SNELGRAVE defended his taking of slaves by rationalizing they had committed crimes or been captured in war by other tribes. Yet, his treatment of the slaves was inordinately civil while committing, what we now recognize as, an uncivil act.

At this time in history, this harsh form of slavery was an accepted practice. Slavery in other cultures was often due to indebtedness and lacked the cruelty of commercial slavery. In fact, in these other cultures, some would sell themselves into slavery when they had no way to sustain themselves. What do you think made commercial slavery so brutal and what do you think of SNELGRAVE'S approach?