The Hidden Origins Of Slavery By Ronald Takaki

Growing up slavery was simple, it was blacks only, or at least that’s how it was pictured and taught in American schools. For the most part, that is true, but only to a certain extent, leaving out vital occurrences that are monumental in today’s society. What if the perception you have on slavery or what you thought you knew about it, was in fact only half of what took place? In “The Hidden Origins of Slavery,” by Ronald Takaki, shows us the ‘forgotten’ side of slavery in the 1600’s. He does this by exposing the truth behind slavery, explaining to us the similarities both black and white slaves encountered. Even though society see’s slavery as one sided; Takaki shows us a time where they worked together to create a militia, that would in the end be tremendous for we the people, but ultimately would be forgotten as time passed. …show more content…
In the 1600’s there was more than just one race being enslaved to work under the control of plantation owners. According to Takaki, “In 1650 Africans constituted only 300 of Virginia’s 15,000 inhabitants, or 2%” (52). There was a wide range of English slaves as they began harboring their families over to Virginia to work as well. Although white salves outnumbered the black slaves and were in fact slaves just like the blacks were, they still would classify the black slaves as ruthless animals. English travelers would describe black people as, “‘Africans are beastly living, without a god, law, religion.’ Their color already made them ‘Devils incarnate’” (50). Really casing that even though we are in the same position; we still have differences among