REPARATIONS REQUIRES KNOWING YOUR AFRICAN HISTORY

REPARATIONS REQUIRES KNOWING YOUR AFRICAN HISTORY

 

By Fahim A. Knight-El

 

We as Africans of the Diaspora and the descendants who survived the most brutal acts of man's inhumanity-to- man, have been inspired by the spirits of our ancestors to seek justice; moreover, our ancestors were kidnapped, raped, robbed, murdered, etc., Chattel Slavery endured from 1555-1865, it was slave labor that built the economic foundation of the United States of America and the present day white Americans and their European brethren are the private and corporate beneficiaries of the legacy of slavery. The reparations movement is not an anti-America response, it is rooted in a collective movement for justice and a recognition of our denied human rights as historical victims. Whenever so-called African-Africans mention the word slavery, which was part of the ancestral experience of our fore-parents from 1555-1865, it sends the majority of white conservatives and white liberals in to a frenzy. They often hide their fore-parent's guilt and their own guilt, with a deep sense of historical denial and in the same breathe call for race reconciliation and a need for better race relations (hypocritical language and sentiments), as though we should skip over and dismiss 310 years of brutality, rape, robbery, murder, forced labor, kidnap, etc., (and most of all slavery robbed us of our God, names, land, culture, folkways, mores and robbed us of our minds and five generations later we are still suffering from this crime against humanity) that were committed against an entire race of people, which now numbers to be over 50 million black people in the United States and that is not counting the millions of Africans living and scattered throughout the Diaspora (Reference: Ida Hakim, Dorothy Blake Fardan, Jamil Hakeem and Len Moritz; “Reparations: The Cure for America’s Race Problem”).

President Bill Clinton in 1998, and the United States Congress in 2009 issued the descendants of African slaves a so-called official apology for slavery. We do not need just some weak half- hearted apology that was crafted by white legal minds to protect the long term economic interest of the descendants of the perpetrators. But our quest for justice can only be entertained when the discussion of equitable retribution is unconditionally on the table, which has to be tied to a proposal involving and beginning with the surrendering of five southern states as part of the discussion—we must mandate some land that we can call our own. The next demand would be to assess and calculate the modern monetary value put on 300 years of unpaid human labor and the interest/dividends which has led to white America becoming one of the most wealthiest nations in human history—this allowed them to invest in markets that have further allowed rich Elitist capitalist like the Morgans, Duponts, Vanderbilts, Stanfords, Warburgs, Mellons, Dukes, etc., their monetary empires are a direct result of slavery in which slavery allowed them and many other white aristocratic families to create generational wealth off the backs of African people. I think Adam Smith (one of the fathers of modern capitalist theory) authored a two volume book titled, The Wealth of Nations, but Smith’s research in my opinion, was intentionally shoddy in overlooking the enormous magnitude that Chattel Slavery played in springing the United States into a dominant historical and present world economic power. The Nation of Islam’s Historical Research Department and Minister Louis Farrakhan published an investigative type research in a second book titled, The Secret Relationship Between Blacks and Jews volume ll; thus, daring to expose the various entities that have served as the beneficiaries of their overwhelm involvement in the African slave trade. The Nation of Islam’s Research Department’s investigation uncovered that in places like Mississippi where cotton was the king on many different levels (it was cotton that created untold wealth for white America at the expense of black slavery)—these past cotton trade entities transitioned into modern international banking houses and respectable financial institutions, which has permitted them to continually expanding their accumulation of global wealth even in 2017. 

It is America’s historical denial and overt refusal to openly admit and take full responsibility that it was because of the practices of systematic racism and white supremacy, which allowed for a class of whites to economically proposer to the detriment of African people who were brought to the Americas as slaves, it is this denial that keeps fueling the modern day "Civil War" in which the relationships between black and white people will never truly change or get any better until the grievances of the ex-slaves are properly addressed and taking into account—the 300 years of dehumanization and the spirits of our ancestors will forever haunt the white Americans ancestral descendants until justice is rendered (this would be the first steps towards making us spiritually and economically whole). How can we have better race relations if there are still large sectors of white people that remain in historical denial? Professor Kenneth Stamp referred to slavery as the Peculiar Institution,  Professor John W. Blassingame in his monumental work referred to it as The Slave Community and W.E.B Dubois in his scholarship referred to it as The Suppression of the African Slave Trade.

