Native American Slavery Essay

Throughout world history, countless groups of people from different ethnicities and cultures have befallen to the trap of institutionalized slavery. From the beginnings of colonial America, European settlers have enslaved both the indigenous people and also Africans. When the general subject of slavery is discussed, people assume this refers to the 13 million Africans that were transported to the America, as part of the “Triangular Slave Trade” (Ojibwa). The massive, historical representation of African slaves disregards many other racial groups that were subjected to this dehumanizing treatment. Although, Africans did endure the harsh enslavement by their European owners for approximately 300 years, slavery in America began long before this. …show more content…
Furthermore, the Europeans carried extremely more advanced weapons than the Indians, which contributed to the lack of power for Native American tribes. Essentially, before the enormous trend of European colonists, Indians inhabited the majority of America and embraced the nature and land. After settlers came to America, violence began erupting because of conflicts between explorers and Indians regarding land rights. Consequently, this led to frequent wars and resulted in the deaths of thousands of innocent Native Americans. Unfortunately, most of the war captives would later be executed or enslaved, where they would be forced to work till death. Until European colonists arrived in America, much of the land was occupied by various Native American tribes and other indigenous …show more content…
Furthermore, in 1519, Spanish-Bishop Juan de Quevedo declared all Native Americans being slaves by nature because they were inferior to society (Ojibwa). During European-Indian battles, Native Americans were frequently conquered because of their lack of advanced weaponry and manpower. This result yielded many war captives and consequently being forced into harsh labor. Europeans also enslaved many indigenous groups because it produced enormous wealth via the mid-Atlantic slave trade (McCarthy). Initially, explorers were not looking to build several colonies containing a surplus population, rather they wanted to extract wealth from lands they discovered (McCarthy). However, after realizing the valuable profit of enslaving Native Americans, more indigenous groups were forced to succumb to this dehumanizing labor. Explorer, Christopher Columbus, boasted about the potential of wealth and economic benefits to his Spanish monarchs (Ojibwa). Overall, Europeans enslaved Native Americans that were war captives, eventually resulting in an increase of economic potential and overall