The Dawning of the Apocalypse: The Roots of Slavery, White Supremacy, Settler Colonialism, and Capitalism in the Long Sixteenth Century
# The Dawning of the Apocalypse: The Roots of Slavery, White Supremacy, Settler Colonialism, and Capitalism in the Long Sixteenth Century

The Dawning of the Apocalypse: The Roots of Slavery, White Supremacy, Settler Colonialism, and Capitalism in the Long Sixteenth Century is a book by Gerald Horne. Gerald Horne is a Professor of African American History at the University of Houston. The book offers a historical analysis of the development of settler colonialism in North America in the 16th century.

## Synopsis

August 2019 marked the 400th anniversary of the arrival of enslaved Africans in North America in 1619, which was commemorated through numerous events. However, historian Gerald Horne argues that the creation myth of settler colonialism and the formation of the United States must be revised by taking into account the sixteenth century from 1492 until the arrival of settlers in Virginia in 1607.

During this time, "whiteness" transformed into "white supremacy," allowing England to bring together various nationalities and religious minorities throughout Europe to oppose Indigenous nations and enslaved Africans.

Horne retells the brutal story of the invasion of the Americas, highlighting how the resistance by Africans and their Indigenous allies weakened Spain and enabled London to dispatch settlers to Virginia in 1607, laying the groundwork for the British Empire and the United States of America.

Furthermore, Horne says that enslaved Africans were brought to South Carolina by the Spanish in the 1520s, and their rebellion against their captors led to a significant but little-known moment in the history of colonialism. Indigenes and Africans resisted violently, and sometimes succeeded in the short term, especially when they could join together or find allies among competing empires at the borders of one colony or another.

