The black slaves (wk 9a)

The slavery and especially related to the black slaves, in Latin-America was a big problem because they were treated very badly, and they had very few rights.

The slaves where changed from the Pre-Columbians to the black people and the mixed race (of Spaniard and Pre-Columbian). In “La Nueva Granada”, the slaves where organized in spaces next to the house of their master or far away from the ranch. They made their own houses and in each one lived more than one family. In each home there were hundreds of slaves.

The master had to give to his slaves wardrobe and food, but “en la practica una y otra necesidad basica fue resuelta por los mismos negros las cuales debían cultivarse en tiempos de descanso” Colombia imagines de su diversidad (1492 a hoy, pg 94). Thanks to this, the black people not only had to give food to their family, but also to find the clothes.

When the black people came from Africa they were very weak because the trip was hard. Because of this “la compra y venta de un esclavo incluía denuncias y regateos sobre su salud ya fuera enfermedades adquiridas, males congenitos, defectos fisicos o defectos morales” Colombia imagines de su diversidad (1492 a hoy, pg 94). The relationship with the slaves was determined by the violence: “ arrancados de sus comunidades en Africa eran trasladados a los puertos de embarque por las compañías portuguesas, francesas, españolas o inglesas para ser vendidos en las colonias americanas” Colombia imagines de su diversidad (1492 a hoy, pg 100).

When the slaves went to the doctor, they were treated like garbage. “ La calificacion de inhabil, invalido e inutil que se registra en los cansos o inventarios son conceptos muy ambiguous ya que no estan referidos solo a fenomenos de vejez sino a algun tipo de enfermedad que convirtio en inutiles a los esclavos para ejecutar determinado tipo de trabajo”. Colombia imagines de su diversidad (1492 a hoy, pg 99).

The masters prefered to have a family of slaves, because they could have kids, and those kids became slaves when they grew up. “De ahi que la esclavitud no fue solo un factor de trabajo sino un factor de capital” Colombia imagenes de su diversidad (1492 a hoy, pg 100).

In this week the most important thing I would like you to remember is that black people where treated very badly, and their life was not fair because of all their work, their trades, and their masters. I always wonder, why did the Spaniards have to bring from Africa the black people? Why couldn’t they do the things by themselves?