Northern vs. Southern cultural adaptation
The triangle trade created a winning situation for everyone involved. America traded rum, the Caribbean traded molasses, and Africa traded slaves. All three gave a little and got a little. Of course, America and the Caribbean were trading products that were not alive. Africa was turning humans into products, all the while neglecting their health, family, and cultural ties. The African slaves were brought to America in mass numbers in unbelievably uncomfortable settings, and many of them died on the passage across the Atlantic. The trader's mentality was to pack as many slaves as possible onto the ship, and if a few died along the way, so be it. Their approach to the slaves was the same as their approach to a boatload of lettuce. Some of it may be rotten or dead by the time the journey ends, but as long as there is enough left over to satisfy the demand of the customers, everything works out. Since the slaves were treated in such a demeaning manner, it is a miracle that they even remembered their culture at all. Of course, over time, the slaves began to accept the American cultures. Sometimes they did this in order to try to gain favor with the whites, and other times they did it because it became a part of their lives n
Southern slaves preserved a large amount of their culture, but some of the things they kept were as simple as names. They continued to use their traditional African names. In addition, they created a "composite language, Gullah, based on several African languages". (Taylor 335). Though it may not appear to be much, simple things such as names and language helped the southern slaves remember their identities. Reminders of their culture helped them through the hard days of labor and abuse. One thing that the southern slaves succeeded in getting was a "task system". The task system allowed the slaves to have the day to themselves once they had finished the daily chores. So if the slaves worked hard in the morning, they could have the rest of afternoon to do what they pleased. During their own time the southern slaves "tended gardens, and a few livestock, which they could sell to purchase goods, principally better clothing". (Taylor 335). Again, the slaves have a way to separate themselves from the whites and to find their own identity. Through these methods, they exercised their African cultures. The adaptation to the American culture was due to the numbers in population and the slaves' living arrangements with their masters. To break down each region, "the north had 33,000 slaves, the south had 60,000 slaves, and Chesapeake (the Virginia and Maryland area) had about 150,000 slaves". (Taylor 336). The slaves "constituted about forty percent of the population in Maryland and Virginia". (Taylor 336). There were considerably more slaves in Chesapeake than anywhere else, however, "the Chesapeake blacks were more exposed to the culture of their masters". (Taylor 336). So in other words, the Chesapeake slaves had a little bit of both worlds. They had a huge population on one hand, but they remained close to their masters. The end resulted in the slaves selectively choosing the culture that best suited them. They adapted "evangelical Christianity to their own healing magic, emotional singing, and r
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Approximate Word count = 1366
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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