It all started on April 17, 1524. From the very beginning, when Captain Giovanni da Verrazano docked the Dauphine, we were already people filled with discriminatory tendencies and intolerance. The irony of it all is that in All Nations Under Heaven by Frederick Binder and David Reimers, the area, which became known as New Netherland, was seen as “tolerant of religious refugees, ethnic and linguistic minorities, or political exiles.” There were Protestant refugees, French-speaking Walloons and Dutch-speaking Flemings! Their proof of this ethnic diversity is that in a tax assessment of Amsterdam in 1631, “of the 685 wealthiest individuals no less than 160 were Flemish or Walloon, 30 were German, and numerous Italian, English, and Scandinavian names.” Admittedly, one must take into account that other ethnicities and cultures had not yet planted roots in the area, but seeing as this diversity was such a huge accomplishment, one could already predict the problems New York would have in the future.
When groups of people started to move to Manhattan, there was overwhelming ethnic diversity among the townspeople. Upon journeying to New Amsterdam, a Jesuit missionary, Father Isaac Jogues, noted that there were about eighteen languages spoken among the approximate one thousand residents. Even more, he said, that even though only Calvinism was publicly exercised, there were Catholics, English Puritans, Lutherans, and Anabaptists in the colony! Worse, this did not impress him. He saw this religious diversity and multi-lingual way of life as arrogant and ignorant. As time passed, more groups experienced trouble in the colony such as Lutherans, Quakers, and Jews. The intolerance among these groups debatably lasted a short amount of time—especially in comparison to the discrimination and intolerance towards African Americans.
In 1626, the first eleven African slaves were imported and owned by the Dutch West India Company. The colonies were lacking in labor and desperately turned to slaves and indentured servants for help. Interestingly enough, they preferred white slaves/servants, but upon finding them unavailable, they turned to Africans. And sooner than later, as noted by Leslie Harris in chapter one of In the Shadow of Slavery, “African slaves became the most stable element of the New Netherland working class and population.” The horrible treatment infamously given to Africans was largely, and sadly, due to economic reasons. Christians also used their religion to justify the cause. They thought that they had to enslave Africans in order to convert them. But many did convert (whether they whole-heartedly did or not), and freedom was still not available to them. In Black and White Manhattan, Thelma Wills Foote writes about the constant “threat of conspiracy” that many settlers felt from the slaves, and when the Slave Revolt of 1712 occurred, many laws were put in place to limit African Americans. New York, as well as the rest of the country, took years to get rid of these disturbing laws.
It is mind-boggling to track the colonies’ and then New York’s journey through tolerance of ethnic and religious diversity. It is safe to say that we have come a long way, but the truth is that our actions, as people, are inexplicable. Here are some questions to consider:
How much did religion and economics play a role in the colonists’ reason for slavery and discrimination?
Why did slavery and discrimination continue even after many African Americans converted to Christianity (an apparent reason for slavery)?
Why did colonists fear slave insurrection so much?
7 Responses to Spark for 2/28/12