アメリカを思い浮かべがちな奴隷制度ですが、それより以前のヨーロッパ、アフリカ、アメリカ原住民にも奴隷制度がありました。本書は13世紀のポルトガルによるアフリカ系民族の搾取から、アメリカの奴隷制度の歴史と廃止に至るまでを解説します。アメリカが直面した自由の確保と奴隷制度の正当化というモラルのジレンマは、果たしてアメリカ社会にいかなる影響を及ぼしたのでしょうか。
Europeans, Africans, and American Indians practiced slavery long before the first purchase of a captive African by a white land-owner in the American colonies; that, however, is the image of slavery most prevalent in the minds of Americans today. This Very Short Introduction begins with the Portuguese capture of Africans in the 1400s and traces the development of American slavery until its abolition following the Civil War. Historian Heather Andrea Williams draws upon the rich recent scholarship of numerous highly-regarded academics as well as an analysis of primary documents to explore the history of slavery and its effects on the American colonies and later the United States of America. Williams examines legislation that differentiated American Indians and Africans from Europeans as the ideology of white supremacy flourished and became an ingrained feature of the society. These laws reflected the contradiction of America's moral and philosophical ideology that valorized freedom on one hand and justified the enslavement of a population deemed inferior on another. She explores the tense and often violent relationships between the enslaved and the enslavers, and between abolitionists and pro-slavery advocates as those who benefited from the institution fought to maintain and exert their power.
Williams is attentive to the daily labors that enslaved people performed, reminding readers that slavery was a system of forced labor with economic benefits that produced wealth for a new nation, all the while leaving an indelible mark on its history.
Chapter 1-Old Worlds Collide through the Atlantic Slave Trade
Chapter 2-Putting Slavery Into Place in the American Colonies
Chapter 3-Early Challenges to Slavery in America
Chapter 4-America Built on Slavery
Chapter 5-Making Life Bearable
Chapter 6—Domination and Resistance
Chapter 7—Taking Slavery Apart
Epilogue
ISBN : 9780199922680
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