was when they had a character playing the part of Equiano, that there showed me how they were trying to portray this with real life events. They show when Equiano published his book and all the support that he had received. The narrative showed many Europeans how badly the slaves really were treated. In the movie they show how when the idea of stopping the slave trade is seen as obscure, and no one wants to be seen on the radar trying to stop slavery. At the end of the movie the victory is won and slavery is put to a stop.
ReplyDelete