Slavery

Great, because so many ignore that, and that's why it's so ironic for them to speak of liberal "revisionists". Both sides tend to focus on their cause and ignore the other side. I don't think the liberals are denying African evil, but that is not the point to them. I think alot of it is the fact that it's the West that is in power, and the Africans who are largely downtrodden. What their real mistake is is expecting people to have a sense of obligation to them. We are individualistic, and fell that it's every man for himself in the present. The liberals are idealistic.

Originally, the slavery of the blacks was indentured servanthood, and in this scheme there both white slaves and free blacks who owned slaves. But then somewhere along the lines it devolved into a strictly anti-black racist agenda. Some blacks may have been able to retain their freedom, but the majority of the south was harshly hostile to them (look at the N word, the Klan, lynchings, later segregation). It seemed to be the whole lifeblood of their society.

 

I was always taught in school that it started out as indentured, then gradually became chattel. I forgot the exact sequence of how it progressed, but perhaps it was after the Spaniards you speak of saw that the Indians couldn't last as slaves that they then decided to go after the Africans. Perhaps indentured was the English colonists' original system, and it was the Spaniards' way is what won out.
Your last point is the truth that needs to be emphasized.

 

God dispises action in which humans take others into beasts of burden. However, God calls for all to be faithful servants, even slaves to their masters. Being in a bad situation does not give one the right to act badly. Note that God never instructed the Hebrews to rise up against Pharaoh. God took care of that.

Martin Luther King is a good example. He saw a law that was immoral. Rather than rise up against the government, he civilly disobeyed. In other words, he broke an immoral law, and accepted the punishment freely. Eventually, the realization that those laws were immoral became a realization to all. He was a faithful servant to the law, not because he broke the law, but he accepted responsibility for breaking the law.

 

God told Abraham that his(Abraham's) people will turn away from Him(God) and will be led into slavery. Centuries later Moses comes along and frees the Hebrew people. It broke God's heart to do it but He dealt severely with Pharoah. Its interesting that God sometimes allowed His people to be led into slavery--but when the appointed time came--He always dealt severely with the captors.

As for the slave issue in the USA--Well, here in Mississippi some folks still like to fly the Stars and Bars. But if the history books are read correctly--the last flag that General Lee waved in General Grant's face--was white!