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Chapters 4 through 6 of Inhuman Bondage covers a large frame in the timeline of the African Slave trade. Davis shows the transitions of how the slaves were brought to new areas and how they lived in those new areas. Davis shows that slavery amongst Africans was not a new practice and their treatment, in some cases, was much better than it could have been if they were not taken from Africa.
Slaves that were taken from Africa were part of a culture where it was not unusual to be put into slavery. Rival tribes often took prisoners of war and turned them into slaves. The introduction of the European market did not bring about the slavery, but they did make it into a profitable business for many African chiefs. The trading of slaves did however increase the capture and warring between peoples in Africa. Those chiefs that were powerful enough wanted to make as much profit as they could by selling African slaves. The continued trade with the Europeans created an economy in Africa that became dependent on the trade of slaves. The increase of taking people to trade as slaves was problematic in many respects. The majority of slaves taken were male, changing the demographic. The continued wars were taxing on the people and many lives were lost, and of course many lives were ruined once sold as slaves.
Slaves in the Caribbean and places where work was hard were treated much worse than in some of the northern colonies. Those that had to work cultivating sugar cane had it worst of all. The work was intensive and almost nonstop during certain stages of cultivation. The hard work cost many their lives and made life miserable for those still working. Slave owners in such areas as the Caribbean also had to be a lot more strict. The population of slaves way out shadowed the population of white plantation owners. Examples had to be made and life was very hard.
In some of the northern colonies Davis makes it sound like life actually wasn’t that bad, at least at first. African slaves were actually treated much the same as white’s of their status. And those Africans were treated almost as equals if they gained any power or monetary status. It’s surprising that Africans of color were not treated badly because of their color. Davis makes this point a couple of times. He wants to make it clear that they were not treated differently for their skin in the beginning. Slaves were often given the opportunity to make money on the side and pay for their freedom. They were allowed to have their own small gardens and in some cases sections of the farm to make some money for themselves. Obviously the owners got a portion of what the slaves made, but it is better than what slaves were given later. This is something that I’ve never been taught growing up, so I found it interesting to read.