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Message
Interesting take on current events from the descendant of a slave trader.
Posted on 7/19/20 at 2:28 pm
Posted on 7/19/20 at 2:28 pm
This is an interesting article that gives a different perspective than we normally hear. LINK
9
Posted on 7/19/20 at 2:30 pm to tonydtigr
quote:
Assessing the people of Africa's past by today's standards would compel us to cast the majority of our heroes as villains, denying us the right to fully celebrate anyone who was not influenced by Western ideology.
Igbo slave traders like my great-grandfather did not suffer any crisis of social acceptance or legality. They did not need any religious or scientific justifications for their actions. They were simply living the life into which they were raised.
That was all they knew.
quote:
The slaves were being transported by middlemen, along with a consignment of tobacco and palm produce, from Nwaubani Ogogo's hometown of Umuahia to the coast.
My great-grandfather apparently did not consider it fair that his slaves had been seized.
Buying and selling of human beings among the Igbo had been going on long before the Europeans arrived. People became slaves as punishment for crime, payment for debts, or prisoners of war.
The successful sale of adults was considered an exploit for which a man was hailed by praise singers, akin to exploits in wrestling, war, or in hunting animals like the lion.
Igbo slaves served as domestic servants and labourers. They were sometimes also sacrificed in religious ceremonies and buried alive with their masters to attend to them in the next world.
Slavery was so ingrained in the culture that a number of popular Igbo proverbs make reference to it:
Anyone who has no slave is his own slave
A slave who looks on while a fellow slave is tied up and thrown into the grave with his master should realise that the same thing could be done to him someday
It is when the son is being given advice that the slave learns
The arrival of European merchants offering guns, mirrors, gin, and other exotic goods in exchange for humans massively increased demand, leading people to kidnap others and sell them.
Posted on 7/19/20 at 2:37 pm to tduecen
Slavery has existed since the beginning of recorded history in just about every civilization (it included ALL races at one time or another). It is only very recently (like the last 200 years or so) that humanity has reached an awareness and agreement that the practice is wrong and we, as civilized human beings, should not treat other humans as property. Black people in the US just happen to be the most recent. It’s a horrible stain on history but it’s ignorant to think only the modern US is guilty of this.
Posted on 7/19/20 at 2:48 pm to tonydtigr
I thought this would be a New York Times piece.
Posted on 7/19/20 at 2:50 pm to tonydtigr
Now a descendant of a Yankee slave trader should write an article.
Posted on 7/19/20 at 2:58 pm to tonydtigr
quote:
It would be unfair to judge a 19th Century man by 21st Century principles.
If you don’t take anything else from this article, take this. As I’ve said repeatedly, you cannot fairly look at actions in history through a modern lens.
Posted on 7/19/20 at 3:06 pm to Nature Boy
I'm aware, just sharing quotes from the article since the OP didn't
Posted on 7/19/20 at 3:09 pm to tonydtigr
quote:
Nigerian journalist and novelist Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani writes that one of her ancestors sold slaves, but argues that he should not be judged by today's standards or values.
I agree 100%, so why should our ancestors be judged by the standards of today?
This post was edited on 7/19/20 at 3:33 pm
Posted on 7/19/20 at 3:11 pm to Tchefuncte Tiger
quote:
I agree 100%, so why should our ancestors be judged by the standards of today?
There is an allowed, even encouraged double standard.
Posted on 7/19/20 at 3:11 pm to Nature Boy
quote:
Black people in the US just happen to be the most recent.
To clarify, the most recent to happen in the United States. Slavery is still practiced around the globe
Posted on 7/19/20 at 3:13 pm to tonydtigr
I’ll read it later
Posted on 7/19/20 at 3:13 pm to tonydtigr
Interesting article. Not sure why you are getting down votes.
Posted on 7/19/20 at 3:15 pm to tonydtigr
(no message)
This post was edited on 7/19/20 at 3:19 pm
Posted on 7/19/20 at 3:45 pm to tonydtigr
if you see that person's ancestor on judgement morning, do him a favor and tell him not to use that ignorant defense when he stands before Christ. Being born into evil ways doesn't excuse evil behavior.
Posted on 7/19/20 at 4:17 pm to arcalades
quote:
Buying and selling of human beings among the Igbo had been going on long before the Europeans arrived. People became slaves as punishment for crime, payment for debts, or prisoners of war
I think you miss the point. In less advanced societies there was no penal system, bankruptcy courts, or Geneva Convention. Slavery was the more merciful option, because the other option was death.
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