I think this undersells how historically illiterate Pinker is. “African” is his term, not an identity the people he is referring to used for themselves. By deploying it here, he is extending the ideology of white enslavers who saw “Africans” as undifferentiated, natural slaves. - ThreadSky

jmhclark.bsky.social • 32 days ago

I think this undersells how historically illiterate Pinker is. “African” is his term, not an identity the people he is referring to used for themselves. By deploying it here, he is extending the ideology of white enslavers who saw “Africans” as undifferentiated, natural slaves.

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antisocialworker77.bsky.social•32 days ago

Anything short of making him perpetually sit, facing the corner, with a pointy “dunce” cap on his head undersells Pinker’s ignorance

philipvernon.bsky.social•32 days ago

And perhaps most important and clarifying/differential is “Africans” didn’t engage in *chattel* slavery; a uniquely Euro-US endeavor/distinction.

louderplease.bsky.social•32 days ago

You guys do a lot of reading-in to what seems like straightforward facts.

philipvernon.bsky.social•32 days ago

So to clarify, are you attempting to *excuse* it?

Drawing people from their rationalizations is my main goal.

louderplease.bsky.social•32 days ago

No. When someone reasonably believes something is true, it does't mean they are supporting it.

philipvernon.bsky.social•32 days ago

True. Sometimes it also means they are looking for a rationale.

craniumsquirrel.fun•32 days ago

Mmm in the bin with him! Yes, the entire man!

jmhclark.bsky.social•32 days ago

The point for many historians in pointing out “African” involvement in the slave trade is to demonstrate precisely the opposite of what Pinker is suggesting.

vouxcroux.bsky.social•32 days ago

Can you are elaborate?

apparatchikwannabe.bsky.social•32 days ago

in reality nobody other than white people saw “africans” as one group, and so local states sold slaves to europeans. the europeans see this as “africans selling africans”, but to the people doing the selling, they weren’t selling their own people, they were selling some other people, who they’d beat

apparatchikwannabe.bsky.social•32 days ago

because the idea of there being one undifferentiated group of africans is itself a european invention—local history disproves it.

baileygalbreit.bsky.social•32 days ago

Precisely. Historically, the norm was for those on the winning side of a military victory to enslave prisoners, whether civilians or conquered soldiers. It took white Europeans buying and selling these captives to create the institution of chattel slavery and the racist ideology that perpetuated it.

jmhclark.bsky.social•32 days ago

First, it’s important to understand that there is no such thing as “the” slave trade or even “the” transatlantic slave trade, but multiple overlapping systems of human trafficking that evolved over thousands of years. Even if we limit the conversation to the commercial trafficking of captives

jmhclark.bsky.social•32 days ago

Directly from the African continent to the Americas onboard purpose-rigged slave ships, we are still talking about a trade that lasted roughly 345 years and touched every society in the Atlantic basin. In this context, it is impossible to imagine that African states and actors were never principal

jmhclark.bsky.social•32 days ago

Agents of this trade. In many (not all) contexts, African actors controlled the trade, setting conditions under which captives could (or could not) be trafficked to the Americas. When, where, and who Europeans could traffic was often controlled or limited to certain times of year, certain regions

jmhclark.bsky.social•32 days ago

Or certain kinds of captives—prisoners of war, refugees, judicial captives, and even then who could be trafficked overseas could be further limited by age and sex. In addition, European traders often paid tax or tribute to African states to receive market access.

grumpygrandpa2.bsky.social•32 days ago

Sadly you are right

patrickrcrotty.bsky.social•32 days ago

PSA: don't engage with Philip Vernon on this thread. If you cite easily-confirmable facts that are inconvenient to his argument, he'll insinuate you're a racist and then block you.

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