Defending the Jordan Theory vs. the Slave Theory
...skin. When they found this had no effect, they searched the bible for answers. They claimed it was a result of the curse which was placed on Ham, and that Africans were his descendants. This idea infers slavery, but does not explain skin color. Englishmen also found it shocking that even when Africans were bred with the British, the children were always black. Even miscarriages were dark in color. Another important factor was religion. The people of England were Christians. Since Africans had their own religion or no religion at all, they were seen as heathens. Englishmen believed that if they were to convert them, they would no longer be as different. Although heathenism was not the main problem, it added to the belief that Africans were uncivilized. English and African cultures differed by many factors including belief, clothing, housing, language and life styles. The people of England saw them as savages and thought that if they changed their surroundings, their behavior would improve as well. When slavery came into practice, the English justified it by claiming Africans were savages. At the same time the English discovered Africans, they also discovered apes. They thought the two were very similar and believed that Africans were the descendants of apes, or that apes were descendants of Africans. They thought Africans practiced bestiality and they were lustful peoples. The English were also shocked by their lack of clothing and ease of childbirth. They used these observations as further proof that these people were “libidinous”. Another popular theory is the Slave Theory. This idea claims that slavery was created to fuel our country economically. At first, the Africans were brought over to work fields as indentured servants. Once their time of servitude was completed, they earned th...