Module 3: Drawing the Color Line

In Chapter 2: Drawing the Color Line, Howard Zinn discusses how slavery was developed in the English colonies. He begins by describing that the Virginians of 1619 needed labor, to grow corn and tobacco. Since the English were outnumbered by the Indians, they had to resort to black slaves for labor. Apparently black enslavement was easy because Zinn explains that, “The blacks had been torn from their land culture, forced into a situation where the heritage of language, dress, custom, and family relations was bit by bit obliterated.” American slavery became “the most cruel form of slavery in history.” (Zinn 25)

According to Zinn, slavery in America became terribly cruel and absurd due to limitless profit that came from capitalistic agriculture; “the reduction of the slave to less than human status by the use of racial hatred, with that relentless clarity based on color, where white was master, black was slave.” Helpless black Africans were often captured, sold on the coast and packed onto slave ships. Many of them died of suffocation, suicide, etc during their transport overseas. Although one of every three blacks may have died during the terrible trip overseas, Zinn points out that it was still very profitable.

Despite the terrible trip overseas, the blacks were subject to a system that was “psychological and physical at the same time.” (Zinn 29) Zinn further explains the psychological and physical system that the blacks had to endure as slaves in America; he mentions that the blacks slaves were “taught discipline, to see blackness as a sign of subordination, to be awed by the power of the master, to merge their interest with the master’s, destroying their own individual needs.” (Zinn 29) Just as damaging as the psychological effects, the black slaves were physically forced to hard labor; breakup of the family; and constant whipping, burning, mutilation and death.

This is an example of what the slaves had to endure from their masters.

The inhumane practices toward the black slaves resulted in rebellions and escapes. A Virginia slave code in the 1700s warns slaves that if caught for escaping, the masters may at “their discretion shall think fit, for the reclaiming any such incorrigible slave, and terrifying others from the like practices…” (Zinn 29) At one point, during the early years of slavery, treatment of white indentured servants and black slaves were about the same. However, the American colonies prevented indentured white servants and black slaves from cooperating by passing special slave codes; The Virginia Assembly, “proclaimed that all white men were superior to black” and “went on to offer their social (but white) inferiors a number of benefits previously denied.” (Zinn 30) It was perhaps this turning point that divided and drew the “color line” because during 1660s, indentured white servants and black slaves formed conspiracies or planned escapes together, but the white elite always seemed to be one step ahead of the game. Hence, one can agree with Zinn that American slavery was the most cruel form of slavery in history.

1. Howard Zinn, A People's History of the United States, Volume I: American Beginnings to Reconstruction, The New Press, New York, 2003

2. http://answersinhistory.files.wordpress.com/2007/01/slave.jpg

Module 2: European Advantage

Being a biogeographer and evolutionary biologist, Jared Diamond attempts to show the correlations of history and science. Unlike most historians, Diamond chooses to tell stories using scientific evidence to support why some historical events may have occurred. He throws questions for readers to contemplate on, but also presents possible answers to help readers form their own opinions and thoughts. Diamond questions heavily on why Europeans conquered African Americans and American Indians and not the other way around. The apparent reasons that Diamond lists are that the Europeans had ships, political organization, writing, guns, steel swords, and horses. Of course, he also mentions that infectious disease killed about 95% of the New World’s Indian population.

Diamond further explains that most of our familiar epidemic diseases can sustain themselves only in large dense human populations concentrated into villages and cities, so many Native Americans living as hunters and gathers were never exposed to them and had not developed antibodies. He also goes on to explain that diseases like measles and TB evolved from diseases that domesticated animals got.

In Diamond’s talk about why human history unfold differently on different continents for the last 13,000 years, he discusses that the New World did not have as many animals that they could domesticate because in order to domesticate wild animals, there were many prerequisites like the animal has to have a diet that humans can supply, a rapid growth rate, etc. Also, Europe has the world's largest land mass and offered the wildest species.

Domesticated plants survival rates were stronger in Europe because their main axis is east/west. Plants (and animals) were able to easily adapt to other parts of Europe because they encountered the same day-length and climate. The New World, on the other hand, their main axis is north/south, so plants (or animals) domesticated in one area could not possibly survive in another due to differences in climate and such.

Domesticating plants and animals not only enabled Europe to increase their population size, but created food surpluses. With food surpluses, it provided more time for people to devote time to developing other things like farming, metallurgy, writing, swords and guns. Again, as already mentioned, it was probably farming and domesticating animals that lead to the acquired animal diseases. Therefore, the Europeans clearly had the advantage to defeat the resistance of the native people at the time. If they did not have the infectious diseases and such, perhaps the natives may have triumphed and continued to live their traditional ways.

Above all, Diamond approach in his talk about why human history unfold differently on different continents for the last 13,000 years analyzes the possible reasons as to why Europeans conquered African Americans and American Indians and not the other way around. He explains that the Europeans had ships, political organization, writing, guns, steel swords, horses, and perhaps the most deadly weapon, infectious diseases. He questions and probes different explanations leaving readers wondering. Diamond’s ideas and explanations are very thought provoking. Lastly, Diamond suggests that the events that unfolded are still in question “Why did history turn out that way, instead of the opposite way?” (Diamond 6)

Needless to say, this is not my first time creating a blog, but it is fun anyway. I am hoping to read interesting posts from fellow classmates.

My name is Mary. I was born in NY, but lived in Hawaii for most of my formative years. I moved to California 7 years ago with my family. I am trying to get an accounting degree at CSUEB, but due to extensive budget cuts, it is getting very hard to register for upper level classes. I like planning mini trips, running, and reading.