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Assignment 3

In Chapter 1 of Jennifer Morgan’s novel, she discusses how it wasn’t until European colonization/influence that African Americans – especially women were led to believe that they were inferior, because they did not look the same. They noticed a racial inequality as a result of this. Europeans were led to believe at this time period that they were superior in some ways because of the harsh treatment of the African Americans. As a result of this racism and brute labor, bills that became laws were passed to reinforce the harsh treatment of the African Americans. Morgan also writes although there is a distinct concept of races biologically speaking, that should not ratify how humanity should be like. Several people in this chapter have varying opinions of how they saw the black people during this time. For example, one Englishman saw a black woman in the Cape Verde islands and marveled at her beauty. However, people such as Lynda Boose and Peter Erickson did not view black woman at this time as people to look up to.  They viewed them as assets for their marketable labor and fertility. Not only were black women racially discriminated against, but indigenous people to Amerindia were too, and were called wild or savage. Additionally, biblical references were made to black women describing them as a symbol of the devil. Moreover, Native Americans, those indigenous to our country were described as cannibalistic for eating one another and was characterized as savagery.  The West Indies and Jamaica have also put black women to labor use and have become  profitable lands. There was a wide cultural difference between England and Jamaica in terms of black beauty. It was very hard during this time period for the Europeans to let go of this tragedy of thought. Ultimately, exploitation of the Africans for labor have led to a superiority complex of the Europeans.