I know some bloggers think they invented snark, but the best of us is a piker compared to a real pro like Montesquieu.
5.-Of the Slavery of the Negroes
Were I to vindicate our right to make slaves of the negroes, these should be my arguments:-
The Europeans, having extirpated the Americans, were obliged to make slaves of the Africans, for clearing such vast tracts of land.
Sugar would be too dear if the plants which produce it were cultivated by any other than slaves.
These creatures are all over black, and with such a flat nose that they can scarcely be pitied.
It is hardly to be believed that God, who is a wise Being, should place a soul, especially a good soul, in such a black ugly body.
It is so natural to look upon color as the criterion of human nature, that the Asiatics, among whom eunuchs are employed, always deprive the blacks of their resemblance to us by a more opprobrious distinction.
The color of the skin may be determined by that of the hair, which, among the Egyptians, the best philosophers in the world, was of such importance that they put to death all the red-haired men who fell into their hands.
The negroes prefer a glass necklace to that gold which polite nations so highly value. Can there be a greater proof of their wanting common sense?
It is impossible for us to suppose these creatures to be men, because, allowing them to be men, a suspicion would follow that we ourselves are not Christians.
Weak minds exaggerate too much the wrong done to the Africans. For were the case as they state it, would the European powers, who make so many needless conventions among themselves, have failed to enter into a general one, in behalf of humanity and compassion?
[Emphasis added.]
I have to admit, I have no idea what this post is supposed to be about.
That Montesquieu - he was quite a clever fellow (for those who aren’t aware, Montesquieu was the originator of the idea of “divided government”, namely setting up government so that different branches “check” each others’ powers. Sound familiar?). That’s not the first time I’ve read of him commenting on slavery, either; I remember him saying at some point that Europeans did not allow themselves to think of Africans as humans, because to do so would imply that they (the Europeans) were not “good Christian men”.
Hmmm… a snarky commentary and challenge to explore the Baron’s thoughts… thank you
( I am constantly reminded that my education will never cease!)
re-read my post… “…snarky commentary [on those who cannot respect\honor\accept a black man as president and a black woman as first lady]
Montesquieu: “Sugar would be too dear if the plants which produce it were cultivated by any other than slaves.”
Isn’t that essentially the same argument being made in favor of illegal immigration in the present day?
THanks for a good article!
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