I have some observations about slavery. Humans throughout history have been enslaved, even by their own culture and race. It was only in the colonial era, seemingly, that slavery has taken on racial overtones. I think this is for a few reasons.
- The southern regions of what is now the United States, or the southern colonies, was rife with malaria. Africans had a natural immunity to malaria, having evolved and adapted to malaria in Africa. Therefore, black farm workers were less likely to be taken down by malaria. Southern plantation owners sought out these more reliable farm workers. Since slavery was still generally accepted in the world at that time, they bought African slaves. I'm not saying it's okay, just that it was. Today, they might hire African farm workers, which I believe would still be considered acceptable today.
- Once Negro slavery became the common form of slavery in North America, we suddenly had a natural way to distinguish freemen from slaves. The skin color and other racial properties became a sort of uniform. Again, I'm not saying it's okay, but it was the case. In the industrial north, of course, black people were not assumed to be slaves, although they might be considered fugitives. That's not a given, however.
This excerpt from Intellectuals and Race by Thomas Sowell describes some of the pertinent issues.
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