Why were Africans used as slaves instead of Native Americans?
It was largely a matter of logistics and socio-political influences. A summarized list of these elements would be as follows: Lack of immunity to diseases; high mortality rates made Natives a poor investment as slaves (e.g. they died off in greater numbers) Military strength of tribal nations sufficient enough to be a threat to the young colonies; taking Native slaves could be risky and sometimes costly endeavor. The African slave market was more convenient and cost-effective, compared to warring with tribes and trying to enslave a people that would either die quickly in bondage, or could escape more readily. Suicide was vastly more common at the point of enslavement. This was a sort of macabre market force. Those African slaves that made it through the gauntlet - being captured by slave raiders, amassed in horrific staging areas, and then taken across the sea in slave ships, were less likely to kill themselves after they arrived in the Americas. Natives being captured in their homelands and enslaved would often kill themselves (just as Africans were more prone to commit suicide in Africa during the initial stages of their enslavement). This is precisely why the Indian slave trade that did exist from the late 1600 until the early 1700s, actually sent the majority of Native slaves to the Caribbean, ironically, often in exchange for African slaves. The same principle was at play though...when the Indians arrived in these locations where Blacks made up the majority of the population, they had nowhere to run and seek freedom.Page on nih.govAfrican slaves, once brought to the Americans, were presumed to have slave status by the nature of their racial identity. Thus, it was easier to maintain the perpetual slave status of Blacks. There were few places an escaped Black slave could run and hide out, and nowhere to effectively maintain this freedom for any length of time (Maroon communities in North America were always of a fleeting nature). Natives were being treated as sovereign nations during the colonial era, and their individual freedom was acknowledge by default. Racial views varied, and Europeans saw Native Americans in a slightly more positive light - even as they sought to dispossess them and destroy their cultures. This question is similar to:Why were Native Americans never or not widely enslaved in America despite being coloured?
Do we all originate from Africa? Can you you explain this to me?
Do whites originate from Africa and if so then how did we spread out from various places and end up in European countries with the majority being white. I just need a better understanding of how we all have black blood in us as well as black people having white blood in them. Help!!