The majority of American scholars agree that blacks in this country arrived as slaves and the present generation of blacks are here based on that historical tragedy. Yet, we are 150 years removed from slavery and America is still in historical denial. Former President Bill Clinton as stated above was prepared to issue Africans in this country an official United States governmental apology for the wrongs of slavery, but it was later deemed politically expedient for the president to remain quiet and give a diplomatic response relating to black slavery and not issue Africans a full and meaningful official apology. I am assuming that his legal advisors and the United States State Department advised him and the United States Congress not to publically fully go down this road, because the admission of guilt, perhaps could have been used legally against the government by Africans in their quest for reparations by providing blacks with potential future lawful ammunition that could have been used in the World Courts, United Nations and in U.S. Federal Courts as testimonial evidences being given by a sitting commander-in-chief. This could have legally backfired against America from a legal standpoint relative to America having to pay Africans living in America a 310 year old debt (our Congressional Black members should have equally submitted a mandate rejecting and refusing to accept some half-hearted watered-down apology). So we allowed them to enter this meaningless and non-legally binding mandate and/or resolution into the U.S. Congressional records and to accept this action has only set us back in our fight for reparation and justice. Blacks have to craft and write the legislation, the slave master's children will never willingly legislate our freedom. Show us the damn money.

Many of our critics and pundits that opposes blacks receiving reparations are quick to attempt to argue against reparations by stating that blacks who are the direct descendants of slavery ancestors by hiding behind their ignorance and maintaining that the present day blacks did not endure slavery and are not entitled to justice (Just as some of the present day Jews did not suffer the Holocaust, but that has not precluded them from being the beneficiaries of what their Jewish ancestors experienced under Adolph Hitler). Blacks in America are genetically and spiritually connected to a common past, present and future and this much is undeniable. Nevertheless, in 1995, the Southern Baptist, a predominantly white Christian association had the humanity and the proper spirit of God to admit the wrongdoings of the Christian church in slavery. They did not go to the graveyard and issue this apology to the dead, which would have been partially suffice, but the church issued the apology to the living ancestors of those who lived and died under the evil institution of slavery.

Here are the solutions to this four century problem, to what sociologist Gunnar Myrdal referred to as An American Dilemma. 1). The healing process starts at admittance of the wrong doing and erasing historical denial. 2). Open and honest communications amongst the races about slavery. 3). Reparations. 4). An international call for atonement and reconciliation on behalf of all African people. 5). Pray to God for healing and guidance. European Nations such as: Spain, Portugal, Belgium, France, and England beginning in the mid 1400s explored and colonized the darker people of the world. Spain and Portugal in 1494 signed the Treaty of Tordesillas laying out an imperialistic plan by which to divide and colonize the entire world between two European nations (Spain and Portugal).

In 1517, Bishop Bartholomew de Las Casas and Pope Alexander VI working in the name of the Catholic Church and in their official religious church capacities actually divided the entire world between Spain and Portugal under the Papal Bull of Demarcation. These two said European nations drew an imaginary line in the middle of the world, moreover, giving Spain the "permission" to conquer and colonize all the lands in the so-called "New World" with the exception to Brazil and Portugal would colonize all the lands in "Old World" which included Africa. This was an unlawful act that can be defined under United States Federal Statues as a Conspiracy. In legal terms a Conspiracy is defined as an agreement by two or more persons to commit an unlawful act: a combination for unlawful purpose. In criminal law, conspiracy is a separate offense from the crime that is the object of the conspiracy. Who amongst the ex-slaves and descendants of Africa have the courage to charge all the said European Nations in the World Court and in a United Nations with historical crimes perpetrated against Black humanity? The said crime is Chattel slavery and the political, economic, social, etc., affect this evil institution had on one race of people (Africans), is the single most important issue in the annals of human history and the greatest crime ever committed against humanity.

