America is the only nation where people politick to make its long-dead slave past the center of its history. As a historical matter, it makes little sense when compared to the slave sins of other nations.
America received 3-5% of the slaves sold in the Atlantic trade. Over 90% were sold in the Caribbean and South America.
The first collective protest against slavery occurred in the Thirteen Colonies in 1688. In 1860, just over 1% of Americans owned slaves, although it was legal to do so. Most states never had slavery. American ships legally participated in the Atlantic slave trade from 1783 to 1794, at which point it became illegal for American ships to transport slaves.
America stands alone in fighting a civil war to end slavery. An estimated 320,000 white Union soldiers died to ensure abolition. America’s war and abolition were a clarion call for other nations to abolish slavery.
There are many nations where slavery played a much more salient role, but it’s not a central part of their history books or even a chapter. Portugal started the Atlantic slave trade in the early 16th century. Most slaves in this trade, about 45–50%, or 5.5 million, were sold in the Portuguese colony of Brazil. Slavery existed in Portuguese African colonies into the 1960s.
Originally Posted by Mark Rippetoe
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