Treat ment of Females in the Antibellum Period essays

Treat ment of Females in the Antibellum Period essays 1A. The common experience of European, African, and Native American women in colonial America was that no matter where they were in America, women were considered subordinate to men. The most intriguing part about the era was the way that captives were treated. Whether it be as slaves or as just captives, women were treated basically for the males sexual and economic favor as a means of production. It is stated in Chapter 2 of Norton and Alexander that the exchange of women through systems of captivity, adoption, and marriage seem to have provided European and Native men with mutually understood symbols of power with which to bridge cultural barriers Often times African and Native American women had no choice of who and when then had sexual relations. Many times it was there captures or masters who would force themselves upon the captive women. African women often werent given much of a chance to be intimate with another slave because they were too busy working in the fields. Native American and European women, mainly Spanish, had their male counterparts slaughtered during raids. The treatment of Native American and Spanish women were different. They were often treated as captives and not so much as slaves, both groups of females were expected to adopt the custom in which they were captured in to. Often times these women would marry a member of their captures race, but was given a choice on whom they were intimate with. It is stated in Chapter 2 of Norton and Alexander that two factors played and important part in seeing how Spanish and Indian women were treated First, captives status and treatment within the host society would establish the structural constraints (culturally specific customs and laws governing rights and obligations) within which individuals might pursue their goals. Second, sheer luck and the individual captives personal resources determined much of her actual l...