Anthony Johnson: A Negro From Modern-Day Angola

The first African Americans that were put to work in Jamestown were not treated in the way that people traditionally think of early slavery. In fact they were treated just as the indentured servants that had come from England were treated. This does not mean that they were treated with any sympathy or given easy work, but that they just were not discriminated by the color of their skin. In the beginning of the 1600s all servants had the same dream, to one day be free. In 1641, a black slave by the name of Anthony Johnson, was freed and given his own land to start his new life as an American (Johnson et al, Africans, 39). At this point in time the only things that separated people were if you were an owner or a servant and if you were a Christian or not. At some point in the mid 1700s something changed the way that the colonists saw things. All of a sudden there was no longer equal treatment of white and black slaves, the darker the color of ones skin was the worse off their life became. In 1640, three slaves tried escaping to Maryland but were unsuccessful, when they were brought upon the court two of the

In chapter one “Patriarch on Pungoteage Creek” it starts to tell the place that slavery had held in the New world. Slavery was in every county in the New colonies. North American Slavery helped develop the South Atlantic Trading System. In Chapter two “Race Relations as Status and Process” is when the book starts to get a little more interesting. The only way that we know that Anthony Johnson or any of the other names mentioned in the book were black is because the county clerk put beside their name

(CL) These indentured servants were not only white but also black and regardless of race they were treated equally poor by their masters on the large plantation. (CL) Although it was unlikely for an indentured servant to survive the time of their contract due to malnutrition or poor housing, of those that did, a black man was equally qualified to attain land as a white man. (CL) One black man, Anthony Johnson, even owned indentured servants of his own. (CL) As the situation was in the early to mid 1600's the large gap in society existed not amongst black and white people, but rather between the rich and the poor. (CL) There was in fact a feeling of commonality or perhaps camaraderie between the poor at this point in history regardless of race because they were united by a common experience.

Anthony Johnson was a black man who arrived in Virginia around 1621 and was purchased to work as a slave in the tobacco fields of the Bennett Plantation. At that time he was merely known as “Antonio a Negro”, as it wasn’t common for black slaves to have last names. On March 22nd, 1622, an Indian attack on the Bennett plantation left only 12 surviving slaves, one of them being Anthony. In that same year a woman named Mary arrived at the plantation. Being that she was the only woman living at the Bennett plantation in 1625, Anthony could be considered fortunate to have received her as his wife. Together they had at least four children. It isn’t known how Anthony received his full name of Anthony Johnson, but the

The Chesapeake area in the seventeenth century was a unique community that was almost absent of racism. In this community, at this time, property was the central and primary definition of one’s place in society. The color of one’s skin was not a fundamental factor in being a well respected and valued member of the community. Virginia’s Eastern Shore represented a very small fellowship of people that were not typical of the Southern ideals during this time period and gave free blacks owning property a great deal of respect and merit usually equal to that of any white man around.

T.H. Breen’s and Stephen Innes’s book “Myne Owne Ground” did an outstanding job of showing readers the differences in perspectives of African people living in Virginia, one of the thirteen original colonies. It went in depth and showed how an indentured African person was competent and was capable of acquiring a wealth comparable to what a wealthy white person has. However, it would never be recognized by the general white population. There are two main themes in this book, whether the society, which was introduced in this book, was color blind or not. On one hand, the authors made an argument that the African people was able to live normally and be viewed as relatively equal to white if they were rich and owned plenty properties. On the

People are judged through their actions and characteristics, but racism can easily blur a person’s perspective. In Almost Free: A Story About Family and Race in Antebellum Virginia, Samuel Johnson, a former slave, fights for his freedom with the help of influential white friends he made throughout his life. Eventually he buys his freedom and petitions the court to stay in Virginia, where his family resides. Even after emancipated, he works hard to free his family and petitions the court in their cause. Despite his relationships, family values, and law abiding, Samuel Johnson’s skin color ultimately acts as boundary in his Virginia society.

