They Helped Abolish Slavery

拥有奴隶的多少成为葡萄牙人显示权威的一种象征，西班牙人用奴隶做些什么？那些残暴的奴隶主是用什么手段来让这些可怜的人们完成繁重的工作?最终是谁废除了奴隶制？

Ｍen and women had been used as slaves as far back as the ancient civilisations of Egypt, GREece and Rome. They were mostly captured during wars and brought back to be sold into slavery by soldiers. In the Middle Ages, Arabs were buyers of slaves from Africa. Sometimes the black men or women were enticed(诱惑) aboard ships and then kidnapped to be sold.

The Portuguese(葡萄牙人) were the first to explore west Africa and the Congo. They took small numbers of black people to their country and found a market for their services as slaves. Gradually it became quite fashionable for wealthy Portuguese families to own one or more slaves, so over the years, there was such a demand that it was quite common for boatloads of blacks to be shipped to Portugal. Most of the slaves were bought from local kings or tribal chiefs who exchanged people for merchandise which included strong drink and firearms(枪炮).

Spaniards(西班牙人) then entered the market as they needed cheap labour in their colonies of the New World. John Hawkins, the famous English sea captain, himself became an active trader followed by many of his own nationality. Trading by British ships continued for two hundred years, and between 1750 and 1780 it has been estimated that over half a million slaves were sold by traders from the English city of Liverpool alone. By far the largest market was that of the Southern states of America. Most of them were employed picking cotton.

Men, women and even children were transported under appalling(令人震惊的) conditions—often being chained or made to squat for the whole voyage. Owners of slaves were generally cruel, using whips(鞭子) and other forms of punishment to make them work harder.

In 1789 William Wilberforce broughth is Bill before Parliament in England to abolish slavery. Sadly there were too many people making large sums of money from these dealings. It was not until 1807 that a Bill was passed making slave trading unlawful in England.

As late as 1863, Abraham Lincoln was instrumental in abolishing slavery in most states of America. There were about four million slaves at the time. Today their descendants—Afro－Americans—are proud descendants of those unfortunate black slaves. They now enjoy complete equality with white people.

Circle the letter that completes each sentence.

1. The use of slaves began________.

a. long ago when Arab merchants sold Africans to wealthy Europeans

b. when Portuguese sailors marketed Africans on their return from exploring

c. when soldiers from ancient civilisations sold their war captives

2. The main reason the Spaniards became interested in slaves________.

a. was to make them fight during their conquests of the New World

b. was to supply their home market

c. was to provide workers for Spanish colonists in the New World

3. British slave traders found their most profitable market________.

a. was in some parts of the United States where cotton was grown

b. was in Liverpool where many slaves were employed in factories

c. was in Lisbon where the Portuguese bought slaves

Write “True” or “False” after each statement.

4. It took over 15 years for the Parliament in England to create a law that made slave-trading illegal.________

5. In 1863 the total population of America was about 4,000,000.________

6. Aboard some slave ships the occupants were unable to move around during the voyage. ________

参考答案:1.c 2.c 3.a 4 .Ture 5.False 6.Ture