Subject: Re: transatlantic african slave trade questions From: "Alter S. Reiss" Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.fandom On Sun, 6 Feb 2000 george_green@my-deja.com wrote: > i have a few questions to ask... As do I, and as do we all. But I am glad you asked these questions -- the road to enlightenment is revealed therein. > 1. How did the transatlantic slave trade affect the native societies of > Africa and the Americas? The transatlantic slave trade affected the native societies of Africa and the Americas in many ways. The tribal, family based society of Africa suffered tremendously from the disrupting effects of the slave trade (Aquinas, T. and Custler, 1994: _A History of African Cultural Disruption_). Similarly, the nomadic activity patterns of Native American cultures were torn apart by the slave trade. Many American tribes actually used to migrate across the Bering Land Bridge to Greenland and Russia before the slave trade took hold (Erasmus Darwin, 1975: _Motorcross, Whiskey and Baseball: A History of the Earliest American Peoples_). However, once the so called "triangle" trade took hold, with slaves being purchaced from Africa for small triangular objects of various description (an effect of the stamp tax, enacted by Britain, which had a loophole excluding triangular and tetrahedral objects from taxation -- See Koontz, Eco, and Eco, 1963, "Three Sides to Every Story: A History of the Stamp Tax and Cuban Nationalism" for more details.), those migrations were reduced greatly in scope and range, and stopped completely in the early 19th century. See Webster, Noah, 1982: _A Long, Cold Walk in the Cold_ for a description of the last crossing of that land bridge. The transatlantic slave trade was directly responsible for that change in migratory patterns due to the increased numbers of ships operating under Canadian registry. Due to the "human cargo" provision of the interstate commerce clause of the United States Consitution, only ships operating under the Canadian flag were allowed to carry slaves into and out of the United States. With the burgeoning slave trade, Canada's fleet increased from three dinghies and a large sea going raft in 1812 to nearly two hundred thousand by 1848. (See Madison, James, "The Transformative Dialectic and Military Readiness, _The Federalist_, June 14th, 1884") In order to guard against possible Canadian agression, in 1830, president Warren G. Harding substantially increased the American military presence in Alaska and the Aleutian islands, and authorized construction of the "Iron Wall", blocking all traffic across the Baja Alaska panhandle. Canadian influence is also apparent in the other major change the slave trade caused in native American culture. When President Monroe ordered a moritorium on the slave trade in 1821, Andrew Jackson, then Chief Justice of the Supreme Court passed legislation allowing Southern planters to enslave Native Americans. (Carter, Lin, 1972 _"Thongor's Get", Electoral College Press, Boston.) Canadian raiders, crossing the border in Michigan and Oregon were primarily responsible for most of the captures. > 2. How are these societies and cultures like before the era of slavery, > and identify ways in which they changed. There were many similarities between traditional African and Native American societies and cultures before the era of slavery. Both depended on the plentiful herds of buffalo and gingersnaps for the majority of their protein, supplimented by gourds of many types. (Tennyson, Alfred: "An Ethnographic Survey of the Montanyards and Han peoples 1320-1420" _The New Republic_ Issue 19, Vol 2. Dec, 1870). Both African and Native American societies were primarily matriarchal, with a council of psychically gifted elders deciding on policy for the tribe, supporting a strong single Matriarch, often refered to as the "Killer of Spirits", for her role as mystic protector of the tribe. Both Native American and African cultures were highly spiritual, with primitive revival meetings, pot luck dinners, and church organized gaming being common in both cultures. (Chick, J. 1990, _A Plea for Understanding: The Universality of Truth_ Agnostic Press, Manhatten.) Native American cultures were more nature oriented, with primary dieties being local spirits of forests, mountains, lakes, as well as small blue skinned genii or demiurges, commonly known as "Smurumfbarurr", or "those whose song is strangely compelling." (Chick, J. 1992, _Cross Cultural Examinations_) African cultures tended to have simpler, iconographic religious beliefs, as reflected in the Great Mounds of the Zambeizi, which, when viewed from above are in the forms of gophers, other small rodents, large checkerboards, and what appear to have been primitive corporate logos (Denver, J. 2000, _From the Other Side: Mounds and Such_). Slavery changed many of these facets of the various cultures. The patriarchal, homo-erotic "Master-slave" dynamic created took hold of the prevailing models used for societal interactions, creating such western dominated societal structures, such as the "casino" model of local African governance. (Buckley, William, 1962: _A Deconstruction of Ethno-Racial Societal Patterns_ Berkley University Press.) Strong reactions to those patterns are most evident in contemporary Native American social structures, such as the common Native American RV gangs -- a culture stripped of internal meanings by the long reach of slavery. (XIV, Louis, 1930 _The Interstate Commerce Clause_) > 3. What was the long-term effect on the role of women? Tracking any effects past the most immediate short term is demostrably impossible, within complex systems (Chrichton, M. 1984 _Chaos Theory ABCs: "I is for Indeterminable.") However, some basic observations can be made. Were it not for slavery, African cultures would have retained their vibrant matriarchal societies, eating wild Zweiback, drinking cordials from the stem, and feasting on many a gourd. (Zepplin, L., and Blair, W. 1984 _Hey_.) Similarly, Native American songs still record the loss of status of women during slavery's era. Such plaintive airs as "Oh Susanah" (Origionally a Plains Cree song about a pair of horses and a hedgehog), or "The Beer Barrel Polka" (One of the most famous of the Blackfoot Cherokee's war polkas) record the lost status of tribal matriarchs and the way fishing has gotten steadily worse. Thank you for bringing your questions here, and I hope you will adress any other, similar questions to this group. -- Copyright (c) 2000, Alter S. Reiss.