Francis Wilford and other Orientalists of the 18th century in syncretising Sanskrit with Classical and Biblical narratives, establishing transcultural correspondences by means of often "crude" conjectural etymologies. Albeit, Wilford's reputation did not win the "scientific respectability" for his proposed theories, his work[s] did exert a lasting influence in early 18th century antiquarians and Romanic poets like S.T. Coleridge, Robert Southey, Percy Shelley, and Tom Moore. Wilford claimed to have discovered the Sanskrit version of the story of Noah (who had three sons – Japheth, Ham, and Shem) named "Satyavrata" (in Sanskrit) and his three sons "Jyapeti", "Charma", and "Sharma" from a Vedic
Criticism of Christianity Canaan be the slave of Shem." which was interpreted to mean that Africans were the descendants of Ham, cursed with "the mark of Ham" to be servants to the descendants of Japheth (Europeans) and Shem (Asians). In 1452, Pope Nicholas V instituted the hereditary slavery of captured Muslims and pagans, regarding all non-Christians as "enemies of Christ." The ""Curse of Ham"" along with Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians, VI, 5-7 helped American slaveowners to balance their beliefs with slavery. There are plenty other pro-slavery verses in the Old Testament that were often quoted. New Testament was ignored except that reminding