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Canals
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Canals Picture it, you’re walking down the streets of Richmond during the day, you come to N. 18th street and you see the start of the “Canal Walk.” As you start to walk from the street you come to a beautifully landscaped area, and all over the place are larger than life size pictures of people that you are not sure you even know who they are. You look farther, and there are even more pictures. You realize that you would like to know who all these people are. That is what I thought the first time that I ever visited the “Canal Walk.” I started off going there about 2 years ago. It started as just a venture. Then I saw Brown’s Island and walked a little further over the footbridge and came to Belles Isle. I imagine the people who must have been here hundreds of years ago, and wonder more about them. I am doing this paper to find out and understand more about the historic aspects of canals. My main focus is on the James River and Kanawha Canal. It is said by many that the canals were built by slave labor. There is a lot of heritage that comes to African Americans by means of the canals. The plantation owners in Richmond thought that it was a good idea to “rent” out their slaves to the James River and Kanawha Company. The company gladly accepted the slaves because of the conditions in Richmond. The slaves in Richmond were use to the conditions and were immune to a majority of the diseases that were floating around. They didn’t have to worry about setting wages or worry about finding the slave’s suitable lodging. If the company had of hired immigrants, they would have to have worried about them getting sick, or even causing uproar when it came to salaries and lodging. Canals were formed for not only means of transportation, but as means of entertainment, leisure, and shipping. Ideas for the canals were brought from Europe.
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