The Crime Of Slavery – Buying & Selling People
“They bought them from other Africans. As someone said, you can’t get much lower than someone who sells his brother.” A reader’s comment reg. slavery on my blog.
Brother's Keeper?
I agree it is low to sell one’s own brother. Is that the lowest one can go to? What can be the lowest anyone go to? If there is a dispute for a position at the bottom of the moral cess pit, to answer this question … I need help.
You see, I have a problem – honestly, I must blame my backward country and my backward education for this. We were taught that all humans were equals.
I was also told that this value of the individual makes the West different – and is enshrined in the Greco-Roman-Euro history, culture, literature, thinking, renaissance, enlightenment, religion, leadership …
We were told that we from India did not consider others as brothers – and that was our problem. Caste-system you see!
So, in my warped thinking, a question rose!
Low To Sell – Lower Still To Buy, Trade, Legalize Slavery
Is it not lower to buy one’s own brother – even lower than, to sell. And to create laws, institutions, precedents to promote, popularize slavery?
Does the fact that a family member sells manifestly stolen ‘goods’ (in this case human beings) stolen from the family wealth, allow the buyer to buy ‘stolen’ goods. Is trade in ‘stolen goods’ acceptable if the robber happens to rob his own family? But then, if the skin is black or yellow or brown, I presume these rules do not apply.
“the inconvenient fact that the Arab world played at least as large a part in the slave trade as any Western power, for instance; or the uncomfortable truth that African chieftains were all too willing to sell other Africans to Western and Arab slave dealers. In the light of this, what are we to make of allegations that ‘racism’ lay at the heart of the slave trade?” From a book review of The Slave Trade By Jeremy Black, at The Social affairs Unit.
Vatican Supported Slavery
When the followers of Mani (a teacher of Buddhist and Christian teachings) were rooting for the slaves to revolt and declare themselves free, administrators of the teachings of the “Lord of lords, and King of kings.” (Revelation 17: 14) at the Council Of Gangra approved of slavery.
Jefferson Forgot
The Great White Chief in the Sky, Thomas Jefferson declared ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal’ We can’t hold his feet to the fire, if he forgot to add (possibly in the hurry to dine alone), as long as they are white.
2ndlook 
Well when they say sold their brothers, they probably did not consider the ethnic variations that you have in Africa, it is the most ethnically diverse continent on earth.
To a 16th century white european of course you may have seen men of all one shade and assumed them to be all the same. but what you could have is one etnic group selling another, so hardly brothers selling one and other. If another ethnic group lived on some prime real estate that you wanted simple raid them and voila, you have some wares from those happy white men and the other people are gone.
if you take that simplistic view you could argue, the troubles in northern ireland were a un-holy squabble between two groups of the same people, everyone is white and they are all christians the subtle detail being, the history of ireland and conquest of catholic ireland by protestant british mainlanders and the conflict that that has wrought on the face of a beautiful country.
or maybe frequent wars between france and great britain throughout history, if you want to be simple ascribe as people killing their own brothers (they are both white) history is a lot of fine print, please i love your blog but don’t be so blind
Fine point, Sir! I agree that this ‘tarring’ of the Black people as brother sellers is a crude attempt to ‘white wash’ their own sins.
But please do remember, that before Black slavery, there was also White slavery. Maybe lesser in magnitude, but nevertheless there!
Where I come from, we have a concept of “shubh labh” which governs trade. Shubh labh basically means, benign and ethical profits. I would like to go further and say that ‘dealing’ in slaves, whether as a buyer or seller, makes no difference. It is equally abominable.
How is that in India slavery never took root. I am sure that the same Black and Arab traders would have sold slaves to Indians too. Why didn’t Indians buy and sell slaves?
It is not that “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.” only – (with due apologies to Shakespeare) but with all these slave owning cultures – and their continued defence of slavery!
And thanks for your feedback.
I like you thread here, but if I may make the comment. Thomas Jefferson DID have a black mistress. The only reason he DIDN’T marry her was it was against the law, but he did provide for ALL of his children in his will…both the white and mixes alike. To inherit their trust, all they had to do was finish college..which they did. So at least, to a degree, I feel that he WAS trying to do right in a time when it was hard to do so.
I also like the comment that there WERE white slaves before Indian or black slaves. Although they went by the name of indentured servants, they suffered none-the-less. That being said, I don’t disagree with anything being said though.
I myself am from a VERY mixed heritage. To this day, I am confused as to what to mark on the Ethnicity box/LABEL on every single form that is out there. I finally decided to check other and put Native American/White mix. My great grandparents were the red man as you called him from one side and British from the other. My Native American ancestors gave up their land rights due to fear from the government and persecution from others. Because of this, the U.S. government says they must now declare themselves as white, but on today’s ethnicity labels..it says caucasian. Not all white people are from Europe/Eurasia which is what it means.
[…] more than 10-20 million Africans were brought as captives – and sold in the US to be used as forced slave labour. Slave markets and trade in slaves was abolished after many revolutions and revolts by the […]