A History of the Colonization of Africa by Alien Races by Harry Johnston

Man had not long attained full humanity before he conceived the idea of enslaving instead of, or as well as, eating his enemies or his inferiors. Slavery and the slave trade, however-mere servitude-need not excite great horror or pity when it occurs among people of the same race or the same religion, or in countries which are not far from the home of the enslaved. It is where the state of servitude exists between widely divergent races that it gives rise to abuses, which are obvious even to those who are not sensitive philanthropists.

The Negro, more than any other human type, has been marked out by his mental and physical characteristics as the servant of other races. There are, of course, exceptions to the general rule. There are tribes like the Kruboys of the West African coast, the Mandingo, the Wolof, and the Zulu, who have always shown themselves so recalcitrant to slavery that they have generally been let alone; while the least divergence from the negro stock in an upward direction-such as in the case of the Fula, Gala and Somali-appears to produce an unconquerable love of freedom. But the Negro in a primitive state is a born slave. He is possessed of great physical strength, docility, cheerfulness of disposition, a short memory for sorrows and cruelties, and an easily aroused gratitude for kindness and just dealing. He does not suffer from home-sickness to the over-bearing extent that afflicts other peoples torn from their homes, and, provided he is well fed, he is easily made happy. Above all, he can toil hard under the hot sun and in the unhealthy climates of the torrid zone. He has little or no race-fellowships-that is to say, he has no sympathy for other negroes; he recognizes, follows and imitates his master independently of any race affinities, and, as he is usually a strong man and a good fighter, he has come into request not only as a labourer but as a soldier.