When considering the depth of the development process taken towards the United States’ current state, one would often overlook the impacts of slavery. Although considered a rather egregious act on America’s part, it catalyzed much of the labor needed for expansion and amelioration as well as the historical context for widespread intolerance and exploitation of Native Americans and Africans. Slavery was no new concept to Africans. They had held slaves for many years before Europeans arrived. African slavery was mostly due to bankruptcy, prisoners of war, or foreignness. However, slavery in Africa was nowhere near as brutal as slavery in America mostly due to the fact that in Africa, one’s race was not considered inferior, they were not introduced to an alien land, and they related in that they practiced the same ideologies and customs. By the time Europeans sought slaves from African empires, invasion was no new feat. Constant invasions beforehand from the Persians, Romans, and Byzantines, had softened the shock value of debilitation. (“Slavery in America” 3). The Portuguese soon set up what would be considered “slave factories” along the coast of Africa in which they would bargain for slaves through an exchange of goods or even organize slave-hunting expeditions. Americans soon followed Portugal’s example by …show more content…
So, they were utilized in the development of the Caribbean islands instead. Initially, the use of Native Americans as a source of labor proved unsatisfactory due to their lack of immunity to European diseases as well as their immense knowledge of the American countryside. African slaves, who persevered through the prevalence of diseases as well as remained unfamiliar of the American continent, seemed almost perfect for the job. Not only did this satisfy the need for labor, it also advocated religious pride and prejudice through mass