Where is Barack Obama, Michelle Alexander, Roland Martin, Van Jones, Bakari Sellers, Yahweh Ben Yahweh-Ben Yahweh, Jamaal Bryant, Boyce Watkins, Ta-Nehisi Coates', Tariq Nasheed, Marc Lamont Hill, Umar Johnson, Malik Zulu Shabazz, Corey Booker, Donna Brazile, Ben Jealous, D.L. Hughley, Valerie Jarrett,  Martin Luther King, III, John Lewis,  Hugh Price, Vernon Jordan, Susan Rice, Tavis Smiley, Steve Harvey, Jay-Z, Michael Jordan, Tom Joyner, Irvin Johnson, T.D. Jakes, Oprah Winfrey, Jesse L. Jackson, AL Sharpton, Henry Louis Gates, Maxine Waters, Cornel West, Louis Farrakhan, Julianne Malveaux, Michael Eric Dyson, Stanley Crouch, Charles Ogletree, etc. our so-called Black leaders and Black intellectuals on this issue of reparation, where do they stand? Many of them are very much familiar with this fight, but very few of them have committed their organizations resources and expertise in a pro bono manner to allow a legitimate legal defense on-behalf of the sons and daughters of Africa. Minister Silis Muhammad of the Lost Found Nation of Islam in the West (out of Atlanta, Georgia) deserves a lot credit for his efforts and tried to make our case in the U.N. by assigning us a nationality called Afrodescendants. Minister Silis Muhammad who has been at the forefront of the issue of reparations for many years now and he estimated just to file the petition will cost over USD $100,000 and estimated it will cost over USD $10,000, 000 in order to win the reparations battle (these figures were given almost 20 years ago). Why don't we put our resources behind Minister Silis Muhammad and why didn’t we listen to the late Imari Obadele, the Chairman of the Republic of New Africa who had been in the forefront of the reparations struggle and movement since 1968.  Randall Robison who authored the scholarly book titled, The Debt: What White America Owes Blacks. However, Robinson was very late coming to the reparations discussion, Robinson former Chairman of TransAfrica has provided us with an intellectual discourse, which has laid a theoretical framework for us to follow.

Reverend Robert Schuller, a renowned white televangelist who had received an invitation from the late Reverend Leon Sullivan to address the African/African-American Summit in Libreville, Gabon, Africa in 1994. Reverend Schuller's recognition and admittance that Europe and Europeans by the enslavement of Africans had committed an unpardonable crime and sin. Here is an excerpt from Schuller’s book titled, Prayer My Soul’s Adventure With God, stated,

" Leaders from the black African nations are here. Also Louis Farrakhan and the widow of Malcolm X. All of them will speak. Just listen, and when you're called to come up and talk, the lord will tell you what to say.' I listened. Speaker after speaker spoke. Coretta Scott King spoke. Following her was Andrew Young. And, yes, Louis Farrakhan too. I was struck by the mutual respect shown even among those who shared different faiths and contradictory philosophies. Where is the anger? I thought. I sensed none of it. Hour after hour I listened. From my seat next a window, I had a view of the beach. The ocean was calm. Form this very spot on the west coast of Africa, cargo boats had been loaded with slaves to be hauled to market. During a period of more than two hundred years,
twenty million blacks had been brought from the interior in chains to be sold to the white men who landed their boats on this beach. The entrapped humans had been hauled from this, the eastern boarder of the Atlantic, to where waves finally stopped on the eastern shores of the United States. I was an American citizen because my ancestors had chosen, freely, to immigrate to the United States. But the black Americans in the room were not citizens of the United States by virtue of the free choice of their ancestors. This beautiful, kind, intelligent Americans were the living ancestors of slaves once dragged in chains in aboard the ships right here! I could see it happening in my mind's eye. Who were those white traders? Were they Dutchmen? Some of them were, yes. I was of Dutch descent. Could one of my ancestors have been in slave trading? “

