Reconstruction

I knew that after emancipation, there still was not equality and racism was a major problem in the southern states.  However, I did not know that for the period of time known as Reconstruction, federal troops actually did enforce civil rights for African Americans, giving them temporary hope of finally being treated as equals.  I find it hard to believe that the northern states, which fought so hard in the Civil War for the freedom of slaves, could just get up and leave them to fight for themselves in the south.  In some ways, things really weren't much better for African Americans, even though slavery had technically ended.  Lynchings, for example, were common and though people like Ida B. Wells tried to speak out against them, there was not much that was done.  Without civil rights, African Americans were unable to defend themselves against the unfair and dangerous treatment they were receiving, and I think that the people in the north should have done something about it instead of just abandoning them.

Palmares

I wonder how Palmares began.  Where did the idea to set up a safe society for runaway slaves come from?  And how did it go so long without being noticed?  The people of Palmares had to set up a stable community with its own government and religion, as well as be self-sufficient and safe, before it would be able to withstand any attacks from the outside.  To do something like that would take years.  By the time that outsiders began to take notice of Palmares, it already had good defenses and many, many people to protect it.  It's a pity that we do not have any records from the people of Palmares; only from outsiders who observed them.  And these outsiders only considered them to be savages and a threat to nearby plantations.  There is obviously much more to the people of Palamares than that.  It would be interesting to see how the whole settlement actually began and turned into the legend that it is now.

African Conversion

I found it interesting that so many Africans were converted to Christianity so quickly after being taken as slaves.  Both Crowther and Equiano mention having religions of their own from their homes in Africa, and yet they both became very devoted Christians.  Did it have something to do with being kidnapped at such a young age?  Did they have something to gain by taking up the religion of their masters?