Pulling back the curtain on all the great debates and controversies of American History.
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episode 46: A More Benevolent Slaveholder? Native Americans and the Peculiar Institution
On Episode 46, we're joined by the University of Hull's Edd Mair, who discusses his research on Native Americans as slaveholders during the 18th and 19th centuries, particularly the Seminole tribe of Florida.
We have a wide-ranging discussion of the history of Native American slavery - both as enslaved people and as slaveholders themselves.
Why did the enslave Africans? Was it out of necessity or more nefarious reasons? As we find out, some Native Americans even held similar racial beliefs to those that would become common among white people during Social Darwinism's heyday.
Mostly, we get at the question of whether or not Native American were more benevolent slaveholders in comparison with their white counterparts - a common myth that was accepted in American society.
We'll be back next month with a follow-up episode on Native Americans when we discuss how they fared during the 20th century.
Cheers,
Mark and Malcolm
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