Final answer:
Canaan, the son of Ham, was cursed by Noah to be a slave to the descendants of his uncles, Shem and Japheth. The Curse of Ham was historically used to justify the enslavement of people, particularly of African descent, although the biblical text does not explicitly link the curse with race or skin color.
Step-by-step explanation:
According to the story of Noah as narrated in the Bible, Canaan shall be a slave unto his uncle's descendants, Shem and Japheth. Noah's declaration that Canaan would be the "lowest of slaves" to his brothers was an assertion of this servitude that became known as the Curse of Ham, despite Ham's son Canaan being the actual recipient of the curse. Over time, a series of translations and interpretations conflated the curse with the justification of slavery, particularly the enslavement of people with black skin, though this association with race is not explicit in the biblical text itself.
Historically, the descendants of Noah's sons were said to have populated different regions of the world, with Canaan's family going to Africa, Japheth's to Europe, and Shem's to Asia. These narratives and their subsequent interpretations had a significant impact on attitudes towards race and slavery throughout history, influencing societies and legal systems significantly. It is important to recognize that the curse of Canaan has been separate from racial implications in the original scriptural accounts.