The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade
When life becomes too hard humans tend to ignore the matter for as long as possible, but in some cases in history ignoring your problems is impossible. A slave is a person who is considered property of another person and is forced to do work for them. Throughout history there have been different kinds of slavery, some are a lot less violent than others, for the purpose of paying off a debt, or simply because one group of people does not like another. The Trans-Atlantic slave trade took place during the years 1450 and 1850. The Old-World countries that were a part of the slave trade were the British, Spanish, French, And the Portuguese. The Trans-Atlantic Slave trade affected individuals and societies on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean in a negative way because of the degradation of human beings, population decrease in Africa, and the ignorance of people in Europe and the Americas. The slave trade degraded human beings by exploiting them and making them live through harsh conditions. 1Olaudah Equiano was a prince who was captured from his home and turned into a slave but later in his life he was freed. In Equiano’s account, he described how his life was as a slave. He also talked about the physical pain from being beaten and branded and the sadness he felt from being separated from his family. Thomas Phillips was a European man who was aboard a slave ship in 1694. On the journey, he kept a journal that he wrote in. In the journal,
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.
The Atlantic Slave Trade was a very important time in history. When the records of the Atlantic slave Trade are reflected upon ,the impacts of the shipboards revolts are often times overseen .Although these revolts did have an immense effect on the political, views of the Slave trade. Richardson’s “shipboard revolts,African Authority,and the Atlantic slave trade”. brings into view the fluctuating causes and effects of shore based, and shipboard insurrection . Because of Richardson occupation it grants him reliability to all of his claims and supports his opinions His profession of studying economics and international ,offers him a profusion amount of education in the countries which were involved in the Atlantic Slave Trade. Richardson expose the indispensable impacts of shipboard revolts , African Leadership on the Atlantic slave trade, the author accomplishes this by painting out the causes an effects of each specific revolt an also by exposing the progress.
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.
When Columbus sailed to the what he thought was India, he would never know the full implications of his “accident” that changed the world. Columbus’s discovery of the Americas created a whole new avenue for competing European states to jockey for world dominance, and most importantly, for wealth. In order to gain the power that Spain, France, Britain, and Portugal so greatly desired, an intercontinental trading network called the Atlantic Slave Trade was established. The need for cheap labor and the desire for large profits brought slaves from Africa, to North/South America. Slavery began to take a new shape, with a focus on plantation agriculture through a dehumanized class of workers. During the Atlantic Slave Trade, slavery was primarily beneficial to European’s. Not only did the Atlantic Slave Trade supply European’s with the resources (primarily crops) required to assume a position of world dominance, slavery also benefited Europeans by providing the wealth that was needed to compete with traditional Asian powers. However, slavery during the Atlantic Slave Trade was detrimental to African’s. They were ripped from their home lands, brought across the Atlantic, and sold into a life of manual labor, and often abuse. Similar to how Columbus would never know the full impact of his discoveries in 1492, Europeans during Atlantic Slave Trade would never know just how much it would catapult the European continent into a position of power, meanwhile having devastating effects on
The Atlantic Slave Trade involved the forced intercontinental migration of West Africans across the Middle Passage during the 17th to 19th centuries. Between twelve and fifteen million slaves were exchanged between Africa, Europe and the Americas, together with raw materials and manufactured goods.
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.
Screams for relief, cries for comfort, and moans for death all revolved around the slave trade. The slave trade is an event that not only impacted Africa, but the whole world even still today. This essay will explain how cultures were ruined and families were torn apart. The slave trade has influenced history worldwide because it has impacted continents economically, socially, and politically.
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.
Situations became more intense for those slaves who actually reached the plantations over in the Americas. Many of the plantation owners had returned home to Europe, leaving their holdings (slaves and land) in America to be managed by overseers who were often unstable. Often times slave families were split up and they were not allowed to learn to read or write. African men, women, and children were forced to work with little to eat or drink. From today’s perspective this seemed very inhuman to treat another human being in such a manner. However, in between the 16th and 19th centuries the harsh treatment of slaves was accepted on the basis they were not considered ordinary human beings; they were if anything a sub race a less superior one. Slave labor provided some of the most sought after items in Atlantic and European trading exchange such as sugar, coffee, and cotton of the Caribbean; tobacco and rice of North America and lastly gold and sugar of Portuguese and Spanish South America. These commodities represented about a third of the value of European trade at the time.
Slavery was one of the darkest periods in African American history. Africans were taken from their homes in West Africa and brought to America to work on plantations. However, slavery was not something new, as it existed in Africa before Europeans partook in it, but slavery in Africa was very different from slavery in America. During their voyage through the Middle Passage many slaves perished. Those who survived were sold and subjected to the harsh life on the plantations. When this happened, their authentic cultures were drastically changed from the way of life in their native homelands in Africa to life in the plantation society of the American colonies.
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.
Slave trade to the Americas was a long, brutal journey where many Africans died, and those who made it to America were stripped from their human rights and converted to Christianity
The Atlantic Slave Trade was a system of slavery that took place between the 16th and 19th centuries. It comprised of capturing African tribesmen and women from areas of Western and Central Africa and placing them into the colonies of the New World in North, Central, and South America. Many countries like England, Portugal, Spain, Holland, and France, had participated in enslaving the African peoples. The African slaves were used to exploit an array of commodities such coffee, cotton, rum, sugar, and tobacco, and eventually they had become commodities themselves. Often times the slaves were treated awfully by their owners. Most were forced to work long and tiresome hours on plantations to acquire said commodities, and then use them to create products that would be later sold. The slaves did not receive any profits from the sale of the products that they produced, but they were paid with basic needs such as shelter and food. The revenue that was produced by slave labour was highly profitable, but in turn it was counter acted by the cost of keeping the slave labourers alive and well. By the end of the 18th century a period known as the Industrial Revolution had swept Europe, especially England, and her colonial partners. Never before had production been so cheap and efficient. Many believe that the enslavement of Africans was necessary to initiate the industrial revolution. They believe that the slaves provided the foundation to the development of the revolution, and without
With the advancements in technology and the invention of the sailboat, exploration gave way to the “discovery” of America. Crop production grew and soon after colonists began importation and deportation of goods. Because production was so great, the demand for laborers was even greater. Although a form of slavery existed in Africa prior to the Atlantic Slave Trade, the trade gave way to the dehumanization of African-Americans. Enslaved Africans were stripped from their land, brought over to the New World, and then sold off like cattle led to the slaughter. Slavery lasted for almost a century, however the effects are still seen in the African American community today. Slavery started in the mind and then presented itself in the physical form. Slaves were made to believe they were less than human and that they needed someone to rule over them. Without the slave trade the New World would not have grown to the America it is
In today’s world it is widely know and accepted that money makes the world go round but, unfortunately that is not the question. The question is: what made the world go round in the early 1600’s? Surprisingly, just like the world today money made the world go around back then also. One major difference is that in today’s world machines do all of our dirty work, back then it was all up to the slaves. Finding the perfect slave was a challenge to the colonists. First, there was the indentured servants, second, came the Indians. However because Indians and indentured servants could escape to freedom with ease, they were not the ideal slaves. The colonists’ third attempt proved to be a gold mine. The unfortunate people who were forced in to