Black AF History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America

by Michael Harriot

By the late sixteenth century, England and Spain were beefing over which version of Christianity was best when James I ascended to the throne of England in 1603. James, a Protestant, was intent on thwarting Catholic-aligned Spain’s global domination by getting in on the rapidly growing colonizing industry. In 1534, the English Parliament declared that the country had “no superior under God” other than the British king Henry VIII, who had split with the Catholic Church so he could marry his sidepiece.2 So, while the Catholic Church had served as an early investor for Spain, Portugal, and the other white empires, Britain didn’t have access to the church’s seed money. Without the colonizer’s version of Shark Tank, the arrogant members of the British elite did not fret. The other countries may have had a head start, but the English were not burdened by faith or religion. They were free to colonize in the name of a superior higher power: Cash Money.* When Queen Elizabeth I granted charters to colonize the North American territories “unclaimed by Christians,” the first four attempts failed. To be fair, the only reason they failed was because of disease, lack of food, lack of navigation skills, and the inability to convince the natives of English superiority. No one knows what happened to the fourth attempt, aptly named the Lost Colony of Roanoke. But the English kept trying. They truly believed they were going to find the Garden of Eden, with trees dripping diamonds and streams ...