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Early days of slavery

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By Kylecovey SmithPublished about a year ago 4 min read
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Early days of slavery
Photo by British Library on Unsplash

The battle between slavery and freedom is the most engaging theme in African-American literature and history itself. Every American today possess the right of freedom, however the colonial period in the Old South followed a highly restricted code when it came to freedom, as slavery was at it’s peak during this time. African-American literature became a prevalent aspect during this time due to the controversial dialogue within its letters.

The background of the literature is the abundance of eloquent social intuition that illuminates the appraisal of American history and identity. The early publications by Black writers addressed complicated affairs of power and voice in colonial America and industrial Britain. The Colonial period itself originates from the establishment of Jamestown leading into the decade preceding the American Revolution. (Unit 3).

Most writings focused on religion and history some of the most notable writers of this period include William Bradford, Phillis Wheatley and Anne Bradstreet. Particular works such as “A Narrative of the Uncommon Sufferings, and Surprizing Deliverance of Briton Hammon, a Negro Man”. This is a narrative that is often cited as the first slave narrative by an African-American as it was published in Boston, Massachusetts in 1760. It recounts Hammon as a servant rather than a full slave as his semi-enslavement included payment as cook and other jobs done for his master. (Frances).

The colonial period saw the development of African culture take flight through the assimilation of Christianity, a mixture of defiance toward enslavers, and practicing native African customs. The art of storytelling focused on the survival of slaves, and it was the main way Black Americans could pass down history to future generations due to being forbidden to read and write.

Black writers initiated their version of literature in the United States by implementing their thoughts and ideals in the feud between England and the American colonies. They advocated the statement written in the Declaration of Independence, “all men are created equal”, should extend to Black Americans just as much as White Americans. The African-American women in the colonial period not only suffered the hardship of slavery but extreme sexism too. They were treated as not only working slaves in the houses and plantations but as sex slaves to their masters.

Phillis Wheatley, an African born Boston slave who became the first African- American woman to publish a book of poetry, was a huge component in formulating an argument of social justice through her 1773 work “Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral”. This was the same time Wheatley became a free woman after the passing of John Wheatley, as indicated by a letter she wrote in 1773 supporting the Revolutionary War. (Wheatley). Her book was aimed to prove that Negroes were not intrinsically inferior to white people in terms of spirit. That means expressing the greatness of blacks and the criticizing the negativity of racial injustice and gender discrimination. Thus becoming an icon of feminism and literature.

While writers like Wheatley saw slavery as a hindrance within the colonial period in gaining absolute freedom and heroism. Olaudah Equiano gives a firsthand experience of an enslaved person and the endeavor to gain freedom. Olaudah Equiano published his autobiography “The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano” in 1789. He was a British-African who is widely known for denouncing slavery, and a major contributor to the rise in popularity for African-American literature in United States and Britain as well. The result was enhanced efforts to establish a distinguished Black voice within an ambience where commentary on the events in America gained noteworthy acclaim. These endeavors constructed techniques of individuality and assertiveness done by African-Americans in the colonial period.

Equiano stands as a prolific abolitionist due to being a member of the 12 “Sons of Africa”, and one of the motivations of his autobiography was condemning the Atlantic Slave-trade and have readers see it as a sadistic foundation. (Equiano). His work is revolutionary because Equiano traces the realism and carnage of sailing on a slave ship across the Atlantic Ocean; as well as visiting various cultures and witnessing the different treatments to slaves in order to present an accurate interpretation on the dynamic of slavery. Slave trade was a focal point of the colonial period with a long history that spans over 400 years. (Unit 3).

The slave trade affected Africa socially, politically and economically. The social aspect resulted from extreme distrust and insecurity amongst African groups as they could not be completely faithful to each other due to fear of one of them being a possible spy for slave traders. (Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade). As well as having to mix their native language with European language.

Authors have made it known that the Atlantic slave trade is a hard-to-understand phenomenon due to the ambiguous nature on whether it is morally reprehensible or not. Africa was clueless of the tri-continental trade links between powers. This ignorance is what led to an abundance of Africans being captured and sold into slavery, which helped to develop Europe and the United States, but led to centuries of slavery and torment. Finally, writers of African-American literature express the mental and physical anguish of slavery through various perspectives, but also their alternative quests to being liberated from the injustice forever.

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About the Creator

Kylecovey Smith

Historian, Linguist, Author (Voyages of the 997 & The Method Mission), YouTuber/TikToker (Master Mojo) and now Vocal writer enjoy and critique my writing as please.

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