Slavery
To reveal slavery explicitly,
We must delve to the start of its history,
Civilisation of ancient Sumer was maintained by slavery in 3500 B.C,
It would seem predisposed that those seen as underneath superiority,
Like the slaves of Egypt 2000 B.C are stopped from advancement and owning as little a commodity as property.
It is ironic how fundamental to society were and are ‘migrants’?
Such as the slaves of Greece 750 B.C captured by pirates,
753 B.C started the African Invasion by Rome taking 2 million,
Taken from the Sahara and the North, born to a slave made you a slave, no matter how normal a civilian,
Some retained humanely humility, freeing slaves with demeanour,
404 B.C, 8,000 freed by a Roman Christian woman Messalina,
However many could not wait for divine intervention,
135 B.C Sicily, 6,000 slaves rebel stating their own prevention,
Some of you whom call yourself European might be a slave descendent,
In 73 B.C, Spartacus owned a group of Celtic, Thracian and German slaves, but this is no appeasing amendment,
Religion is a contested issue, especially in its previous state,
Especially when you realise in 395 A.D British pagan slave boys were purchased by Pope Gregory the Great,
In 1402, Canary Islands were discovered and utilised,
Through forced African Labour of whom the Portuguese colonised,
1447 With local African rulers, agreements were made,
For slaves and goods, In 1485 Benin started the trade,
1492 Columbus discovers the “New World” supposedly,
However in 1494, Spanish were denied access to colonisation, due to a French treaty,
An influx of slaves was none the less due to Spain,
In 1510 King Ferdinand purchases from Portuguese, 250 African slaves,
For those of us who notice difference in West Indian dialects, look to 1562,
Englishman John Hawkins, orchestrated the massive accumulation of slaves from Africa to the Spanish colonies in the West Indies too,
An eighty year war, Dutch against Portuguese, 1568 to 1648,
The prize being parts of Brazil and African slave supplying areas, whose purposes were deemed innate,
The Dutch won continuing to import slaves to North America, which will leave most irate,
Around 89,000 imported slaves, 1672 marked the British Royal Africa Society,
Establishing forts on the African coasts starting 1673,
In 1730 Britain’s inevitable dominance arises, and between 1690 and 1807, 2.8 million slaves were traded,
In 1737, 700 slaves on wrecked Dutch ship Leusden never made it,
1760 marked two important events with 425,000 Africans taken to Cuba and Brazil by USA,
The other was ‘Tacky’s Rebellion’, a revolt in the British Caribbean colonies resulting in a very bloody day,
Slaves being thrown overboard on ships were a regular occurrence,
But 1781, The ‘Zong’ atrocity was different, 232 slaves thrown overboard for compensation insurance,
Haiti’s year was 1791, burning over a thousand plantations and killing many, of whom were white,
Many more blacks were killed in response, but slavery was abolished by the French because a looming Spanish-English invasion induced fright,
Blindness is rare, but in 1799 upon French ship La Rodeur 39 slaves suffered,
Going blind resulting in them being thrown overboard and this stayed covered,
The 1800’s marked supposed abolitions of slavery, 1807 was the British,
1817 British compensate Spain £400,000 to end this,
In 1822 a slave rebellion was led by Denmark Vassey in South Carolina, USA,
1823, 47 slaves hanged in Demerara in one day,
1832, 100 Jamaican slaves were executed after revolt,
1833, Duke Wellington opposing abolition showed the bill having no result.
However August 29th, Abolition becomes law in Britain properly,
£20 million was paid in compensation for loss of ‘property’,
A revolt on Kentucky, the American ship led to their torment in accord,
1844, 46 men, 1 woman, were mutilated, hung while alive, shot and thrown overboard,
1862, Slavery abolished in all US federal territories,
1888, Brazil does the same starting the end to the sad stories,
1962, Saudi Arabia is last in world to pass a law of abolition,
1964, Africans in Zanzibar bloodily kill their Arab oppressors in one night to avenge their mission.
This is the story of slavery,
We must recognise those who stood up to show bravery,
Most of us could never do this and with such propriety,
Delete racism, celebrate abolition and bring cohesiveness to present society.
