nPosted on July 3, 2017
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Key points
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Slavery is an ugly practice, and the African slave trade and slavery-buttressed agriculture and mining in the Americas was particularly ugly.
Slavery is an ugly practice, and the African slave trade and slavery-buttressed agriculture and mining in the Americas was particularly ugly.n
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nNotice that I said “the Americas,” plural, not “America.” I’m talking about the slave trade and slave labor in North and South America, including Central America and the Caribbean. Here are just a few of the countries whose economies once depended partly on African slave labor:
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Cuba,
Cuba,n
nBrazil,
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nBahamas,
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nVenezuela,
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nBelize,
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nHaiti,
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nDominican Republic,
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Suriname,
Suriname,n
nMexico,
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nColombia,
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nGuyana,
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nand of course the United States, including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
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nThe U.S. Virgin Islands used to be the Danish West Indies – three Caribbean islands ruled by Denmark from the mid-1700s to the early 1900s. Danes brought enslaved Africans to the islands to work the sugar plantations.
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| The blowing of the conch signaled the beginning of the rebellion led by Gottlieb. |
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nA freed slave and skilled craftsman named Moses Gottlieb, who lived on St. Croix, went by the name General Buddhoe. Apparently he organized a lot of the slaves on the western end of the island, and together they marched on the town of Fredericksted. This rebellion caused the Governor-General of the Danish colony to emancipate (free) all of the slaves.
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nBecause emancipation was announced in Fredericksted, this town is nicknamed Freedom City.
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nCheck out Freedom City:
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| Even though a large part of the economy of the modern U.S. Virgin Islands is tourism, Fredericksted only gets around 15 cruise ships in the busiest month of the year (January), compared to 3 to 8 cruise ships PER DAY, in January, in nearby St. Thomas! |
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| Stilt walking! |
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nAlso on this date:
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nAnniversary of the first actor to play Superman
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nCompliment Your Mirror Day
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nAnniversary of the first modern strawberries
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n“Dog Days” begin
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nIndependence Day in Belarus
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Earth at aphelion
Earth at aphelionn
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nIdaho’s Statehood Anniversary
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nPlan ahead:
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nCheck out my Pinterest boards for:
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nJuly holidays
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nJuly birthdays
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nHistorical anniversaries in July
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nAnd here are my Pinterest boards for:
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nAugust holidays
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nAugust birthdays
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nHistorical anniversaries in August
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