Africa was raped and then robbed; it is difficult to know how many innocent Africans were taken as slaves across the seas. Historians tend to think that the population of Africa is less than it would have being due to the slave trade.
It has being said that Africans sold Africans to the Europeans. We have being brainwashed to think that we are responsible for our enslavement. They would say that African chiefs and kings sold slaves for gin, western goods and even weapons. The truth of the matter is there were some Africans who collaborated with the Europeans; however there were many African leaders who tried to prevent and fight the slave trade. The Europeans played on our minds and began to set African tribes against the other by giving them weapons. If you were a King, you would defend your Kingdom….Right? It’s called the GUN TRADE CYCLE. All of these benefited one set of people, THE EUROPEAN
The fact is no African country ever had a slave economy; no society in Africa ever had its principle mode as slave production it did not exist in Africa, SLAVE TRADE IS WHAT THE EUROPEANS INVENTED.
There was no concept as “shackled” slavery in Africa; it has being said that we enslaved each other in Africa before the Europeans came. That was not “shackled slavery”, that was a form of domestic servant and it was not about a total desecration of an individuals integrity. Africans used slaves back then to work on their farms and in the house, there were not subjected to mental brutality as they were always part of the family and not regarded even less than dogs and pigs. Do you know that slaves in Europe and America were not even in the same category as the farm animals. The animals got better treatment than THAT MAN WITH THE BLACK FACE, BROAD NOSE AND NAPPY HAIR……THAT COULD HAVE BEING YOUR DIRECT ANCESTOR.
In 1789, Oladuah Equiano wrote about being born in Benin and was enslaved by two African families before taken to the coast and then sold to the Europeans, he wrote that there were loads of differences slavery in Africa and slavery in Europe.
“There is no comparison, in the African system; the slave was part of the family and the slavement was not permanent but in Europe, I have witnessed the most abominable cruelty ever imposed on any human” The Interesting Narrative, and a former slave by Oladuah Equiano
To take somebody away by force from their community is most salvage act ever and we should not forget that. They destroyed towns, villages, lineages, great works of art, stories, and history, there are some songs we never heard, some stories were never told, and some histories taken away for ever.
The most horrible things happened at Elmina Castle (It was the first trading post built on the Gulf of Guinea in GHANA, so is the oldest European building in existence below the Sahara. First established as a trade settlement, the castle later became one of the most important stops on the route of the Atlantic Slave Trade.).
Right in the castle was a CHURCH, around the church were dungeons filled with slaves chained and shackled to the grounds of the dungeons. On Sunday mornings, one would have heard the wails and the moans of those Africans in bondage combined with the so called sacred hymns of the Christian Europeans.
Slavery has affected me in so many ways, it affected my ancestors when they were taken off the shores of Africa, yes we returned and we formed a family again, ALAKIJA, however, I will not stop raising awareness about the horrible things that were done to us, we(Africans) built Europe, London will not be London but for our(Africans) work, wall street, New York will not trade if we(Africans) never built those walls, so take pride in your heritage……we have come a long way and YES WE CAN do anything, even becoming the president of the USA.
You ask me to forget the cry
You ask me to forget the pain
You ask me to forget the blood shed
You ask me to forget the sorrow
You ask me to forget the struggle
You ask me to forget my land
Then you are asking that I forget myself.
By eniola alakija
It has being said that Africans sold Africans to the Europeans. We have being brainwashed to think that we are responsible for our enslavement. They would say that African chiefs and kings sold slaves for gin, western goods and even weapons. The truth of the matter is there were some Africans who collaborated with the Europeans; however there were many African leaders who tried to prevent and fight the slave trade. The Europeans played on our minds and began to set African tribes against the other by giving them weapons. If you were a King, you would defend your Kingdom….Right? It’s called the GUN TRADE CYCLE. All of these benefited one set of people, THE EUROPEAN
The fact is no African country ever had a slave economy; no society in Africa ever had its principle mode as slave production it did not exist in Africa, SLAVE TRADE IS WHAT THE EUROPEANS INVENTED.
There was no concept as “shackled” slavery in Africa; it has being said that we enslaved each other in Africa before the Europeans came. That was not “shackled slavery”, that was a form of domestic servant and it was not about a total desecration of an individuals integrity. Africans used slaves back then to work on their farms and in the house, there were not subjected to mental brutality as they were always part of the family and not regarded even less than dogs and pigs. Do you know that slaves in Europe and America were not even in the same category as the farm animals. The animals got better treatment than THAT MAN WITH THE BLACK FACE, BROAD NOSE AND NAPPY HAIR……THAT COULD HAVE BEING YOUR DIRECT ANCESTOR.
In 1789, Oladuah Equiano wrote about being born in Benin and was enslaved by two African families before taken to the coast and then sold to the Europeans, he wrote that there were loads of differences slavery in Africa and slavery in Europe.
“There is no comparison, in the African system; the slave was part of the family and the slavement was not permanent but in Europe, I have witnessed the most abominable cruelty ever imposed on any human” The Interesting Narrative, and a former slave by Oladuah Equiano
To take somebody away by force from their community is most salvage act ever and we should not forget that. They destroyed towns, villages, lineages, great works of art, stories, and history, there are some songs we never heard, some stories were never told, and some histories taken away for ever.
The most horrible things happened at Elmina Castle (It was the first trading post built on the Gulf of Guinea in GHANA, so is the oldest European building in existence below the Sahara. First established as a trade settlement, the castle later became one of the most important stops on the route of the Atlantic Slave Trade.).
Right in the castle was a CHURCH, around the church were dungeons filled with slaves chained and shackled to the grounds of the dungeons. On Sunday mornings, one would have heard the wails and the moans of those Africans in bondage combined with the so called sacred hymns of the Christian Europeans.
Slavery has affected me in so many ways, it affected my ancestors when they were taken off the shores of Africa, yes we returned and we formed a family again, ALAKIJA, however, I will not stop raising awareness about the horrible things that were done to us, we(Africans) built Europe, London will not be London but for our(Africans) work, wall street, New York will not trade if we(Africans) never built those walls, so take pride in your heritage……we have come a long way and YES WE CAN do anything, even becoming the president of the USA.
You ask me to forget the cry
You ask me to forget the pain
You ask me to forget the blood shed
You ask me to forget the sorrow
You ask me to forget the struggle
You ask me to forget my land
Then you are asking that I forget myself.
By eniola alakija
2 comments:
TRUE DEEP WORDS FREAL.... I DINT KNO YOU COULD WRITE LIKE THIS O... makes my blog look like shit..lol
Like i will always say.. you an amazing writer! my very ownLangston hughes! u know u will always be "5".. u've been promoted!lol
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