Chapter 627: Slave Merchant

Joan has also heard about the bloody slave trade on the east coast of the New World. When he was living in Leiden Port, he also visited the slave trading market accompanied by Thomas Chap, and he was very concerned about the kind of slavery that stripped the living people naked. The scene of putting on shackles as a cattle auction left a deep impression.

Among Joann's friends, those who came from relatively wealthy families, such as Thomas Chap, Edward Gates and even the kind-hearted Custis sisters, had slaves in their families.

As a native southerner, although Joann and his friends were more or less influenced by the enlightenment thought, deep in their hearts they believed that holding slaves was disgraceful, but the power of tradition was stronger. The younger generation has neither the courage nor the knowledge how to change this tradition.

Joan was born in a family of farmers in a small town, and he has never used slaves since he was a child. If someone stands up and calls for the abolition of slavery, he is willing to support it, and he does not feel that his life will be affected by the abolition of this barbaric and backward system. what effect.

But the "slave masters" like Thomas, Edward, and the Custis sisters, who have been inseparable from their servants since they were born, are different. If the slaves in the family are dismissed, who will wash and cook for them, who will plow the farmland and graze cattle and horses for them? ?

If slavery was abolished, rich young masters and young ladies like them would not know how to live with their own hands once they left the environment where slaves were serving food and clothing.

Even a paladin like George Vasa, a model of character in Joan's mind, although he never bought slaves himself, he also inherited many slaves from his deceased father and elder brother, and has been quietly enjoying the benefits of slavery. Benefits come.

Joan had privately discussed with Vassar his views on the widespread practice of "plantation slavery" in the South. Vassar's attitude may represent the highest moral level of contemporary southern slave owners:

"Slavery is very immoral and should be abolished. However, this deep-rooted tradition has too much influence on all aspects of society. It cannot be abolished overnight. I am afraid that our generation will not be able to solve this problem. We can only try our best to deal with it." Slaves are better, and the great mission of abolishing slavery will be left to future generations."

George Vassar also revealed to Joan that although he could not change slavery personally, he decided to write this passage in his will:

"After I die, the heirs of the estate must dismiss all the slaves under my name and give them some monetary compensation so that they can live a dignified life as 'free people'."

Based on what Joan knew about George Vassar, he believed that this man would do what he said.

But when Vasa was alive, he did not publicly express his will to free the slaves, and only dared to reveal his conscience in his will. The inner contradictions and entanglements reflected in this are a true portrayal of the contemporary southern social atmosphere.

In terms of absolute numbers, the number of slaves in the northern colonies was far less than that in the south, and the voices of the upper class against slavery were stronger.

But this does not mean that slavery was prohibited in the northern colonies. In fact, slavery was also prevalent in the north.

However, limited by the harsh climate and natural environment, the north does not have as many large plantations covering tens of thousands of acres as the south. Agriculture is relatively backward, while industry is more developed.

In the north, instead of the southern big plantation owners playing the role of "slave masters" are the big factory owners and big mine owners. The slaves are locked up in factories and mines to work all day long. The treatment is even worse than in the southern plantations, and the death rate is lower than The south is much higher, and if a group of slaves die, a new group of slaves will replace the former positions.

With the increasing demand for slaves in the factories and mines of the North, this provided the soil for the likes of Francis Messinger to make bloody money.

Francis Messinger, a greedy and ruthless slave trader and pirate captain, has the title of member of parliament, huge wealth, and many ruthless bandits for him to drive. It is conceivable that he has great power.

Hailaer offended such a big person, and Joan was afraid for her, so she asked her if she wanted to board the ship tonight and hide in the cabin of the Mercury to avoid the limelight.

"There's no need to hide, this is a free port! Not to mention the lackeys under Messinger, even if Francis Messinger himself stands here, huh, he wouldn't dare to do anything to me!" Hailaer might be the wine Getting excited, he boasted triumphantly: "Listen up, don't be intimidated! Let me tell you a little secret, in fact, the lord of Freeport, Lord Herrell, heh heh... that's my father!"

"Wow~ Then you are amazing!" Holden applauded seriously, with a mocking smile on his face, "It is well known that Lord Herel is a storm giant, and the average height of a storm giant must be at least 20 feet. ? You claim to be the daughter of the lord, but are you five feet tall? This kind of bull can boast, it is an insult to our IQ!"

Hailaer's pretty face was flushed, and she tried to defend herself against Holden's doubts: "I'm not bragging..."

"Okay, okay! I believe you are not bragging!" Holden imitated Hailaer's tone, pretending to be mysterious, "Hey! Now, I will not hide it anymore, and I will tell you a little secret, in fact I come from a noble family background, but I am a prince from a big country in the old world..."

"Fuck you!" Hailar grabbed the wine glass and threw it at him, "If you are really a prince...Joan is an archmage!"

Joan couldn't help but shuddered, and hurriedly declared: "I'm not! I don't! You brag about your bullshit, don't get involved with me!"

The three young people chatted while eating, as if there were endless topics to talk about.

Although Joann is not good at chatting, and mainly plays the audience of Hyrule and Holden, and has to mediate their quarrels from time to time, he is surprisingly not bored. During the weekends spent at the sisters' home, the mood became extraordinarily relaxed and comfortable.

This lunch lasted until the evening, and the three of them left the "Mermaid Arm" tavern when they were full of wine and food. Now they even skipped dinner.

Considering the advice of the seagull "Kate", Joan had no intention of wandering on the streets for the sake of safety, and proposed to go directly back to the hotel. Neither Hailar nor Holden had any objections. They followed Joan to the hotel where he stayed yesterday, opened a room to wash and rest, and had a good sleep. They had to get up early tomorrow to get on the boat.

Joan returned to his guest room, brushed up on his homework as usual after washing up, and read through the recently transcribed spells, focusing on those spells that he hadn't mastered yet. Time passed by every minute until the midnight bell rang.

Joan was interrupted by the sound of the bell, looked up at the dimly lit street outside the window, got up and moved his stiff limbs after sitting for a long time. Suddenly remembering the suggestion of applying for the exam put forward by Hailaer, he returned to the desk, opened the catalog page of the spell book, looked at the lines of familiar spell names in front of him, and fell into deep thought.