Chapters14-16 Slavery should never be tolerated

Other than empire building and growing commerce, what else was significant from 1450-1750 and even beyond? Unfortunately, it was slavery. According to Strayer, "...the New World slavery was largely based on plantation agriculture and treated slave as a form of dehumanized property, lacking any rights in the society of their owners. Slave status throughout the Americas was inherited across generations and there was little hope of eventual freedom for the vast majority" (450). The whole scenario would easily infuriate anyone in a clear mind. Family structure was destroyed as each member went to the auction block. Parents had to shoulder the anxiety of being separated from their children. Children had to go through the emotional trauma of being taken away by strangers as they were sold. The memory of involuntary separation between family members must have caused much anguish. To add insult to injury, they were considered as the "master's property." They had no possession and were subjected to extreme cruelty. Many slaves innocently accepted their troubled plight until they finally realized that nobody had to endure such injustice.
Even today, different forms of slavery exists. I personally think that when pride and greed smothers the heart and blinds the eyes, one's compassion is overshadowed. We have to learn to resist the temptation to desire to be superior. It is not morally right to take advantage of anyone. Slavery in any form is unacceptable.