English 101 Bloggy

 I'm not normally the type to read a book about slavery but since it is required for class I'm slowly getting through "Slave and Citizen". I've learned a lot about slavery and I've refreshed my memory on a lot about it from reading this book. Frank Tennenbaum's views about slavery and how it affected our world is something that i have to agree and disagree with. He has a very old fashioned way of thinking and makes the it seem like this was all an adventure rather than something horrific. Tennenbaum states " ... an adventure on a grand scale, involving diverse peoples, varying cultures, millions of human beings" at the beginning of his book. As a picky reader he has already caught my attention with just his usage of words to perk curiosity in a read.

 The way slavery was looked at in South America and North America were also different. He cites other works to prove his points which shows that he isn't a man who is speaking blindly but one giving his opinion on a matter and supporting it. "Negros" in South America had liberties that those in North America did not. Interracial marriage was allowed and some women of color of higher social status had slaves of their own. Tennenbaum shows statistically that the majority people in the South Americas were "negros". This made them the "dominant" race. In comparison to North America who's majority was Caucasian South America was most populated by "negros".

 Tennenbaum makes a point that without the slave trade many countries wouldn't have grown as fast economically. I agree with this point but i also disagree. The slave trade allowed for many countries to make money easily by simply selling off human life of another country. I believe that the slave trade allowed for quick expansion into the Americas and that it was the foundation that transformed it into a place where opportunities for life were everywhere. Many countries were able to profit considerably by taking part in trafficking slaves and being consumers to these slave vendors. I disagree with this because in my opinion there were several other ways to hasten growth economically without the sacrifice of a fellow human being. I also believe that the slave trade was horrible because in general people looked down on "negros" in that time period. Slave trafficking did not start because of its profits. It started because of how people viewed each other. They had specific class and race systems and chose who were on the bottom. This idea that "negros" were below everyone else is what allowed for so many to go along with it without hesitation or any major actions to stop it.