tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post111370496734593524..comments2024-03-28T00:11:33.489-04:00Comments on bensozia: In New Mexico, the Descendants of Indian SlavesJohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01037215533094998996noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post-21155377514541182442018-01-29T22:53:38.104-05:002018-01-29T22:53:38.104-05:00Odds are pretty good that if you're of Iberian...Odds are pretty good that if you're of Iberian descent, you've got slavery in your ancestry anyway, just further back.<br /><br />The Romans of course had a thriving slave trade in Iberia, but so did the Visigoths who originated the various Christian kindgoms and cultures that would eventually become modern day Spain and Portugal. When the Muslims arrived, they too kept slaves, and when the Christians later became ascendant once more, they still kept slaves. In fact, they routinely bought slaves from their Muslim neighbors in North Africa, and for a long time those slaves were overwhelmingly Christians captured by the Muslims in Eastern Europe.<br /><br />It was only pressure from the Church that began slowly convincing Christians not to own other Christians as slaves, and so they started to substitute Muslims as slaves instead, typically brokered through merchant nations like Genoa. But in time, supply of Muslim slaves dropped off, and the trade began to shift toward African sources, specifically sub-saharan peoples, of both Muslim and Fetishist faiths.<br /><br />And of course, none of this is remotely unique to Iberia. Most European cultures extant today can be connected to some form of enslavement within the past 1000 years. We're all descended from slaves - the only difference is how many centuries ago it was.G. Verlorennoreply@blogger.com