Reverend Robert Schuller continues: “I had inherited money from my mother, whose father---had been so he claimed---a baron in the Netherlands. My maternal great grandfather, Gerrit Van Amerongen, had sold all his property in Holland and come to America with his fortune to buy a vast spread in Galveston, Texas, and established' His empire. A horrendous hurricane later wiped him out, leaving him with only a small portion of his imported wealth. But from where had my grandfather acquired his wealth? From his father? Could it be that his family from Holland was involved, directly or indirectly, in the slave trade? These musings released disturbing ideas into my mind as I sat there--- a white man from America listening to black speakers, most of them, if not all, descendants of slaves. For the first time in my life, on the issue of race, I felt the sting of guilt. In my childhood, high school, college, in seminary days, I never felt superior to other races because I was white. I honestly looked on all colors as equals.

Reverend Robert Schuller continues: “Being better or worst was a matter of character, not color. But suddenly, here now I was drawn back into history when blacks were not equal to whites. They were better! Blacks morally better than whites? Yes! We whites bought and sold their bodies; they didn't buy or sell us. Blacks better patriots than whites? Whites love America, of course! We or ours chose to come to this great country. But blacks love this country with the equal passion! How proud they are to be Americans. But neither they nor their ancestors wanted to come here. They were not immigrants--they were imports. They came asproducts--not people. Abruptly my thoughts were interrupted as I heard my name call. Loudly! Leon was introducing me as the next speaker. "Let's welcome Dr. Schuller! " Applause broke out. I found myself almost stumbling through the large crowd. On stage I stepped into Leon's open arms. He beamed, smiled, laughed with pleasure, hugged me, and stepped back gesturing me to the podium. I paused. I prayed. I looked into his eyes of the famous black leaders, including Coretta Scott King, Martin Luther King, Jr's widow. What did I think I had to say to them? My prepared speech now seemed absolutely inappropriate. Suddenly my lips trembled. My face twitched in emotional distress. My heart reached out to these people who loved me. Their grace, affection, and respect reach out to me. I didn't feel that I deserved this. Through my family history I might have been a part of the horrible history of slavery. I was speechless. Tears rolled down my cheeks. I prayed silently, "God, let the right words come out".

Reverend Robert Schuller continues “The crowd grew silent, for they could see and sense something strange occurring in the white haired, white skinned television preacher they had lovingly invited into their inner circle. Finally, a few words came. "Thank you for your welcome. I'm so honored to be invited here. But as the only white preacher here, I suddenly, strangely sense for the first time in my life a stab of shame and guilt for what we whites did to blacks." I couldn't go on. Tears rolled down my face as I heard only a few more words tumble from my trembling lips. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I can not talk I'm so sorry". Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a tall black man standing on stage only a few feet from me. He had come up uninvited. For a brief second our eyes connected I recognized him as a clergyman of another faith. His eyes sent a message to this speechless preacher: We don't let someone stand on stage and cry alone. I could not deliver a speech after only a few moments on stage I turned to leave. The audience rose, applauded, and cried. We were one in heart! How strongly my soul, through prayer, had asked for and received forgiveness here in Africa."

I cited this quote of Reverend Robert Schuller because if all white people had this type of humanity then the question of reparation would be answered and solved today.

Africa was thriving politically, spiritually, educationally, culturally, socially, etc., before European intervention on the continent, Africans 12th through 16th century there were Ghana, Mali, and Songhai empires in which Timbuktu University (possessing brilliant minds such as Ahmed Baba) was attracting students from around the world and Mansu Musa and Sonni Ali was equal to any head of state in Europe. They chose Africa because the continent up until 1442 was  almost totally unengaged by Europeans; even though the Moors had wrote historical treatises and spoke of tales of great wealth, in particular after Mansa Musa 1324 made his Hajj trip to Mecca where he showered the Arab Elite and Islamic Emirs and Imams with thousands of tons of African gold. The Europeans arrived to the west coast of Africa with the intent to engage the Africans in trade, and commerce and would eventually exploit this mass continent for its riches and raw materials. Also the Christian Missionaries were perhaps the most devastating to Africa, they robbed the people of their minds.

