When will Britain, Spain, Portugal and Africa pony up for their part in slavery?

Question

It wasn't Americans who started slavery. An American ended slavery. Amricans began the freedom movement and we still fight for freedom. Will blacks take their fight to those countries and demand retribution? What are blacks doing about the genocide in Africa? What are the blacks doing about any of the injustice in Africa?

Answer 1

An American ended slavery? Americans began the freedom movement? On which planet?

"The trade in slaves in England was made illegal in 1102, and the last form of enforced servitude (villeinage) had disappeared in Britain by the beginning of the 17th century. However, by the 18th century black slaves began to be brought into London and Edinburgh as personal servants. They were not bought or sold, and their legal status was unclear until 1772, when the case of a runaway slave named James Somerset forced a legal decision. The owner, Charles Steuart, had attempted to abduct him and send him to Jamaica to work on the sugar plantations. While in London Somerset had been baptised and his godparents issued a writ of habeas corpus. As a result Lord Chief Justice William Murray, Lord Mansfield, of the Court of King's Bench had to judge whether the abduction was legal or not under English Common Law as there was no legislation for slavery in England. In his judgement of 22 June 1772 he declared: "Whatever inconveniences, therefore, may follow from a decision, I cannot say this case is allowed or approved by the law of England; and therefore the black must be discharged." It was thus declared that the condition of slavery did not exist under English law. This judgement emancipated the 10 to 14 thousand slaves in England and also laid down that slavery contracted in other jurisdictions (such as the American colonies) could not be enforced in England....
Despite the disappearance of slavery in Great Britain, in the American and West Indian colonies of the British Empire, slavery was a way of life.

By 1783, an anti-slavery movement was beginning among the British public. Dr Beilby Porteus, Bishop of Chester and later Bishop of London, used the opportunity afforded by preaching the 1783 Anniversary sermon of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (SPG) at St Mary-le-Bow, Cheapside, London to issue a call to the Church of England to cease its involvement in the slave trade and to formulate a workable policy to draw attention to and improve the conditions of the Afro-Caribbean slaves on the society's plantations in Barbados. The same year, the first English abolitionist organisation was founded by a group of Quakers..."

Also check out the (British) Slave Trade Act of 1807, the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833, and the fact that from 1839, the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society worked to outlaw slavery in other countries and to pressure the government to help enforce the suppression of the slave trade by declaring slave traders pirates and pursuing them. This organization continues today as Anti-Slavery International.

So, not an American, then...

And don't even get me STARTED on your assertion that "Amricans [sic] began the freedom movement". The US's Bill of Rights is largely based upon a mainly defunct piece of English legislation signed in 1215, and people were certainly campaigning for their freedoms before that!

Fair play, other countries should certainly take more responsibility for their role in the slave trade. But please, think you make any wild assertions which only weaken your argument.

Answer 2

Lydia, some of your facts are not quite right.
For a start, slavery is as old as man, practically, with the strong using the weak.
The Bible tells us of slavery in Egypt, etc. Ancient China, Ancient Rome, Ancient Egypt all were guilty.
Americans may not have started slavery exactly, but they surely did not tolerate the Native Americans did they?
Arabs gathered Africans together for slavery in the Americas. Indeed, they continue to do so even now, selling the poor souls up in North Africa.
American plantation owners are the ones who bought the slaves, so they are the people who kept the trade going. Eventually, Jamaca, Babados, etc., land owners bought slaves for their sugar plantations.
A Welsman, Captain Morgan, a former slave trader, saw the error of his ways and fought long and hard to abolish slavery. He was one of many people of all races, who fought slavery.
The American Civil War was not even started in order to abolish slavery - that was just hype to try and raise more support. Check it out.
When slavery was abolished, many American and West Indies slaves were given a portion of land on which to work and live. Isn't that retribution?
Now, to answer your question....I am not at all sure what "pony up" means. I don't really think there is any point in apologising today for slavery, because the poor souls who did the slaving are not here to accept. If they are listening to all this from Heaven, then they must know how sorry most of us feel.
If blacks (your word, not mine) fight for retribution, I think they will just be jumping on an old band wagon, with no good reason. Why should they be given money (and from whom?) for the sweat shed by their ancestors? Who knows their Family Tree enough to prove their ancestry, anyway?
Some are putting their energy into trying to fight against the genocide and injustice in Africa; unsuccessful though their hard efforts are.

Answer 3

Everyone should "forgive and forget" but its not possible, too many people have been affected badly from historical happenings. Don't forget so these deeds will not happen again. This is a tough question, I know it was a terrible part of the world's history but if all historical injustices were to be fixed this would cause a lot of problems. One example is the Spanish Inquisition, do Spaniards have to compensate to all the living relatives of those killed all those hundred years ago?

Apparently Mauritania only banned slavery in the 1980's, and still happens today.

Answer 4

No, American didn't START slavery, but they sure as hell enjoyed the fruits of it! I even remember a Civil War in that neck of the woods where the southern states fought to keep it going! THE LAND OF THE FREE..UNLESS YOU'RE A SLAVE!

And as for the "Americans began the freedom movement" I can think of many peoples who would heartily disagree with that statement, starting with the Native Americans! If you want to start the "apologyfest" going, then the Americans should be one of the first in line!

In any event, all this "retrospective apologising" is a load of bollocks. Next we'll be asking God to apologise making Adam & Eve...

Answer 5

When will people stop making stupid questions?

Do you really expect the 'opressed blacks' to fight....who? The desendants of the slavers?

Shall we organise a big family tree for all the cases against slavery?

I think you need more sources for your history research.

And I would find an apology from people who had nothing to do with slavery at all, rather insulting, as its utterly meaningless.

Perhaps Japan should seek retribution for 2 nucular bombs?

A silly comment, but Im sure you get my drift.

Edit: I see the poster has many negative marks this week. I presume its just another poo stirrer.

Answer 6

Right, what fight?????????????As you said, slavery was ended by an American years ago!Why should people who have never experienced slavery go and demand retribution from the countries named in your question from people who have nothing to do with it. There has been alot questions on here recently about slavery and I'm getting tired of it. It happened years ago. People now in Europe, wouldn't stand for it!And it isn't just black people who were enslaved many cultures were enslaved for years, but they don't go on about it. And did you know, black people started buying and selling black people, first, to the white man, for profit. So who should they be demanding retribution off of, black people or white people??

Answer 7

Probably at the same time that west coast black africans give us a refund for the slaves they sold to us. Actually Wilberforce ended slavery first, throughout the British Empire.Most of the injustice in Africa is being caused by blacks-Mugabe being the prime example.
God, why am I bothering to answer this?????

Answer 8

Who sold the slaves to the Americans and English ?

Answer - other Africans
An American only ended slavery in America, the rest of the world had stopped the practice years before.

Answer 9

Is it only "blacks" that live in Africa. Why should the look for retribution, its in the past and I don't think any of them alive today were actual slaves.

What are you doing about the genocide in Africa.

anyway a f u c k e n daft question IMO.

Answer 10

This idea of retribution is repugnant. No one in America(I don't believe, unless they are increadibly old) has had anything to do with past slavery or forcing anyone to leave their homeland. As for the other countries, unless it is the current situation, applies also. If you are unhappy with where your at, move.

As for the current problems in Africa, that is a world problem not just a race problem.