Africans in America: The Terrible Transformation Response/Reflection

The video titled Africans in America: The Terrible Transformation thoroughly reassesses the history of slavery. The documentary tells of how slavery was brought to America, and of the conditions under which these slaves were forced to live. The trade that began in Africa was not initially focused on trading humans, but rather on gold. Gradually, the British took control and started trafficking Africans to their colonies in America. The conditions slaves lived under changed drastically from the original conditions when they first arrived to America compared to years after the slave trade had been functioning. This documentary re-examines the appalling social injustice …show more content…

“In america it seemed all men would be equal and free”

April 1607 colonists landed in jamestown and hoped to establish first english settlement

In the first 2 years the colonists learned they weren’t prepared to live in the new lands of America

The Dutch arrived bringing about 20 africans which the governor bought in exchange for food

In 1619 a mystery ship arrived on the Virginia coast, which had robbed a cargo of Africans, in which were traded for food. They had been baptized & since they were Christian they couldn’t be enslaved for life. They became indentured servants.

• Slaves were needed for tobacco plantations.

• Colony builders initially tended to rely on white indentured servants to cultivate the crops.

• The world the Africans entered was run by wealthy English men.

They were bound to a master by a contract defining length of service & conditions of servitude & were promised freedom after their contract was over.

• By 1624, the first negro child was born in the negro colony & was named William Tucker

Antonio (a slave) was one of the few who survived. Once his contract was over, he changed his name to Anthony Johnson, married a woman named Mary who lived/worked on a different plantation, & had kids.

• By 1640, Anthony & Mary were no longer servants & acquired their own estate in Virginia

The english definition of who could be