Gore No Return

The story that surrounds the transatlantic slave trade is notoriously known, by both young and old, across the nation. This story has not only survived, but thrived as “truth” through generations for several centuries; Although, it is much closer to a mystical tale than reality. In Reversing Sail, Michael Gomez lays the myths affiliated with African Diaspora to rest. Gomez shows the path of the amalgamation of the African people along with their resources into Europe. A path that leads to the New World, that would potentially become the Americas, would ultimately result in more than just the exploitation of Africans as slaves. Compacted into an eight-chapter undergrad textbook, Gomez uses Reversing Sail to unground the history, complexity, and instrumentality of the African Diaspora. He does such in a

The Atlantic Slave Trade was a part of African history that had made one of it's biggest impact on Africa's relation with the world and more importantly on the inner workings of the country itself due to its large-scale involvement of many of the people in the continent. Although the slave trade was so long ago the impact can still be seen in Africa's social workings within the people, its economy in the local and global market, and within the political landscape of the countries.

One implication as a result of the biggest known migration of human beings in history is that there is little documentation of individuals from the African Slave Trade. As such a familiar occurrence in history, there is little to be known about the individual experiences of captives during this horrific time. Randy Sparks, author of The Two Princes of Calabar, ends the silence as he provides the reader with a glimpse into an eighteenth century odyssey, and first hand account to the trading communities along the coast of West Africa. This trade not only transported people, but the exchange of ideas is also present across and around the Atlantic. The novel tells the story of two young men from Nigeria who are from an elite slave trading family. These men were captured by Europeans and sold into slavery until they were ultimately released back to their homeland. The Two Princes of Calabar offers insight into the complexities that existed in the transracial Atlantic world of the eighteenth century through the themes of privilege, gender bias, and the mistreatment of the enslaved.

Although all this documents stress voices from the Slave Trade, each document sheds a unique light on the much-debated question about who should be held responsible for the tragedy of the Atlantic slave trade. For example, Document 15.1 sheds light on the role of both European and African merchants in the trafficking of slaves as well as the human suffering of the slave trade. However Document 15.2 reveals the cooperation between local African rulers and European and African traders in the slave trade. Moreover, Documents 15.3 focus on how disruptive European traders could be to established African governments, even those that actively opposed the slave trade. And finally, Document 15.4 shows how some African leaders were attached to the slave trade and promoted it even when European were moving to end it. Nonetheless, all the documents do shed a clear and a full light on what should be held responsible for the

“The Slave Ship: A Human History” written by Marcus Rediker describes the horrifying experiences of Africans, and captains, and ship crewmen on their journey through the Middle Passage, the water way in the Atlantic Ocean between Africa and the Americas. The use of slaves to cultivate crops in the Caribbean and America offered a great economy for the European countries by providing “free” labor and provided immense wealth for the Europeans. Rediker describes the slave migration by saying, “There exists no account of the mechanism for history’s greatest forced migration, which was in many ways the key to an entire phase of globalization” (10). African enslavement to the Americas is the most prominent reason for a complete shift in the

Equiano, on a slave ship towards the West Indies, was on the verge of everlasting bondage. “In this manner we continued to undergo more hardships than I can now relate, hardships which are inseparable from this accursed trade. Many a time we were near suffocation from the want of fresh air, which was often without for whole days together.” (57) The conditions for slaves on these transport ships was horrendous, as those in charge cared little for the well being of these Africans. Equiano was unaware of what was to come, and fear lingered in his memory of this unforgiving experience. He explains the process of the transaction, “We were not many days in the merchant’s custody, before we were sold after their usual manner, which was: On a signal given (as the beat of a drum), the buyers rush at once into the yard where the slaves are confined, and make choice of that parcel they like best.” (58)

The changes in African life during the slave trade era form an important element in the economic and technological development of Africa. Although the Atlantic slave trade had a negative effect on both the economy and technology, it is important to understand that slavery was not a new concept to Africa. In fact, internal slavery existed in Africa for many years. Slaves included war captives, the kidnapped, adulterers, and other criminals and outcasts. However, the number of persons held in slavery in Africa, was very small, since no economic or social system had developed for exploiting them (Manning 97). The new system-Atlantic slave trade-became quite different from the early African slavery. The

This enormous increase in slave trade came from the chartered companies (given trade monopolies in exchange for fees), as well as from new maritime knowledge gained by repeated travels across what became known as the “The Middle Passage”, a stretch of water between the gold and slave coasts, the region of Angola, and Brazil and the West Indies.

Following the initial summaries of pre-colonial African history, the cruel realities of the African Slave Trade was represented by a pair of shackles and a yoke, both used to prevent escape by captives. Next to the artifacts was a life-like setting of a slave roped to a tree, forcing one to think about brutal realities of slavery. Further in the exhibit,

The Shipwreck Shines Light on Historic Shift in Slave Trade showed a historic shift of the Portuguese slave trade in December 1794. It reveal according to the National Geographic, “More than 400 men, women, and children lay shackled in the ship’s hold, their fates bound to the merciless law of supply and demand.” The Portuguese slave traders of Africa had their vessel ready to partake of a trying journey. The 7000-mile journey from Mozambique was on a high turbulence of waters crossing the Atlantic to Brazil. This was a high risk and based on a financial gain.

For approximately 360 years starting in 1500 and ending in the 1809, Africans were brought to the Americas against their own will. This was known as the slave trade and was considered to be the largest forced migration in history. During the slave trade more than 12 million Africans were forcibly relocated to the Americas, which were then known to European settlers as the “New World,” (Gates). Throughout the slave trade Africans were captured, separated from their families, then brought to the American’s on ships in which they were auctioned off and sold. The ships that they were transported on were of treacherous and often fatal conditions.

Up to 20,000 Haitians were lured into the Dominican Republic in 2016 alone. These unfortunate people were promised high paying jobs, but when they arrived, they were enslaved to harvest the crops of sugar cane fields. Sugar slavery has changed the world in many ways. Including the circulation of sugar, the face of slavery, how slaves were looked upon, and how the world gets its sugar today. Sugar slavery has had various consequences on both American and World History, through not only how it changed the face of slavery, but how it circulated sugar throughout the world as well.

Looking at the narrative of Equiano and the many details it portrays, we have learned a lot about the Atlantic slave trade and its effect on Africa, its people and the world. According to the narrative, slaves were not only taken against their will, but were separated from their families, loved ones and friends. They were mistreated, beaten, burned, torture, and punish for trying to escape or being disobedient by their masters. In some cases, the torture and punishments were so severe, that they would try taking

John Sutter's 2012 report on slavery in Mauritania is the piece of writing that I am going to discuss in this paper. Some of the power of this piece derives from factors unrelated to the writing. The report is multimedia, so there are visuals that accompany the writing. In addition, the concepts are powerful on their own slavery is powerful in particular, but the wild, desert setting is also quite evocative. The writing itself, however, also holds a lot of power.

The narrative by Olaudah Equiano gives an interesting perspective of slavery both within and outside of Africa in the eighteenth century. From these writings we can gain insight into the religion and customs of an African culture. We can also see how developed the system of trade was within Africa, and worldwide by this time. Finally, we hear an insider's view on being enslaved, how slaves were treated in Africa, and what the treatment of African slaves was like at the hands of the Europeans.