George, I saw a PBS broadcast about African-American history that went into great depth on the slave trade. It made an interesting observation that, in the mid 1600's, blacks and whites served as indentured servants in the New England colonies in exactly the same way, many blacks earning land and money at the completion of their contracts and going on to become free citizens and farmers. It was not until the early 1700's that slavery gained a permanent status based on race.

I also found it interesting that, during the American Revolution, Britain made an offer of freedom to all slaves who would fight on the Royalist side. Many thousands of African-americans joined the British Army as it swept through the Southern Colonies. After the British defeat at Yorktown, some were taken to England with the departing fleet, but most were sent back to the Slaveholders, or to prison.