Now, on the other hand I believe, the European explorers were fully aware of the wealth that Africa possessed due to their contact with Muslim Moors who had ventured in to Africa in 711A.D. under Tarik Ibn Zaid who had conquered all of North Africa and the majority of Western Europe, all the way up to the southern boarders of France, which became under the influence of Moorish rule. Islamic Missionaries also robbed African people of their indigenous culture and belief system—the Muslims during the Trans-sharian Slave Trade were just as ruthless and vicious as the white European Christian missionaries. Yet, many Africans had converted to Islam and the Qur’an forbids the captor to mistreat their captives and mercy was often displayed more so from the Muslim missionaries than the Christian missionaries. Slaves could unconditionally purchase their freedom and marry into the Muslim  tribal families. At the ending of the Crusades Wars and by 1492, Europeans had re-conquered Western Europe, as well as confiscating maps that were drawn by brilliant Moorish Nubian cartographers depicting lands of "Negro" people to the south who had established mutual trade relationships and routes with the Islamic Arabs. John G. Jackson and Willis N. Huggins in their monumental book titled, A Guide to Studies in African History, stated "Let us now turn to Western Europe, and consider the brilliance of Moorish Spain. The Moors, natives of Morocco, in North Africa, were converted to Islam during the Mohammedan [Islamic] Conquest in the 7th century. In the year 711 C.E. under the leadership of the Emir Musa and the Negro, Tarik-bin-Zaid, veteran Arab generals, and the Moors swarmed across the Strait of Gibraltar"

It has been recorded that in 1440s, a group of Portuguese maritime sailors actually captured ten (10) Africans off the West Coast of Africa and took them back to Lisbon, Portugal. Thus, this incident so-called initiated the African slave trade. Many Africans were actually sold into slavery by warring ethnic African groups, who traded slaves for guns, spices and alcohol with the Europeans. The Europeans built slave dungeons such as Goree Island off the coast of Senegal and Elmina Castle (known as the gate of no return) off the coast of Ghana, because diseases would not allow them to enter into the hinterlands (interior) of Africa and Africans captured slaves and brought them to the coast for sell and trade. The Europeans realized that based on diseases and in the interior bush country could not be penetrate by them, they needed Africans assistance to carryout their slavery goals and objectives. They also, realized how trusting and unassuming the Africans were about them as strangers who had a hidden agenda to commit mass murder, rape, assault, kidnap, etc. The warring African factions had no idea of the type of slavery they were selling their kinfolk into. They realized that Africa had a unique social and political structure; thus, African society was complex and was setup based on tribal protocol.

Chattel slavery represented a criminal conspiracy and although U.S. Representative John Conyers, a Democrat of Michigan, perhaps close to 30 years ago introduced into Congress a reparations bill titled H.R. 40, which in essence was nothing but a fact finding committee offered to study the possibility of reparations. Chattel Slavery still remains the greatest crime that was ever committed against humanity. In reality, we do not need a fact finding committee, here we are the sons and daughters of Africa who have been robbed of the knowledge of self, stolen from our native lands, made inferior, unjustly persecuted, destroyed our family bonds, etc., in the name of greed and capitalism. It was black slave labor that brought untold wealth to Phillip Morris Brothers Tobacco, J.R. Reynolds Tobacco, Ligget and Myers Tobacco, American Tobacco, which allowed the Dukes to accumulate, as well as other private and corporate entities untold financial wealth.

Sir John Hawkins (piloted the slave ship Jesus of Lubeck), the English Slave Trader in 1555, was sailing for Great Britain and actually had engaged England into the buying and selling of black human cargo, but England did not reap the total benefits of slavery until March 26, 1713 at the signing of the Asiento. This was a contract between Great Britain and the Catholic King of Madrid, Spain giving the British the so-called "legal right" to import Africans into the "New World" commonly known as Spanish Territory. The most popular and accepted date for advent of slavery by most historians is 1619, when the Dutch imported twenty (20) Africans to Jamestown, Virginia but were originally classified as indentured servants. These individuals had the right to work their way to freedom and after fulfilling their indentured servant contract many white masters honored the contract and freed them. The city of Jamestown gets its name from Sir King James, a pedophile social deviant who authorized and commenced forty-four (44) scholars to carryout the transliteration of the Holy Bible in 1611 A.D. He also had all forty-four (44) scholars killed upon their completing this task. These scholars had firsthand information of what King James ordered to be left out of the Holy Bible. Yes King James altered the Bible in order to secure control and domination over the thinking of humanity.

