Indian slavery
Indian slavery was a practice of the Spanish from the earliest days on the Caribbean islands they first settled. One of the first localities for intensive use of slaves was the gold mines of Hispaniola. This resulted in the extermination of Native Americans on most of the islands. A very few mixed-blood survivors remain, especially on Jamaica, and are called Maroons as do some mixed blood survivors of the Arawak on Cuba. Some Carib survive on Dominica.
Indian slavery was also practiced by the English in the Carolinas who sold Native American captives into slavery on the English plantations in the Caribbean. One of the first tribes that specialized in slave raids and trade with Carolina was the Westo, followed by many others including the Yamasee, Chickasaw, and Creek. Historian Alan Gallay estimates the number of Indians in southeast America sold in the British slave trade from 1670-1715 as between 24,000 and 51,000. He also notes that during this period more slaves (Indian, African, or otherwise) were exported from Charles Town than imported.
Enslaved Native Americans generally died after a short time in the conditions of plantation slavery.[citation needed] Life was difficult on the plantation, much work was insisted on by the Europeans. The work was hard and strenuous, often with little food or nutrients. Native Americans also commonly died from diseases brought by the Europeans, which their bodies were not immune to nor could they fight off.
Many Native American tribes did enslave small numbers of captives and in the southwestern United States a few of them were sold to local Hispanic residents. In at least one instance in the San Luis Valley of Colorado a female household slave continued in her status long after the Emancipation Proclamation.[citation needed]
References
- Gallay, Alan. "Forgotten Story of Indian Slavery" (2003).
- Gallay, Alan. The Indian Slave Trade (2002).
See also
Categories
Articles with unsourced statements | Slavery | Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean