Is Slavery synonymous with Black?

"the last thing some of our teachers want to do is challenge our minds and the status-quo"

SO, I was thinking...When Jesse Jackson criticized Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert last year, saying Gilbert sees LeBron James as a "runaway slave" and that the owner's comments after the free-agent forward decided to join the Miami Heat put the player in danger

The reaction from the media and most Americans? sounded something like this "Jesse's always has to put race into everything, blah, blah, blah, he's a reverse racist" - ah ha, ok, what's up?...shut up!

Thing is, Jackson never said anything about black or white.

This isn't about Sports or Politics it's more about Slavery and how when anyone mentions it, most American minds, conscious or unconsciously thinks BLACK folks.

Obviously you've heard of the Trans Atlantic Slave trade involving millions Africans being enslaved all over the "New World" by Europeans.

But whatcha know about White Slavery?

No, not this kind of White Slavery.

Ladies and gentlemen let me introduce you to the enslavement of white people AKA the Barbary Slave trade.

(Image: African pirates chasing after Spanish ship, the purpose was to loot and sell everything including people. )

Barbary Slave Trade - Between 1530 and 1780 over a million Europeans were enslaved by African Muslims and Arabs (pirates aka Corsairs) on the coast of North Africa. Pirates from cities along the Barbary Coast in north Africa – cities such as Tunis and Algiers – would raid ships in the Mediterranean and Atlantic, as well as seaside villages to capture men, women and children. The impact of these attacks were devastating – France, England, and Spain each lost thousands of ships, and long stretches of the Spanish and Italian coasts were almost completely abandoned by their inhabitants. At its peak, the destruction and depopulation of some areas probably exceeded what European slavers would later inflict on the African interior.

So if this is new to you, ya may be a little shocked because slavery and white don't mix, Why? Simple, the enslavement of White people doesn't fit the general theme of White world conquest and superiority. So don't go running to your old history teachers, pissed off, because they didn't teach you this stuff - the last thing some of our teachers want to do is challenge our minds and the status-quo- sad huh?

(Image: A potential buyer inspecting a female salve.)

I know someone out there is thinking " we didn't learn this in US history because it has nothing to do with America" - Wrong!

Even white Americans were not safe. For example, one American slave reported that 130 other American seamen had been enslaved by the Algerians in the Mediterranean and Atlantic between 1785 and 1793.

Hell, America helped end the Barbary slave trade (you know 'Merica couldn't stand to see

whites enslaved - *whispers* the black people might find out #WhiteSwag)

The United States of America and some European nations fought and won two Barbary Wars against the pirates in the early years of the 19th century.

- Yeah, so basically the USA fought to end white slavery in Africa, at the same time, still practiced chattel slavery at home. You Surprised? the raid on Algiers in 1816 destroyed most of the Pirate fleet and the African's were forced to surrender and sign an agreement which included they had to stop enslaving whites, although slave trading of non-whites could still continue. hummm...slave trading of non-whites could still continue, hey, wait a minute....

They even put the victory over the Africans of Tripoli (modern day Libya) in the US military's first song - yeah they made a diss track like 2Pac did to Biggie. We've all heard the lyrics but didn't know what it was about:

"To the Shores of Tripoli;

We will fight our country's battles In the air, on land and sea;"

- Marines' Hymn

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jh5OlT-cslQ

In conclusion, this was not the first or last time whites were enslaved, but i'll save that for a later time. I'm out like Herman Cain, peace.

References:

1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dey

[2] http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0806137.html

[3] http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20101024194909AAL9sp3

[4] http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/whtslav.htm

Christian Slaves, Muslim Masters: White Slavery in the Mediterranean, the Barbary Coast, and Italy, 1500-1800

[5] Four videos : http://wn.com/Barbary_Slave_Trade