The Thirteen (13) Original Colonies were new and the quest for nationhood was in its infancy stage as it relates to early America around 1607. The world was witnessing feudalism come to an end, which gave rise to pre-industrialism; moreover, there was a need for the colonist in America to expand their major means of production and distribution (fur and gold trade). The so-called Native Americans were the original slaves and indentured servants; however, they had a keen knowledge of the terrain and could escape easily and go into hiding and never be found by their white masters. Also the hot southern temperatures and the work were killing the Native Americans. The Europeans eventually made an economic business decision by deciding on enslaving and transporting Africans into the Americas from "Negro lands" who were known to be tough, hard workers and they could easily be identified by their black skin color. The British started importing black slaves to colonial America in order to clear off the land and work as agriculture workers on cotton and tobacco plantations serving as free labor (the white planter’s class saw slavery as an economic opportunity to enrich themselves within the southern economy).

Many slaves who were imported into European countries such as Great Britain between 1440 and 1772 actually worked as indentured servants; moreover, and in some cases were not relegated to a lifetime status of being a slave. Slaves in Europe oftentimes upon being freed served in European militaries, became citizens and were even permitted to marry white women. Many worked for the royal wealthy aristocratic families and for the nobility class as maids, butlers, servants, etc., the cruelty associated with Chattel Slavery in the Americas was not to be found on a large scale in Europe. Perhaps because Europe was just entering out of the Dark Ages and experienced the Renaissance an age of cultural rebirth and a period of enlightenment. In addition, Europe did not have the same economic and political challenges facing it, as the Americas did. The Black Moors had also influenced race relations in Spain, Portugal, Italy, and France.

Most historians would agree that the institution of slavery in Africa was a lot more humane, which was socially and culturally different. The warring factions of different ethnic groups captured other African slaves in ethnic battles and conflicts with all intent of selling them or making them slaves, but the concept of chattel, conditioning, and brutalization were not common practices in Africa. Africa is a very diverse continent and there were acts of aggression by Africans who had encroached on other ethnic groups land. The captured slaves still were giving basic rights as a human being. The captured African often worked to assist the tribal family in their work as a communal unit. Africans and Europeans did not have the same views of slavery. Thus, Europeans viewed Africans as inferior and were a people who had been cursed by God and justified their racist behavior, as well as inhumane treatment of Africans as an act of Manifest Destiny (the epitome of white supremacy). They viewed Africans as subhuman and as a people who had no human or God given rights. Africans viewed slavery as a necessary act in order to curtail encroachment and to secure its people from tribal danger.

The European nations in 1490s with the advent of Portugal, the Catholic Church and Spain which was headed by Isabella and Ferdinand desired to expand their so-called royal empires through trade, explorations and missionaries. Slavery became a convenient method in order to achieve these imperialistic objectives. The European quickly saw the need for using Africans as a free tool for labor in Europe and the Americas. In 1442 when the Portuguese landed off the coast of Guinea, it was generally believed by historians that their initial intentions were to establish trade relations with African people and many of the Europeans during these early expeditions were actually using maps and materials confiscated from the Moors upon the Europeans recapturing Europe in 1492.

The Europeans brought weapons, gun powder, alcohol, spices, working tools, etc., to the African continent, exposing Africans to goods that were not indigenous to African society. The Europeans eventually were actually offered African slaves as a form of payment and a trade arrangement was established with certain powerful tribal chieftains who sold captured African slaves to Europeans for trinkets.

