being charged and tried for using that word.

Americans invented the word and perfected racial hate. This type of american racial and ethnic hate have been copied worldwide. South Afrca was notable because they were very astute students of american segregation. It was and is called apartheid. America is a great teacher, we're even trying to bring this hate back in the guise of teaparty candidates and the republican presidential nominee and party aka his highness mittytwit and rience doofus. It's all a party.

the colonial European countries began the transatlantic slave trade long before the US even existed.

and? Oh I'm sorry you are just defending your country against accusations of it being extremely racist. I'm proud of you. I wonder when the Trayvon Martin trial will begin?

Here is Wikipedia comments on the word "Nigger" it shows the confusion a lot of people have between that word and what was considered the proper word for African-Americans, Negro. The Wikipedia article does NOT mention it, but in the 1860 election, one writer on the Democratic Candidate from the south (The Democrats split that year into at least two parties) said the following (paraphrase from Memory) "This country is NOT going to elect to the Presidency, a man who spells Negro with two gs". I mention it for it clearly shows the two words were already viewed as different by 1860, through the Wikipedia report seems to indicate otherwise.

Wikipedia on this subject:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigger

Now, given that most people in the US did not know how to read and write till about the 1850s (1880s for the South, Public Schools were introduced in the North starting in the 1840s, but not introduced on the same scale as the North till Reconstruction). various spellings of Negro can be seen, but if you look at the words carefully and the context of the writing, it is clear the various words used meant the word Negro NOT Nigger. Wikipedia tries to hard to look for the word Nigger in various documents prior to 1860, but in most cases it is the word Negro the writer was trying to convey, not as an attack on African Americans which is tied in with the use of Nigger.

Mark Twain, uses the word "Nigger" in his books, for he grew up along the Mississippi River and heard the word being used. He clearly knew the difference for he was careful when and how he used the word "Nigger" in that when it is used, it ends up conveying an attack on the user of the word not on African Americans.

As to use OUTSIDE the US, we have in the 1870s, Sir H. Rider Haggard in his most famous book, King Solomon Mines, writing for about a page why he will NOT use a well known word for Africans. The word is NEVER used in the book and on that page, but it is clear what word he meant. I mention it for H RIder Haggard had been a Big Game Hunter in Africa before he retired and started his writing carrier. He depended on his experiences in Africa (For example, in the prolong he also points out in his book they are NO petticoats, i.e. White Women for he does have African women in the book including the High Priestess who was his Hero's most deadly foe in the book "King Solomon Mines&quot . I bring H, Rider Haggard up for that page shows he knew of the word from his days in Africa.

The word "Nigger" had thus spread from the US to the rest of the English speaking word by the late 1800s. The real question is who first used the term derogatory against African Americans? Thomas Jefferson used the term "Black" instead of the more common English word "Negro" and that implies that he knew of the word "Nigger" and that people did confuse it with "Negro" so he avoided that possibility by used the term "Black". Given that much of the population he wanted to inform by his book were English and other Europeans, it also implies that BOTH words were well known to people who could read and write in both groups.

Given that the English ended up controlling the Slave trade after the mid 1600s till the Napoleonic Wars forced them to send they resources elsewhere, the use of the word would have been part of that trade and using the derogatory term, means that the sailors could view the Africans they were hauling like cattle or horses not as people.

Thus it is very possible that the term "Nigger" was first used on English Slavers, and the word went into American Lexicon from the Slavers. In the Colonial Period, the most profitable areas for slaves was Brazil to the West Indies, mostly the West Indies due to the European demand for sugar. America was a side market, still a huge number of slaves but much less then the West Indies (and less profitable for the Slavers). THe West Indies still as a huge prejudice against Africans, Cuba which has at least tried to treat people the same, still has the problem (and admits so, as part of Cuba's policy to end such prejudice). The only places where such prejudices do not seem to exist are on the Islands with 90% or more Africans (and even in such countries, the more white the person has, the higher prestige he or she is viewed, this is best seen in Haiti with its different classes based on how white you are, even through almost everyone would be considered African American in the US).

In all of these places, where English is the language, the Word "Nigger" is known and is used in the same manner as in the US. As I pointed out above, the use in these places may pre-date the use of the word in the US. My point is simple, the word is tied in with the Slave Trade and that was much more something the English Controlled and thus if anyone invented the word, adopted a Racist attitude and spread that racism around the word it is the English. This is NOT to excuse the Americans, for we have done all we could to spread the use of the word "Nigger" and the racism associated with the term, but at the time when the word spread around the world, along with the racism the word represented, it appears it was the English who spread both not the Americans.

Side note: Now the Napoleonic Wars saw the first attack on British Slavery, for Britain had to send its Navy to Europe rather then the West Indies. This forced many West Indies Colonies to ease the burden on Slaves (this was compounded by the Haiti Slave revolt). While these pressure put some internal pressure to end slavery, the real end was the widespread adoption of beat sugar in Europe after 1800 (Due to the British Blockade of West Indies Sugar from Sugar cane). By the 1820s, the Sugar Cane Industry was on a decline, losing market share to beat sugar so that by 1835 the British Parliament could outlaw Slavery without to much losses. At the same time the US Slave population was expanding, for it was needed for increase Cotton production. Technically it had been illegal to import slaves into the US after 1808, but it is clear such imports continued till the 1860s. Some came from African, some from the Sugar Islands of the West Indies.

is hell, ain't it. I know all that. Been in this racist country all my life, except 7 years in germany, 1year in vietnam. I was studying this SHIT before you were born , probably. I just wanted to see how many 'good' americans would come to the defense of their country in regard to it's racist, racist nature. I see. The racism is coming back in spades. That's the sad part of having the first 'mixed' race american as POTUS. This country is SICK and disgustingly racist. But I will say that I know that the South African government sent people who studied our segregation methods to set up their apart-hate(apartheid) racist system. That's just fact, no wikipedia ect:, just a fact I ran across once in my studies. Ten four on all that big answer. Been there, done that.

The detective falsely claimed he never used the N-word in his work, under cross examination by OJ's attorney.

at least one of which got made into a tv movie

america, and all