Freedom And Slavery Essay

by law and connected to freedom and slavery? (Or did it?) Slavery is defined as the keeping of slaves as a practice or institution. (“slavery.”, Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam Webster, 2016. Web. 28 January 2016) Race is defined as distinct from others groups because of supposed physical or genetic traits. (“race.”, Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam Webster, 2016. Web. 28 January 2016) The original concept of slavery started in the biblical era. The bible suggests the practice of slavery in the Old Testament. However, the concept of racially based slavery was condemned. The Greeks and Romans also supported the idea of slavery. But in most cases it was considered a form of payment for owing debt. Years later it became a racial phenomena. I believe that race became a stable concept adopted by the Western Europeans which eventually progressed into the enslavement of the Indian natives and the Africans. The concept of race became defined by law as a way to justify the oppression of all people who were non-Europeans. When Christopher Columbus arrived to …show more content…
The natives were introduced to many diseases such as small pox, influenza, and other deadly diseases. So the enslaved African laborers soon became the key to success for the colonial economy of the New World. At this time, priest Bartolomé de Las Casas, a Catholic priest, who had participated in the enslavement of the Native American populations, said that he no longer supported the native’s enslavement. However, they did not want to face the reality of banning slavery and there would be no one to dig for gold, clear land and other dangerous tasks. So the slavery continued as result of this greed. Soon Europeans were enslaving only Africans and while the demand for certain resources grew so did they demand for slaves. France and England expanded the African slave trades in hopes to continue obtaining more slaves for more