The Africans were forced to produce cotton, rice, tobacco, sugarcane (throughout the Americas), etc. These were considered the basic cash crops on the slave plantation. So many early European writers had depicted the African continent as the "dark continent" where "savages" and "uncivilized" people lived. Therefore, these so-called "African heathens" need to be saved by these white Europeans and Christianized by missionaries who were commissioned by God to bring salvation to a so-called backwards society. The Europeans believed in a white manifest destiny and that they had a superior right to enslave and colonize African people and darker people of the planet. The Europeans believed that they were ordained by God and justified their conduct by using the bible in order to sanction slavery. They viewed blacks as subhuman and blacks had no rights in which the European was bound to respect. Many Europeans actually held this racist view and believed that kidnapping black people from Africa and placing them into slavery was a blessing for the Africans; however, they never asked the African how they felt about being enslaved.

Yes. The Europeans thought that they were superior based on a false sense of white supremacy and based on military might. Africans have always been a determined people that had a different political, religious, social, economic and, culture value system, etc., than their white captives, but did not view their way of living as being inferior to whites. Europeans would find out that the buying and selling of Africans was extremely profitable and the Transatlantic Slave Trade served as an economic system of exploitation that provided a labor force for plantation owners throughout the Americas. Slavery was simply a racist and capitalistic venture orchestrated by the Europeans. The slave trade robbed Africa of its greatest resource, which was its human resource and according to some historians over 50 to 100 million Africans were stolen from off the continent and transported across the Atlantic Ocean. Africa has never recuperated from such a devastating blow. Europeans also raped Africa's natural resources and economically the continent is still suffering presently from these past historical relationships. The Europeans actually captured highly intelligent Africans who were well learned in the sciences, arts, and business oriented people who had the physical and technical ability to build their society.

The Europeans stole diamonds, gold, silver, ivory, timber and other raw materials and created existing markets and are still exploiting African resources some five centuries later and continue to economically empowers themselves from the wealth of Africa. The Europeans simultaneously disrupted the institution of family by unmercifully separating mothers from their children, husbands from their wives, brothers from their sisters, etc. This social phenomenon affected the entire African family for generations to come. The present day Africans and most of the continent are living in poverty, because of the onslaught of European aggression that has stripped Africa of its natural resources, divided the people and has tied Africa's wealth and natural resources to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. I have stated above that Portugal in 1442, became, the first European nation to engage itself into the African slave trade, it was short lived, but they brokered deals with the Dutch West India Company and with the British Royal African Company. The Portuguese in the 1440s captured some Africans and took them back to Lisbon; however, Portugal did not have the economic or the political might to really capitalize off the slave trade. The Portuguese played a minimum role in the slave trade because they were not well financed and did not have the resources to capitalize on such profitable venture.

They perhaps got the ball rolling for other European nations who were better financed and better suited in maritime science. Portugal got involved in the African slave trade in 1440 when Prince Henry the Navigator sent his lieutenant, Antam Gonsalves, to the coast of Guinea for a cargo skins and oil. The nation of Portugal ended its involvement in the slave trade in the year of 1773. However, Portugal like all other European nations was looking to expand its economic trade boarders beyond the confines of Europe. Capitalism inspired Portugal to venture into un-chartered waters in 1440 because of the profitable possibilities the slave trade could bring to the Portuguese. Portugal involvement Africa during the 1440s was very significant because they paved the way and opened the door for other powerful European nations such as Britain, France, Belgium, Germany, etc., as

well as, for private slave traders to venture into Africa to steal human cargo and raped Africa of its natural resources.

J.A. Rogers maintained that Spain was actually in West Africa in 1435, which was five (5) years prior to the coming of Portugal; however their early involvement in Africa was insignificant. In 1493 with the signing of the Papal Bull of Demarcation between Spain and Portugal, the agreement precluded Spain from being involved in Africa. Spain directly played a minimum role in the import of slaves due the treaties and contracts it held with Portugal. Spain had its sights on the so-called "New World" which included expansion and colonialism. Although Christopher Columbus in 1492 was trying to find India, he eventually uncovered Hispaniola (Haiti which was already inhabited by the Arawak and Carib Indians).

