Christianity only began to oppose slavery seriously in the 1700's, mostly in Protestant England. One of the radicals who took up the abolitionist cause was a guy named Wilberforce, who wrote "Amazing Grace". It took over a century for the Brits to outlaw the slave trade. It was not over legally until the Brazilians ended it in 1888. England, France, Portugal, The Netherlands, Denmark all had colonies in the Caribbean in which the really nasty job of cutting cane was done by slaves. I can attest to the nastiness of cutting cane, as I tried it for myself on the plantation of a Mexican friend in Tamaulipas. Picking coffee is a delight compared to cutting cane. Cane is sticky and covered with bugs, and it is hard to avoid slicing yourself with a machete when you cut way down on the cane. The cane leaves cut your hands. Of course, now they use gloves, but slaves did not get gloved or often even shoes. Jesus would not have enjoyed cutting cane. No one would have.
Jesus spoke not one word against slavery. He was outraged by poor exchange rates in the Temple, he got his loincloth in a knot when a fig tree failed to bear a fig, but slavery was one injustice that he pretty much took for granted, as did everyone in his times, even most of the slaves. The Holy Mother Church owned about half the sugar plantations in the Huasteca in Mexico at the time of Mexican Independence. They only gave them up when the Constitution of 1824 was enforced by (are you ready for this?) Los Liberales. It was the same Constitution that made slavery illegal in Mexico. The one the Texans rebelled against. The Texas war of Independence was a pro-slavery war. They were not just remembering the Alamo, they were remembering that cutting cane was a very unpleasant job, one better left to the slaves.
As I said, the Church was pro slavery. If you investigate the history of the South and plantation culture, you will find all sorts of books in which slavery was touted as being the natural order of things, something that Jehovah obviously favored, by making Africans so well suited to working in the hot sun. Slavery was said to be good for the slaves. In return for a couple or three decades cutting cane for the Massa, the slaves would be rewarded with life everlasting in Heaven. Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, comin' for to carry me home, or in other words, let me die and go to Heaven because this job is really hard and there ain't no mo' cane on the Brazos, my Lord.
Of the first ten US presidents, seven owned slaves, and only two were opposed to to, John and John Quincy Adams.
Herein ends your lesson on Black History for Black History Month.
