Abstract
This chapter will explore the establishing of the New America also known as the New World. This “New America” or “New World” was eventually established (i.e., colonized) by Great Britain (i.e., more specifically England), and then African slaves were brought to work the land. An overview will take place of this historical reality. Myriad questions will be answered, like What happened when settlers first interacted with Native Americans or the indigenous people of the land? What happened when slaves arrived? What were the conditions like for “the other”? Myriad terms will be defined and discussed such as slave codes and a term the author has coined, “slave initiation,” within their/its historical context. Other historical incidents and occurrences will be discussed and analyzed such as the establishment of Jamestown, Virginia. Then solutions and recommendations will be discussed.
TopIntroduction
“Let’s separate,” you say the same thing that the house Negro said on the plantation. “What you mean, separate? From America, this good white man? Where you going to get a better job than you get here?” I mean, this is what you say. I ain’t left nothing in Africa, “that’s what you say. Why, you left your mind in Africa.” – Malcolm X
“[Things change …] when you are challenging the narrative of the empire…” – Danny Glover1
“You may write me down in historyWith your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt,
But still, like dust, I’ll rise.”
-Excerpt from Still I Rise by Maya Angelou © 1978
According to Ambassador A. Missouri Sherman-Peter (2022) in reference to the transatlantic slave trade, she stated the following: “It is now universally understood and accepted that the transatlantic trade in enchained, enslaved Africans was the greatest crime against humanity committed in what is now defined as the modern era” (p. 1). This crime involved human rights violations that were unspeakable (Newtown, 1788; United Nations, 2022) and involved the illegal transport of approximately 11-12 million West African slaves (American Black Holocaust Museum, 2022; Hughes & Meltzer, 1956; Swift, 2022), and upwards of 15 million slaves taken from Africa since 1444 overall (Maynard, 2017). The slave trade had been in operation for some time via the Middle Passage (Hughes & Meltzer, 1956; Newtown, 1788; Panaram, 2020; United Nations, 2022), and had been commonplace worldwide in various forms (Swift, 2022), and before this human “cargo” was even delivered, 15% (National Park Service, n.d.) to 20% of it had died (Newtown, 1788; Sherman-Peter, 2022). In fact, it is thought that ship mortalities of transported human cargo averaged at the rate of 20% (Maynard, 2017).
Within what would become the United States of America, the first African slaves were brought by Spaniard Lucas Vazquez de Ayllon on August 9, 1526 to an area known as Winyah Bay, South Carolina (AAReg, 2022). An unknown number of slaves were brought with approximately 600 settlers, and it was impossible for them to live there (AAReg, 2022). These slaves were moved to what is now known as present-day Georgia after a month, where they fled and lived with the local Native Americans or indigenous people of the area (AAReg, 2022). One hundred of the settlers survived and moved to Santo Domingo (AAReg, 2022). Slavery began long before it was an established practice within the New World (Maynard, 2017; Taylor, 1925).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Slave Code: The slave code is the legal establishment of how slaves are to be handled, treated, etc. Many of the first slave codes were established by the end of the 1600s into the early 1700s.
Slave Codes: Describes the implementation of the slave code adjusted by location, i.e., which state was passing the law and implementing them. Various states had slave codes such as New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, etc.
Slave: When a person becomes the “legal” property of another person by force and is forced to obey them – often disobedience may lead to the forfeiture of their own life.
Master: A person who has authority over another person in regard to the workplace. Often related to one who may have servants or slaves at their disposal.
Negro: A somewhat derogatory term for someone of African descent commonly used in the Americas.