Social And Economic Causes Of The Atlantic Slave Trade To The 15th Century

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.

Everyone has their own understanding of what slavery is, but there are misconceptions about the history of “slavery”. Not many people understand how the slave trade initially began. Originally Africa had “slaves” but they were servants or serfs, sometimes these people could be part of the master’s family. They could own land, rise to positions of power, and even purchase their freedom. This changed when white captains came to Africa and offered weapons, rum, and manufactured goods for people. African kings and merchants gave away the criminals, debtors, and prisoner from rival tribes. The demand for cheap labor was increasing, this resulted in the forced migration of over ten million slaves. The Atlantic Slave Trade occurred from 1500 to 1880 CE. This large-scale event changed the economy and histories of many places. The Atlantic Slave Trade held a great amount of significance in the development of America. Africans shaped America by building a solid foundation for the country.

There are endless reasons that human trafficking exists in modern times. These reasons are not black and white, and have a multitude of contributing factors, cause and effect, and influences. The causation of the modern slave trade is outlined in chapters three, four, and five of the text: Human Trafficking: Interdisciplinary Perspectives, written by Mary C. Burke. Chapter three, titled, “Sociological Perspective: Underlying Causes” relates sociology to the concept of human trafficking to better understand the culture behind the slave trade, including political and economic characteristics. A factor contributing to the existence of human trafficking is globalization and the development of national economies. While globalization can be

The two majors drivers that led to the transatlantic slave trade was the European desire for the agricultural products of the Americas and the need for laborers to work the land in the Americas. All participants, besides for the slaves, benefited from the trading.

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

The history of the Atlantic slave trade is long and sordid, from the working and transportation conditions to the structure of the trade itself. Historians and scholars from all backgrounds have worked to understand the impact of slavery and why it went on for so long. Two scholars, John Thornton and Mariana Candido, have extensively studied both the impact and organization of the Atlantic slave trade, but disagree on a few main conclusions. Upon thorough review of both sides, however, John Thornton’s ideas regarding the Atlantic trade are more convincing than Candido’s, and by looking deeper into each side it is clear why.

The transatlantic slave trade first began in 1502, with records of the first slaves in the New World, lasting nearly four centuries. It connected the economies of three continents. The route began in West Europe, where it continued to Africa, trading manufactured goods such as rum, textiles, weapons, and gunpowder for slaves. From Africa, the ship went along the Atlantic to America, distributing slaves, and bringing agricultural products such as coffee, cotton, rice, and sugar back to Europe. The entire route typically lasted eighteen months. The slave trade ended in 1867, seventeen years after Britain began arresting slave ships.

The Atlantic Slave Trade was a process that happened between the Europeans, Africans, and the New World. The Atlantic trade lasted for about 400 years affected people physically, mentally, and socially. About five to twenty-five million slaves landed in America being sold and placed on plantations that lasted until about the end of 19th century. This slave trade was a huge benefit for the Europeans that helped their economy grow, increase trade routes, and gain as much power as they could. The Atlantic Slave Trade is one of the most detrimental marks in history due to the amount of hatred and inhumane treatment of the African people. The role of slavery did make a significant impact on this society since this type of market was bringing an abundance of money for European countries. This slave trade was beneficial for the European economy to skyrocket, expand their territory and commerce in America and Africa.

What were the social, political, and economic motives of Europeans in initiating slavery and the Atlantic Slave Trade?

Even before the first humans on Earth, there has always been a constant change in the landscape. From the first cultivated fields of the Neolithic period to the great structures of the first dynasty in China, the landscape has ever been evolving. Arguably one of the most dynamic changes were those of Europe from the 1500-1800s. During this time, cultural, social and economic beliefs were remoulded or evolved to help create the foundations of societies today. Out of the three areas the most influential were the economic changes which not only took place in Western Europe but throughout other continents as well. Most recognizable of these changes was the importance of slavery in the Atlantic World. Slavery in the Trans- Atlantic world

The Atlantic slave trade (1441 A.D.) refers to the transportation of black Africans from their homelands to the New World (James 1). It is estimated that all together approximately 12 million Africans were transported by force from Africa to the Americas (James 1-4). Even though many people pointed out the immorality and the cruelty of slavery, very few could afford to renounce it as a social institution. Slavery was an inseparable part of 17th-18th century world economy (James 1-4). The Atlantic slave trade was very important for the 18th century world economy because it was one of the three elements of a so-called triangle of trade. There was a three-way exchange between America, Europe, and Africa. European traders would ship textiles, muskets, and manufactured merchandize to Africa and exchange it for slaves. Then they would take slaves to the Americas and exchange them for cotton and tobacco. Finally, they would sail home to Europe where they would exchange American goods for more arms, and manufactured goods (James 1-4). On each side of the triangular trade, ships made huge profits. Plus, they provided the necessary merchandise to conquer and develop both the African continent and the Americas (James in Class Presentation). Thus, the Atlantic slave trade was vitally important to the 18th century economy.

thDuring the time 1440-1640 the Atlantic slave trade was happening there were a lot of good and bad things that happened in the eighteenth century when slave trade was going on britain was the worst transgressor the causes of the of Africa in the slave trade in the Atlantic world was because they needed hard workers to help them get to where they wanted to go they worked in the mines and they used these slaves to help them do that and around this time the race of someone did not matter if you were white or black all they needed was the worker to be done they helped with plantation what the slaves worked with was ‘’white gold’’that is what they called it it means sugar there was two kinds of slaves tho there were the gang labor which meant

African slave trade or Atlantic slave trade was the result of advancement of maritime innovation and the ambitious imperialism that swept among the powerful countries of Europe. With new set of maritime skills and innovation, firstly Portuguese’s traders crossed harsh seas along the coast of western Africa. What began as the quest for the exchange of goods between European and African merchant, swiftly changed into the massive potential of cheap labor and unlimited resources to exploit with the founding of new European colonies in Caribbean, Central and south America respectively. These colonies used slaves as the laborer in the coffee, coco, tobacco and sugar production, often in harsh conditions and longer working period, which not possible by white settlers’ due drastic change of climate and tropical diseases.

One of the groups that used African slaves were the Muslims. The Muslims would take the African’s and make them work, doing all sorts of things, like farming or house work. The Muslim’s would give the slaves breaks and did not work them too long, and if the Africans wanted out of slavery they would have to switch over to being Muslim. Later the Europeans came into the North America’s and tried to enslave the Natives that lived there, because the Europeans weren’t immune to malaria or other diseases the were in the Americas like the Natives were. It didn’t work because most of them died from disease that the Europeans brought with them, and the Natives would also shot at them. Around

African’s were used for European colonists in the Americas who needed cheap labor and enslaved them to work on their plantations and farms. Although slavery has existed in Africa for centuries, there were a few striking occurrences that allowed slavery and slave trade to grow rapidly in it’s popularity. The spread of Islam, Muslim rulers, Portuguese dying by the millions, the labor of Spanish America, and England’s domination all contributed to the causes of African slave trade. African slavery during the Atlantic world period led to the economic and cultural development of the Americas and Africa.