In 1518, the king of Spain had granted a trader the right to ship four thousand African slaves to the Spanish Island. Thus, this was about two hundred years before 1713 with the signing of the Asiento in which the Spanish gave Great British the so-called legal right to import slaves out of Africa into the Spanish Americas. Spain's role directly and indirectly in the slave trade in the seventeenth century began to decline. Spain got involved in the slave trade because it had acquired lands throughout the Caribbean Islands, Central America, and South America. Thus, the Spanish needed a labor force to work the huge sugar plantations in order to make them profitable. Africans were used as the supply and fulfilled the sugar plantation labor demands. Spain was no different from other European nations who engaged themselves in the African slave trade. The Catholic Church had sanctioned slavery as being a moral act on behalf of the Europeans and Spain had a duty to "civilize" the African "heathens" in the name of God and Christ. The Spanish in history has been a little in genuine on history by putting forth a deception ploy of stating they never directly got involved in the slave trade, because of Papal Bull of Demarcation that had signed with Portugal and its legal ramifications prohibited them. They circumvented these treaties and were heavily involved in the African slave trade. Spain's presence in Africa led them to colonize Spanish Sahara and the Cape Verde Islands; however, their presences also helped to rape Africa of its human resource and its natural resources.

The British perhaps were the most powerful slave traders in the world, they were well financed and possessed the maritime ability to engage Africa in this crime against humanity known as the African slave trade. Some have associated Sir John Hawkins with piloting the first British Slave ship. They shipped millions of Africans from the African continent to Virginia, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida, Maryland, etc, in order to work on American plantations. Great Britain in 1713 had entered into a legal agreement with Spain under the Asiento and had agreed to import African slaves into the Spanish America, but at the same time they were supplying slaves to colonial America in order to be used as labor to work the agriculture plantations and clear the land.

The British Royal African Company desired to expand British trade relations throughout the world. There was an old saying that stated that, "the sun never sets on the British Empire" this was because the British Empire was so vast. The British got involved in the African slave trade because of economic capitalist expansion and to rape Africa of its valuable human and raw material resources for the benefit of British Royal families. The British also viewed Africa as a savage continent who had no history and that they were doing Africa a favor by capturing slaves and bringing them to the New World to serve as slaves. The British military, her merchants and missionaries served as a team of destruction against African humanity. The British left their influence on Liberia, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, etc.

Spain, Portugal, France, Great Britain, Germany, Belgium, etc., all benefited from the African slave trade and have contributed to the division of African people, as well as the raping and robbing Africa of its human and natural resources. The above European nations got involved in the African slave trade due to the potential of exploitation and capitalist interest, which makes all them economically liable for the exploitive crime they committed against blacks, which has transition in to untold wealth that had financially un-girded the Bank of England and the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank. They created a supply and demand concept and at the center of it all was the African continent (blacks were considered and treated as a commodity). The Europeans saw exploitable routes to wealth and unconditional labor at the expense of African people. The Europeans then and now still view Africa and the African continent as savages and subhuman.

The African slave trade left Africa weaker economically and politically, it also created tribal tension, division and displaced over 100 million of its citizen throughout the Diaspora. The slave trade opened Africa up for future exploitation and has been a factor in the destabilization of the African continent and most of all it has affected past, present and possible future economic, political and social development on the African continent. I think that the Trans-Atlantic slave trade and the Middle Passage should be declared as acts of war crimes, which were committed against the entire continent of Africa by the nations of Europe and the United States. Moreover, the United Nations should force all European nations who participated in the slave trade to pay Africa and all of its descendants reparations for this crime. I am not optimistic that this will ever happen. Reparations are about justice for the black man and black woman of America. What do you think?

Fahim A. Knight-El Chief Researcher for KEEPING IT REAL THINK TANK located in Durham, NC; our mission is to inform African Americans and all people of goodwill, of the pending dangers that lie ahead; as well as decode the symbolism and reinterpreted the hidden meanings behind those who operate as invisible forces, but covertly rules the world. We are of the belief that an enlightened world will be better prepared to throw off the shackles of ignorance and not be willing participants for the slaughter. Our MOTTO is speaking truth to power. Fahim A. Knight-El can be reached at fahimknight@yahoo.com.