Greetings, Students.
In class we watched and discussed Africans in Americas: Terrible Transformation. In the comments portions below, please comment on two or three new ideas you acquired from the movie about Africans, Americans, or United States of America (inclusive of the Colonies). Be sure to include a sentence or two about why these details were important to your understanding of African American Studies.
You may also post additional questions.
Dr. Hill
I always new about indentured servants, and how they were given a specific amount of time to serve. However, I never knew that this was a European and African "opportunity."(I couldn't quite find the right word) I always thought that Africans were enslaved from the beginning of American exploration. I also learned that Africans had the right to own land at the beginning. This is very interesting to me. I wonder about land disputes, and how they were handled in African/European cases. Did these families ever lose their land in certain states due to these new laws on slavery?
ReplyDeleteI learned that at the beginning the colonists weren't automatically discriminating and enslaving biologically black people, Antonio Johnson was proof of that. I also had no idea the sheer number of Africans brought over to be used as slaves, one statistic was 45,000 boat loads a year. I also had no idea that about half of the Africans intended to be used as slaves by white colonists died on the way over. And was also astounded when they said that the white colonists intended to work their African slaves so hard that 1/3 of them would be dead within 3 years.
ReplyDeleteI learned a lot from that relatively short video. I also thought that Africans brought over were originally slaves. I had no idea that some of them even owned property. I also didn't know that so many people died on the way over. Some of the wording used in the video was sickening. It is very hard to hear people be referred to as property and I didn't realize how formal the slave trading process was in regards to treating people like property. Very informational video.
ReplyDeleteI also did not know that slaves being brought over from Africa were actually allowed to own property and that they were thought of as just ordinary landowners. It was interesting to find out that slavery due to being biologically black was an "american institution" as referred in class. The 'dehumanization' of biologically black people in america through law after law is sad because it fueled centuries of racism and violence through racism.
ReplyDeleteI've learned more about evolvement of slavery in the short video than in all of my history classes. They make it seem like slavery has always been a part of the American history. When we talk about Jamestown they never mention aspects like Anthony Johnson, a free black men who lived peacefully among white people. I found it interesting how the video talked about the fear that these people had for the slaves and h stereotypes but they are very much alive in our society today. America makes it seem like a black man is a threat and I realize that comes from years of fear. This video was very informational.
ReplyDeleteUpon watching this segment during class on Thursday was a real eye opener. The things I learned really did spark sadness in my heart. Seeing such a powerful country as the United States is today stand with something so disgusting, really touched me. The idea that another human being can "own" another human being, this is something that has initiated problems and will continue for the rest of time.
ReplyDeleteWhile watching the clips of Africans in Americas: Terrible Transformation I've learned a lot about Africans and slave trade. I learned that Africans were not automatically slaves at first and that the processing of becoming a slave took longer than what I believed . Watching this video on Thursday it was hard for me because America really tries to cover this part of history up and does not tell the whole story about laws and slave trade. I would also like to learn more about the slave insurance and how it worked. Thank you for sharing this video it was very informative.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching the clips of this very interesting documentary, a lot of it i had known previously just from school and moreso doing my own research. One thing that really stuck out to me was the fact that there was a time that slaves had the ability to own land in America before the right was taken away. Also another thing that I didn't know was the about 45,000 slaves were brought to America per year and they would eventually become the majority.
ReplyDeleteJust from looking at these clips and even doing some research on my own recently, it just disgust me and confuses me why would people go so far to basically enslave and torture a whole group of people just because they were perceived to be inferior. There is no way to justify it happening.
Watching clips from the documentary not only informed me more about the terrible history of slavery in our country but also how incomplete my education of the history of the time period is. Antonio Johnson was massively important and I had never even heard of him before. From all the years of history classes I have taken, including college level, he was never discussed. I think its incredibly important that he was able to own property had his own servants and had a chance to make a new life in America. Most of the history lessons I've had make it seem that slavery was a precedent in America from the start of colonization.
ReplyDeleteIt makes me sad to think that there was a chance things could have been different and that Africans immigrating to America were being given the same chance as Europeans for a time period. It's completely unacceptable that the greed of a few individuals and the drive for cheap labor allowed humans to be treated as property just because they could be identified as different. The video was very informative and led me to research more about this timer period and other event that were left out of my education on early American history.
I pretty much knew everything that we had viewed so far in class from the video, but I did not know that Africans could own their own land. That was the only thing that stuck out to me. It makes me question why I was never educated about this and why I had never heard of the name Anthony Johnson before viewing this film. Slave Insurance had also interest me. That just shows us that Africans/Slaves where considered as property than human beings.
ReplyDeleteI can honestly say that before watching the Terrible Transformation that I did not African Americans could own their own land. Prior knowledge, I was taught basically that Africans came to the colonies and were instantly put into slavery. Anthony Johnson is someone who needs to be discussed in all history classes, he should be acknowledged and known. Slavery was a process that was difficult and really hard to grasp, because no human being should be able to belittle and own another human being.
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ReplyDeleteThere are serval things I didn't know before watching the film . I didn't know African Americans could own their own land and hire workers to help farm their land as well. I also have never heard of Anthony Johnson it is a shame his name is not known throughout history. I always thought slavery happened immediately when really it happened over a long period of time
ReplyDeleteAfter watching the in class video, I gained a new insight on African American history. Three of the things I learned were: Africans were/could be freed after they served their time as slaves, Africans were able to buy land after they were freed, and as a child you would follow the status of your mother. These ideas to me are important to my understanding of African American history, because it educates me that black enslavement for life wasn't always a law/rule. Also these ideas are important because they teach me that Africans (first generation slaves) life as slaves wasn't as harsh as their descendants.
ReplyDeleteI have always been aware that the slaves that were originally brought over were intended to be treated as servants. They were told that if they worked hard and they did their job to their full capability they would be able to own land and live free. I also knew that many slaves died on the way over due to harsh conditions. The ones who survived the voyage I would consider were the strongest of the bunch and that makes me proud to know that our history comes from strong roots.
ReplyDeleteI feel as if the video we watched in class was very informative. I was not familiar with all of the names that were mention in the video. However, it opened my eyes to see how hard African Americans past was prior to the Civil Rights Movement. I learned that Slavery and Freedom goes hand and hand. The world Africans entered was ruled by Englishmen and populated by poor Europeans. I believe that during this time Antonio "the negro" was a huge figure to many African Americans. He was wise, strong and treated like a white planter. I recently visit Boston, MA this summer, learning that Massachusetts became the first to recognize slavery as an institution was very interesting because while being there I once was asked if I knew anything about the racism that has taking place within the city, years ago. I was not aware of anything then until now.
ReplyDeleteLike many others, I did not know that there were Africans that owned their own land before slavery. I also had no knowledge of Anthony Johnson, who actually seemed to be a very important part of American history. I was aware of slave conditions and treatments but it's still shocking to me that people were treated this way. I also knew about slave trade and the voyage to the Americas but I wasn't aware how extreme it was. It is crazy to think that they captured over 20 million africans and that they thought that was okay. Overall, the video taught me a lot that I never learned in grade school.
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