Unknown Evil

Upon hearing Stanley's words, the room fell into silence. Regardless of one's background, upon realizing their involvement in wrongdoing, a sense of guilt would naturally surface.

The abrupt arrival of Europeans disrupted the peaceful existence of the local indigenous people that had persisted for thousands of years.

"Mr. Stanley, there's no need to be so despondent; this is likely the cost of progress and civilization," Constantine consoled.

"The price to pay for civilization?" Nina and Stanley were somewhat puzzled by Constantine's words.

"In the Bible, it's written that God created the ancestors of mankind, Adam and Eve, establishing a paradise for them in a place called Eden. The garden was abundant with exquisite flowers and fruits, adorned with gold, pearls, and onyx. A bountiful river flowed through the garden, nurturing the land. Thanks to God's gift, the estate flourished with grains and fruits," Constantine explained.

Nina and Stanley listened attentively, finding the story familiar, as it resonated with many Christians.

"Eve and Adam lived blissfully in the manor, indulging in the garden's plentiful harvests, free to roam without constraints, oblivious to troubles. Until one day, the tempted duo consumed the forbidden fruit, offending God, and were expelled from the Garden of Eden," Constantine continued. The two listeners drew parallels between Constantine's narrative and the situation of African natives, leading them into contemplation.

"Since then, they entered Paradise Lost. People had to toil for sustenance. Hard work became the means to secure food, and liberation was only achieved in death," Constantine remarked.

"Perhaps this is the price to pay for entering civilization. The inception of civilization marked a calamity that defied human nature. Many have envisioned a paradise where one could obtain food effortlessly, travel freely, and evade troubles by toiling in the soil. The notion deeply resonates with me," Constantine expressed, clearly moved.

"Maybe now is the time for the people of Southern Africa to enter Paradise Lost. Of course, these are biblical tales, not to be taken too seriously. Moreover, we are far from the snake that tempted Africans into eating the forbidden fruit. You know where the Portuguese initiated the slave trade in the 16th century, where local chiefs armed with Portuguese muskets engaged in battles, trading captives for goods with the Portuguese," Constantine explained.

"Furthermore, there is no actual paradise there. Before the Portuguese arrived, tribes weren't vying for supremacy, like the Kingdom of Congo or the Kingdom of Kuba, established by indigenous people along the Congo River in Africa. Hence, we need not burden ourselves with such a heavy moral weight," Constantine seemed to console himself.

"Besides, the infamous slave trade is now seldom pursued by the Portuguese, but the Arabs remain active," Constantine added.

Indeed, when discussing the slave trade, people often think of the malevolent European colonists who sold black people to the Americas for profit, subjecting them to harsh labor. These slave owners in the Americas brutally oppressed and mistreated their slaves.

While this is an undeniable historical fact, it only represents a fraction of the truth.

In the heinous and malevolent interest chain of the slave trade, where manors and slave owners in the Americas stand downstream, European colonists played the intermediary role—buying black slaves, transporting them to the Americas, and delivering them to slave owners.

So, who operated upstream in this interest chain? Who personally captured and looted black people, turning them into slaves and selling them to European colonists?

The answer is not solely the European colonists themselves. Though some were captured by the Europeans, the majority of black people trafficked were actually bought from others.

The primary slave providers, often overlooked by the world, were Arabs.

Until the end of the nineteenth century, European colonists merely established strongholds on the African coast or navigable rivers for ease of trade. Their control over Africa was not as extensive as depicted on the colonial map, with a significant portion of the territory assigned to European countries on the map representing a nominal rather than actual control. They dispatched officials to manage specific key areas, such as mining regions and areas suitable for cultivating commercial crops.

In essence, Europeans were incapable of venturing deep into the African interior, capturing black slaves on a large scale, and selling them. The absence of railways in Africa and the lack of inventions like airplanes and automobiles rendered Europeans powerless to arrest black slaves on a massive scale.

Moreover, the European physique was ill-suited for the African climate, and at that time, there were no effective medicines for many diseases. European whites in the era of colonialism engaged in the malevolent black slave trade, capturing large numbers of African blacks worldwide to serve as lowly laborers.

Yet, few have paid attention to the enduring 1,000-year history of the Arabs engaging in the slave trade. Unlike the Caucasian Europeans, the Arab world in the Middle East has never reflected on its extensive history of slave trade.

This divergence is evident in the 21st century, where black Africa south of the Sahara Desert and white Africa north of the desert have little connection. The Arab countries remain silent about their centuries-long involvement in trafficking blacks, refusing to confront their history of slave trade.

Arabs in the Middle East were the pioneers of organized and large-scale African slave trade, predating the Western slave trade.