"Michigan State to create vast slave trade database" Topic

"Funded by a grant of $1.47 USD million from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Michigan State University will create a massive database that brings together scattered information about enslaved people as a priceless research hub for scholars and the public alike. The project, entitled Enslaved: The People of the Historic Slave Trade, will be one-stop-shop for people seeking slave data for academic, genealogical and personal interest purposes. They will be able to search for specific individuals, create charts, map routes and analyze demographic data.

MSU has long been at the forefront of African studies — US News and World Report ranked its African history graduate program the best in the country — and they are eminently equipped to combine scholarship with digital resources that students, researchers and anybody else who wants to delve deeper into the subject can use. This is the raison d'etre of MSU's Matrix: The Center for Digital Humanities and Social Sciences which will be one of the databases linked together with other world-class databases to create the Enslaved tool…"
Main page
link

Amicalement
Armand

Will white indentured servants (that is, slaves) be included?

Talk about bad timing (for anything related to Michigan State University).

(smile)

Amicalement
Armand

Jeigheff – Really? You went there? Of course, nobody should read any racism into your comment, should they? But come on really?

There is a difference between indentured servants and slaves. Indentured servants typically worked four to seven years in exchange for passage, room, board, lodging and freedom dues. While the life of an indentured servant was harsh and restrictive, it wasn't slavery. There were laws that protected some of their rights. Now there were more than a few cases of holders of indentured servants kept adding false or excessive charges onto the debt they were working off but they did have recourse to some protections under the law. Also, their children were free, children of slaves were not. Slaves did not nor could they expect to ever be free, even though some were able to purchase their freedom from slave owners willing to accept their offer.

Also, another problem with your post is that indentured servants were of all colors. Not just white. While there have been whites who have been actual slaves, and not just indentured servants, I have seen no record of any in America.

I've done some reading, Private Matter. I wouldn't have wanted to be a black slave or a white indentured servant because technicalities wouldn't have made my life any better either way.

Read whatever you want into my question.

Actually, indentured servants were treated worse than slaves. Indentured servitude required no investment by the "owner". Slaves had to be bought and therefore had an investment cost associated with them. And as indentured servants were white(and overwhelmingly Irish) they don't get the sympathy card played in their favor.

So the basis for this data base is already intellectually dishonest. Which makes it apparent that the only reason for it is political.

If only the slave trade was just history and not still going on.