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词汇提示

1.tragic 悲剧

2.obtain 获得

3.rival 对抗

4.brutal 残酷

5.abolished 废除

6.Civil War 美国南北战争

7.descendants 后代

8.racial prejudice 种族偏见

原文

African Slavery in the Americas

One of the most tragic parts of the history of North and South America is the period of African slavery.

For hundreds of years，many people were taken from African，by force，to work in the fields of many different countries in North and South America.

When Europeans first came to the Americas，some of them realized that they might make money by growing crops and selling them in Europe.

However，in order to make money，they would need a cheap source of labor.

Few Europeans would come to the Americas to work for the low wages，so instead，the landowners looks for slaves.

In the areas of the great farms，or plantations，there were few Indians，so they used another source of slaves：Africa.

The plantation owners usually obtained slaves by buying them from local kings in western Africa.

This led to many wars between rival kings within Africa，who tried to capture each other's people to sell them as slaves.

A few kings tried to avoid the slave trade，but this was very difficult.

During the period of several hundred years，from the 1500s to the 1800s，about 12 million people were taken from western Africa to the Americas.

Many more people died as slaves before leaving Africa，and many more died on the ships that took them to the Americas.

This was because the conditions on the ships were extremely unhealthy：the ships were far too crowded，and there was little food and water.

When the African slaves arrived in the Americas，the plantation owners made them work on the farms that produced goods such as cotton and sugar.

In many places，the work was very hard，and many of the slaves died from overwork

They were then replaced by other slaves who arrived from Africa.

However，many slaves survived despite the brutal conditions.

In some places，the African slaves were able to revolt against the plantation owners.

However，this was difficult because the slaves who had recently arrived spoke different languages.

Some slaves escaped into wilderness areas and were able to remain free from the plantation owners.

As time went by，many people in Europe and in Americas realized that slavery was wrong.

By the 1830s，slavery had been end ，or abolished in islands owned by the British，and in parts of the United States.

In the southern United States，slavery was ended in the 1860s，during the Civil War

In some countries，such as Brazil and Cuba，slavery only ended in the 1880s.

Today，many millions of people in North and South America are the descendants of slaves who were brought from Africa.

The effects of slavery have lasted for many generations，and there was much racial prejudice against African people even when slavery ended.

However，some have achieved success despite these disadvantages.

Today，the people of African background in North and South America are a very important part in population in many countries.

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