Comments by "bart thomassen thomassen" (@thomassenbart) on "The Present Past"
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I really like this video until the 12-minute mark when the speaker goes wokish. From that point it is nonsensical and assumes concepts and ideas that did not exist at the time. You cannot and should not impose your modern, singular morality upon peoples living in the past.
Colonialism was bad, why? That is a strange comment to make from a historian. Compared to what, one might ask? It was already admitted that the locals, not just in the Americas btw but everywhere, worked with the Europeans to fight traditional or hated foes. So, obviously things were considered bad when the Europeans showed up for those not ruling. Is that not the case at all times and places in history? Also, the assumption that one must dehumanize another to enslave that person is demonstrably false. Slavery was not regarded as wrong and would not be until the late 18th century and only then in the West and only after considerable time and effort. So, that leap of logic is not acceptable. You also don't need to dehumanize to kill. Where are these assertions coming from? European utopianism, most like.
No, slavery was not forbidden in Europe. When this statement is made, you must attach a time and place to it. Certainly, serfdom existed in Eastern Europe until the mid-19th century and though not perhaps absolute slavery, was pretty close to it and hardly distinguishable. Indentured servitude was extremely common and was a form of slavery, as was feudalism. When you can buy and sell people with the land that they are tied to by law, punish them, have basically life and death power over them, technical freedom is largely without meaning. Also, prohibitions on slavery were tied to religious status, i.e., being a Christian. Carte Blanc no slavery in Europe only happened beginning in the 19th perhaps 18th centuries. Also, all of the different peoples encountered by the Europeans, were absolutely determined to be human, (look at the Papal proclamations regarding such) which is why the emphasis on conversion to Christianity was viewed as so important. Another poor assertion, my man.
Washing our hands of this past? WTF! Before one begins to self-flagellate, perhaps a bit of context would be in order. Where else in the world, at any time was slavery condemned or outlawed? Nowhere, would be the correct answer and in fact the sub-Saharan and East African slave trades far predate and outnumber the Atlantic trade, as does slavery in Asia, India, China, East Asia and in the Americas. Recall the Aztecs and the human sacrifices, almost all slaves, I remind you. If anyone has washed their proverbial hands, it is all the nonwestern peoples and civilizations, who had to be forced by the colonial empires, to give up slavery. Oh, but colonialism was bad, right?
If you are going to scold for being historically inaccurate, then don't commit the same error and go Woke mid-way through your video.
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