Sunday 12 July 2009

Truths about the slave trade

The Mangapwani slave caves in Zanzibar which were used by Arab slavers for many centuries


Given that a couple of recent posts have initiated some debate about the slave trade and the extent to which Europe and America were actually involved in it, readers may wish to revisit the first part of a two part essay I wrote in March last year on the myths surrounding so called "White Guilt".


Part 1 - the slave trade

One of the many weapons which our opponents use against us, and also against others of European ancestry, is often termed historical white guilt. Those who hate us point accusingly to our Empire, and to our involvement in the transatlantic slave trade with the implication that we, particularly the British and European Americans, are uniquely guilty of crimes against other races. They believe that, by making us feel guilty about our past, we will be less inclined to object to what is done to us on behalf of our alleged victims.

However, as in so many areas, the truth does not suit their agenda, so, as ever, they resort to their favoured tactic, and lie with the ease and practiced familiarity of an ageing harlot unzipping her client's pants.

Click here to continue reading

12 comments:

mark said...

On the ball as always Sarah. I'm sure you've noticed the recent pictures of Obama at the slave fortress in Ghana.

But why do we never hear about the islamic Barbary pirates who enslaved millions of Europeans over hundreds of years. Perhaps Obama would like to pay a visit to the Maltese island of Gozo where the entire population was abducted into slavery in 1551.

Ah, but there's no "White Guilt" mileage in that is there?

Anonymous said...

Your observation is quite correct. I left teaching in the UK when the current political correctness took off. I didn't ever make a fuss nor do I regret the years I taught in SE London. The issue of slavery is being used as a stick to beat 'white culture' and as a propaganda tool to silence opposition. Hence the 'racist' slurs.

The fact that slavery was learnt by the Southern Europeans from Islamic North Africa and that hundreds of thousands of whites, not only from the Mediterranean States (who still remember) but even from Cornwall and Ireland, were seized and sold by corsairs and barbary pirates up to the mid 18th century is a 'FACT'. One of the first acts of the US Navy in the early 1800's was to smoke out the pirates (that is why the US Marines were set up). Hence the 'shores of Tripoli' in the Marine Corps Anthem.
Slavery is cruel but not the invention or the monopoly of 'white' people. In fact, 'white' people have been the force in the past which has fought for human rights. Shame those rights are being politically subverted by those who wish to rewrite history to suit their own agenda.

misterfox said...

Outstanding,Sarah,outstanding. You are far and away one of our best writers. You know something I don't and thayt is how to keep your articles short which is better for the non-converted.

Sarah Maid of Albion said...

Thank you Mister Fox, coming from you that is praise indeed.

I am not sure about there being a value in brevity though, especially when there is so much to say.

Dr.D said...

This whole white guilt thing is a bunch of nonsense, and I see it quite different from the approved, PC image.

I am pretty nearly certain that one of my great grandfathers was a slave holder. I have been to the family farm, his farm, in the 1950s, where the (free) blacks still lived in total dependence on my family. The blacks were like children that had to be cared for; they were unable to look after themselves. So here we were, 90 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, these people are all free and independent, and yet they are totally dependent. Nothing had really changed because they did want it to change. They did not know how to live without the care and supervision of a white family to direct and provide for them.

So was slavery bad? Well, yes and no. It was bad in many respects, but it did some great things for the descendants of the slaves, as they have eventually matured, little by little. But they are still children, and they always will be. They have children's IQ.

I don't feel any guild about my great grandfather's slaves, not one bit. That was between him and them, and they are all long since dead.

Anonymous said...

It is shameful that history is wilfully disregarded on this matter. It is true to say that the issue of 'white' guilt and 'black' victimhood has become the way millions of children in our schools perceive their history. As a corrective, I offer just one lead:

"Between 1808 and 1860, the British West Africa Squadron seized aproximately 1,600 slave ships and freed 150,000 Africans who were aboard. Action was taken against African leaders who refused to agree to Treaties to outlaw the trade."

Examples in full detail from Admiralty Records are available on-line.

West Africa Squadron

Niger River Expedition 1841.

The fact is that up to 60% of Africans were enslaved to other Africans in Africa. During the classic Atlantic trade, the African Kings and tribal cheiftains sold off their surplus stock for trade goods.

Surely the reality of slavery should be taught. It is a travesty that 'white'culture should bear the charge of being uniquely malign up to the present day.

Talk of reparations and the like is just plain nonsense. In fact, there are millions who should be thankful for 'white' intervention

Afrikaner Broadcasting Corporation said...

Available at -Afrikaner Broadcasting Corporation:http://AfrikanerBroadcasting.blogspot.com

Ons Vir Jou Suid-Afrika / At Thy Will South Africa

http://afrikanerbroadcasting.blogspot.com/2009/05/ons-vir-jou-suid-afrika-at-thy-will_31.html

A documentary film on South Africa's social structure and history from 1652 - 2009.
Real footage and recordings of the respective eras and leaders such as Jan Smuts, Hendrik Verwoerd, John Voster, P.W. Botha, F.W. De Klerk & Eugene Terre'Blanche.

Including Revolution & Betrayal in South Africa:

http://afrikanerbroadcasting.blogspot.com/2009/06/revolution-betrayal-in-south-africa.html

Anonymous said...

Apartheid 2.0

Tim Johnston said...

Great article, Sarah

Anonymous said...

All you really have to say is at least the Europeans decided that slavery was morally wrong and outlawed it. You can't really say that for any other culture in the world. The Arabic world realied that they needed to ban slavery because of trade, not because it is morally unjust.

Also, I'd love to see Obama admit that the majority of the slave trade of Africa was Asia and not the New World. But of course that is not in his agenda...

fellist said...

Excellent post (as usual), Sarah.

I can't blog like you but I enjoy reading up on this stuff and aim to post excerpts from books that people may find useful.

I have begun a series of posts on White slavery at my blog archived under the label "slavery":

http://songlight-for-dawn.blogspot.com/search/label/Slavery

This bibliography from a now defunct website may prove useful too:

http://web.archive.org/web/20030211020819/free.freespeech.org/americanstateterrorism/bibliographies/WhiteSlavery.html

Anonymous said...

Mr. Expert,

Are you going to have a follow up post or article about this anytime soon? :)


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