Did race prejudice cause slavery? Or was it the other way round? Winthrop D. Jordan, in his monumental study of white American

... Was racism a cause or consequence of slavery? Did race prejudice cause slavery? Or was it the other way round? Winthrop D. Jordan, in his monumental study of white American attitudes to black people from 1550 to 1812, argues that prejudice and slavery may well have been equally cause and effect, 'dynamically joining hands to hustle the Negro down the road to complete degradation. But we must go deeper than that, if we are to understand the rise of English racism as an ideology, the various roles it has played in the past, and the role it is playing today. And first we must distinguish between race prejudice and racism Sudden or limited contact between different nations or ethnic groups gives rise, as a rule, to all kinds of popular beliefs. Such beliefs spring from ignorance, fear, and the need to find a plausible explanation for perplexing physical and cultural differences.

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