Breen implies that Anthony Johnson's accomplishments were great but held no place in a predominantly white colony and I will have to agree with his assumption. The making of black gentlemen in the seventeenth century would have to take a back seat to the white's self centered ideals. It was obvious that whites held most of the power and with that power were able to decide much of a black man's life especially his status in society. That status would hover above black slaves and indentured servants but still stay beneath any white

Slavery was abolished after the Civil War, but the Negro race still was not accepted as equals into American society. To attain a better understanding of the events and struggles faced during this period, one must take a look at its' literature. James Weldon Johnson does an excellent job of vividly depicting an accurate portrait of the adversities faced before the Civil Rights Movement by the black community in his novel “The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man.” One does not only read this book, but instead one takes a journey alongside a burdened mulatto man as he struggles to claim one race as his own.

Throughout history, African Americans both free and enslaved were not treated equally nor permitted with the same rights as white men. African Americans were enslaved and not allowed to vote or hold public office. Since the 15th century, African Americans have been treated less than human, some even experienced brutal punished for justifiable mistakes. The use of African American slave labor was an enormous contribution to agriculture and labor. It became a part of southern state’s economy within America. Additionally, African Americans were forced or born into slavery where they endured harsh working conditions with zero pay and often times were punished by their masters. Even slaves that became emancipated or paid for their freedom were also treated differently than whites. Notably, blacks did not have the same privileges as whites and were forced to carry a “freedom card” wherever they went. Failing to do so would lead to severe consequences, such as being forced back into slavery. Once African Americans were considered free, they faced additional discriminations such as not being able to vote or serve as a figure in public office. Due to this and additional factors, African Americans were almost entirely incapable of defending themselves against whites. Since the start of the 17th century, African Americans, free and enslaved were punished for their skin color and were considered the lowest scale by not being allowed to the same opportunities and rights and white men.

And in the cases of Alabama, there were at least 100,000 African American men between the 1890s and the 1930s were leased or sold by the state of Alabama to coal mines, iron ore mines, sawmills, timber harvesting camps, cotton plantations, turpentine stills, all across the state. And so at least 200,000 African Americans, just in Alabama, were forced into the system, just in the most informal ways. And there are very well documented records of thousands of Black men who died under these circumstances during that period of time. Stories of men like Jonathan Davis, who in the fall of 1901, left his cotton field trying to reach the home of his wife's parents, where she was being cared for and would soon die of an illness. He was trying to reach her before she died. And on his way to the town, which was 15 or 20 miles away where she was being taken care of, he was accosted on the road by a constable, and essentially is kidnapped from the roadway and sold to a white farmer a few days later for $45. This is something that is named in the book to dozens of people that happened to. It's clear some version of that sort of kidnapping happened to hundreds and hundreds of other African Americans. And again, all of that is just in Alabama, and there were versions of this going on in all of the

The article “The Negro Digs Up His Past’’ by Arthur schomburg on 1925, elaborates more on the struggles of slavery as well as how history tend to be in great need of restoration through mindfully exploring on the past. The article, however started with an interesting sentence which caught my attention, especially when the writer says ‘’The American Negro must remark his past in order to make his future’’ (670). This statement according the writer, explains how slavery took away the great deal freedom from people of African descendant, through emancipation and also increase in diversity. The writer (Arthur Schomburg) however, asserts that “the negro has been throughout the centuries of controversy an active collaborator, and often a pioneer, in the struggle for his own freedom and advancement” (670).

The United States of America is known for its claims of democracy, equality, and freedom for all of it’s citizens. These claims are the foundation of America’s independence and essentially its entire history. But “claims” are simply all they were in history. While many achieved equal democracy and freedom, the African-American population of the US was exempt from these “inalienable rights” and heavily oppressed by society. The cruelty of slavery and oppression as a whole reached its peak in the 19th century bringing upon the abolitionist movement, which eventually aided in the historic removal of slavery and the continued fight for equal right of citizenship for African-Americans. Of the many abolitionists who fought for

During the 14th century, with the first contact with Portuguese, there was a main influx of people. The first Portuguese navigator was Diogo Cao in 1482, Angola turned a link in trade with India and Southeast Asia. Then, It was a main source of slaves for Portugal new world colony, Brazil, for the Americans, including the United States. At the end of the 19th century, happened a massive forced labour system had replaced formal slavery and would continue until banned in 1961. During a short period, 1641-1648, Angola was occupied by the Dutch. In fact, Angola was under the control of Portugal until 1975. After the World War 2, political movements began to demand more rights and independence. Portugal refused and fighting broke out. After years

Native Americans owned African slaves and would have slave trades with the whites. By 1824 it