THE ENGLISH COLONISTS CREATION OF RACISM
The English colonists’ use of slavery and indentured servitude resulted in modern day racism and racism became a tool used by the wealthy ruling class to control slaves and indentured servants. These practices led to the separation of people by the color of their skin, their religion, and their culture.
Slavery existed within the tribes of Africa before the Europeans arrived (Foner 17). African slaves within African tribes were used similarly to the indentured servants of the English colonists in that they had to pay for a crime, debt, etc., by way of serving as a slave for whatever situation they were in. In Give Me Liberty, Foner explains that these slaves tended to be criminals, debtors, or captives in war and that they did have well-defined rights (17). This is much like the indentured servants of the English colonists who had to pay for their debt or their way to the New World by serving a landowner or master (Foner 17). When the Europeans arrived in Africa the African tribes themselves participated in the slave traded (Foner 129). In A People’s History of the United States Zinn states “African slavery lacked two elements that made American slavery the cruelest form of slavery in history: the frenzy for limitless profit that comes from capitalistic agriculture; the reduction of the slave to less than human status by the use of racial hatred, with that relentless clarity based on color, where white was master, black was slave (26).” The existence of slavery prior to the Europeans arrival in Africa became the justification for it by the Europeans, which would eventually lead to racism.
European colonists’ enslavement of the Native American Indians of the Americas was another contributing factor in the creation of racism. The way that the enslavement of Indians contributed to racism is that the English colonists, not to be viewed in a negative manner as were the Spanish conquerors, came to the New World establishing relations with the Indians that later went horribly wrong (Foner 48). In this case after a period of time, some of the English colonists were not happy with this relationship with the Indians because it prevented some from being able to claim land for themselves. The land was their purpose for coming to the New World. Foner tells us “these conflicts generated a strong feeling of superiority among colonists and left them intent on maintaining the real and imagined boundaries separating the two peoples (53).” They saw the Indians as an obstruction and eventually, colonists took matter into their own hands, displacing, killing the Indians, or enslaving them like the Spanish conquerors. An example of this was with the Indians of New England and the Pequot War in 1637 (Foner 74-75). This superiority complex, an aspect of racism, would later be used by English authorities to control the poor whites and indentured servants once they began to bring more African slaves to do the more intense labor.
When the European colonists arrived in the New World they brought with them indentured servants. Indentured servants were people who could not pay their own way to the New World who entered into a contract with their sponsor who would require them to be servants in whatever capacity their sponsor required of them (Foner 52). At this time England was suffering a “social crisis” with many poor roaming the streets of England and requiring assistance (Foner 49-50). Foner described the writing of a Protestant minister and scholar Richard Hakluyt who wrote of the advantages of settling in America “such needy people of our country who now trouble the commonwealth and…. commit outrageous offenses.” As colonists, could become productive citizens contributing to the nation’s wealth (50). Here it is clear that England was already separating people by class. In the English colonies hierarchy, the wealthy were at the top, the small farmers in the middle, and the poor whites and indentured servants at the bottom. African slaves were not included. Foner goes on to explain that indentured servants were treated like slaves in that they could be bought and sold and some were subjected to harsh treatment although, they did have rights. The African slaves did not have any protections and did not have a release date or expiration of a contract, indentured servants did (Foner 52). At times during this period African slaves and indentured servants would run away together due to the harsh treatment by their masters. Upon being captured the differences in their punishments showed hints of racism, such as where a white man would receive a whipping and a black man would receive 30 stripes and be burnt wit the letter R, and to work in a shackle for a year (Zinn 27). (More information about African Slavery and photos can be seen at the following link: http://www.accessgambia.com/information/slavery-history.html ) In addition, laws were enacted forming more distinctions between black and white servants. There were separate courts for blacks and whites. And as a result of land owners fear of rebellion by white and black servants, the distinctions increased (Foner 98-99). In “Transition from Indentured Servitude to Slavery” Peter Wood, Professor of History at Duke University, in his response to a question regarding the issues that contributed to the shift from indentured servitude to lifelong slavery stated “…there is a shift that takes place in the second half of the 17th century, from a situation where exploitation is based on religion to a situation where by the end of the century where race has become the determining factor (3).” Although the term racism did not exist during the English colonization of the Americas, it was being practiced. Foner explains that in 17th century England Africans were so alien that-in color, religion, and social practices, that they were enslavable in a way that Englishmen were not (95). The African slaves were so different from themselves that they justified enslaving them for this reason, treating them inhumanely, which is the essence of racism.
Based on their treatment of the Native Indians, the African slaves compared to the indentured servants in the American colonies one can conclude that racism did exist during that time. Racism was used to control the slaves, to make them inferior in order to exploit them and expand their wealth. The African slaves and Native Indians were mistreated by the European colonists ultimately because of the color of their skin being different from their own.
Bibliography
Primary Sources:
Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty, Volume I, Second Seagull Ed., London and New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2009
Secondary Sources:
Diablo Valley College WebCT, Diablo Valley College, Transitions from Indentured Servitude to Slavery, 20 September 2010, 3 http://webct.dvc.edu/SCRIPT/HIST120_5179_FA10/scripts/student/serve_page.pl?1219012956+readings120_onlinea.htm+OFF+readings120_onlinea.htm
