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The European Slave Trade And Intra African Slavery

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The European slave trade and intra-African slavery began with different intentions and goals held in mind. Although, they also shared similar aspects and ideals shown through how they functioned and were run. Intra- African slavery began before the European slave trade came to exist; this unpopular fact shows the beginning of such a gruesome and detrimental act began by the people of Africa, which, later in time, is what fuels and strengthens the European slave trade. African slaves were once captured by tribes of Africa, then working for and obeying whomever owned them. Though, they only had to serve as a slave for a given amount of time, usually only a couple years, and were then able to return home to their tribe and family to live a normal life. They were to enter under the “manumission contract” which allowed the enslaved to work until his or her can pay for their freedom, usually an agreed amount between them and their owner. This function of slavery was due to Africa and its people only using/ seeing slavery as a temporary solution in order to build their economy and villages/cities. This is one of the main differences between the European and intra- African slave trade, which set them greatly apart. The Europeans saw slavery and slaves as a permanent way of life for them, to live a long hard life of servitude, making the most of their money and the slaves always being in debt to them. Each trade, the trans-Atlantic and trans- Saharan, worked differently and were

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