May 3, 20231

THE ORIGIN OF NEGRO SLAVERYPresented by Dr. Blaine Gideon Robin

4th October 2015

May 3, 20232

The inspirational Dr. Eric Williams (b. 1911 d. 1981) was the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago from 1962 until his death in 1981. He was also a successful academic/historian. The title of this note : “ The origin of Negro Slavery [sic]” is the title of chapter one of his book: Capitalism and Slavery in 1964 with 8 editions that followed I purchased my copy of the 8th edition in 1989.

May 3, 20233

The opening salvo of this chapter demonstrates how important the discoveries of the West Indies and Africa by Christopher Columbus would be to Europe.

Today's drive for a Reparatory Justice System(http://www.leighday.co.uk/News/2014/March-2014/CARICOM-nations-unanimously-approve-10-point-plan)by the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) holds no less significance due to the wheels set in motion by Christopher Columbus of Spain and the initial role played by the Catholic church.

Ref: https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&rlz=1C1FERN_enGB623GB623&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=crjp+%E2%80%9CReparatory+Justice+System%E2%80%9D

May 3, 20234

He states: He (Columbus) set in train the long and bitter international rivalry over colonial possessions for which, after four and a half centuries, no solution has yet been found. Spain and Portugal looked to the Pope (in Rome, Italy).

‘ After carefully sifting the rival claims, the Pope issued in 1493 a series of papal bulls which established a line of demarcation between the colonial possessions of the two states: The East went to Portugal and the West went to Spain’ (Williams 1989 p 3). Although via a treaty of Tordesillas rectified the papal judgements granting ownership of Brazil to the Portuguese.

May 3, 20235

Denmark - did not recognise the Popes rulings as legitimate. Denmark became rulers of what we know today as the US Virgin Islands.

England too did not recognise the Popes rulings as legitimate. For them there was a “gold rush” for new lands : ‘ Sir William Cecil.....denied the Popes right “to give and take kingdoms to whomsoever he pleased. In 1580 the English government countered with the principle of effective occupation as determinant of sovereignty’ (William 1989 p3).

May 3, 20236

Countless conflict and wars between Britain, Spain and Holland emerged for the Iberian Axis [sic] and a place in the sun.

‘ The Negro, too was to have his place, though he did not ask for it: it was the broiling sun of the sugar, tobacco, and cotton plantations of the New World ’ (William 1989 p4).

May 3, 20237

Today - Unlike France, England/Great Britain is not ready to recognise the Holocaust to Africans as a result of the transatlantic slave trade and the near extermination of the indigenous West Indians. This is officially known as a crime against humanity.

Many of the indigenous British commentators (journalists, bloggers etc.) cite that this happened centuries ago and that the descendants of that economic system should just "move on" without giving any explicit details of what "moving on" really means. Back in the day, we (British born West Indians) used to call this style of communication : "Head Top".

May 3, 20238

“Move on” has been probably been tested by contemporary politicians ( through marketing psychometrics and focus groups) to determine its essence of acceptance of such phrases. It signifies many things - particularly that if one does not “move on” there is a sense of “ownership of the personal tragedy of slavery”. (When it fact the Reparatory Justice System framework if studied and used effectively can enable the process to be achieved.

“Move on” has many connotations: “ Move on - negro” (we all know that in slave times and most latterly in the US Civil Rights area (Jim Crow Laws [sic] ; South Africa during Apartheid [sic] - if blacks did not “move on” from congregating in certain places then they would be water cannoned; beaten; shot ; hanged to death etc). “ Move on - boy!” is too simplistic and insulting to people of Slave Heritage/ancestry.

May 3, 20239

In addition, some dismiss this CARICOM initiative as ridiculous and equate this to Britain demanding reparations from Rome for the occupation of Britain centuries ago.

HEAD TOP: Prior the debut of the Transatlantic slave era, the Romans had already withdrawn from Britain (more than a thousand years earlier) and England was an established Christian/God fearing nation - Doing onto the others as ........

The British sadly began to emulate the Roman rulers by practicing similar strategies in order to achieve global domination (ironic) up until the mid twentieth century.

May 3, 202310

The British Empire at one point included ownership of most of Africa; India ; Sri Lanka and Hong Kong; North America (including Canada); Central America (Honduras – Belize; most of the Caribbean & Guyana in South America); Australia and New Zealand.