Lyrics History 101 - Jeru The Damaja

History 101

In 1441 two Portuguese captains pick up twelve Africans
Brought them to Cabo Branco Portugal the slaves
This is the beginning of the slave trade
There were so successful that just four years after
A tax collector from Lagos set up trade with Africa
This was in about 1444
Don’t go nowhere cause there’s a whole lot more
In 1452 the first time sugar was planted on an isle in Portugal
That’s the year Pope Nicholas V proclaimed
That if you’re not a Christian, your ass can be put in chains
For years the Portuguese monopolized the slave game
There were so large they set up shop in Seville, Spain
Now in 1476
Despite papal opposition the Spanish got down with this shit
It was a captain named called Carlos de Valera
He brought back 400 men from Africa
1481 Diogo de Azambuja
Builds a castle at Elmina, that’s modern day Ghana
Not only was it one of the days busiest ports
It was also one of the slavery‘s most notorious forts
1483 the discovery of the Congo river
A goldmine if your goal was enslaving niggas
1492 Columbus sails the ocean blue
(yeah all right, once again…)
After months and months of sea, death and all types of drama
Chris stands on San Salvador, modern day Bahamas
1493 on Columbus' second voyage
He starts the transatlantic trade enslavin‘ the Taino village
He brought them from Hispaniola, that’s the D.R.
to Spain
It gets even more insane
1499 Vespucci and Hojeda take natives from South America this time
When Columbus did it there were legal issues in the past
This time he had no problems selling their native ass
1500 it starts to get real ill
Pedro Cabral sets foot on Brazil
1502 a guy named Juan Córdoba
It’s the first merchant on record to send Africans over
He was only allowed one by Spanish authorities
But other dirty merchants sent two or three
Columbus' son Diego Colón governor of the empire at that time
Said the native slaves were lazy and they worked too slow
1510 fifty black slaves are shipped to Santo Domingo
1513 Ponce de Leon
The first European to touch American soil
He landed on the coast
Modern day Florida as it‘s known to most
1516 on a ship a huge native slave rebellion
They killed the crew and sailed back home 1519 here comes Magellan
1521 Cortés slaughtered the Aztecs
1522 two slaves in Espanola break their masters necks
1526 the Germans put slaves on ships
1532 the Pizarro kills the Incas and shit
1532 the English get into the mix
John Hawkins brought back blacks, potatoes and tabacco from his trips
1579 the united provinces is formed
And the trading machine of the Dutch is born
Now I can dope on and on and on and on
But for practical reasons it‘ll take to long
To all my brothers claiming that they‘re Hispanic and Latino
You’re African, Aztecs, Indian and Taino
Now that I showed you how this nations gained their wealth
I hope I keep your interest so check it out for yourself