Seventeenth-century English thinkers shifted racial origin from climate to heredity and curse theology

Evidence

English readers consumed it as quickly as other Europeans had for decades, and they were just as impressed. In a long introduction, Pory argued that climate theory could not explain the geographical distinctions in color. They must be “hereditary,” Pory suggested. Africans were “descended from Ham the cursed son of Noah.” — Ibram X. Kendi, Stamped from the Beginning, 78

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to Kendi’s broader thesis that racist ideas are manufactured to justify policy — the ‘hereditary’ framing pre-dates and justifies enslavement.