CHAPTER ONE
RESEARCH DESIGN
1.1 Background to the Research Problem
For nearly five centuries – from the 15th century at the onset of the trans-Atlantic slave trade up to the 1950s when African states began to win the struggle for independence, Africa was exploited as a continent. The natural as well as the human resources were taken with no returns. This great pillage led to a complete halt of trade in Africa. Trade implies an exchange, yet the human resources were taken as slaves and the former colonial masters took the natural and mineral resources without the consent of Africans through imperialism.
By the 1950s, several trade agreements were made to address the results of the pillage of Africa. Two Yaoundé agreements and four Lome agreements brought about the Lome Partnership Agreements between individual countries of Africa, Caribbean and Pacific Regions (ACP). These regions were similarly exploited, with Africa being the worst devastated because of the slave trade. The agreements assured the colonialists of continued access to the raw materials of Africa, which they needed. These agreements have led to the current Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) negotiations between regional blocs of the ACP and the European Union.
Currently, the world market determines the prices of African natural resources, the reason being that Africa does not have enough industries to process its raw materials and use them on a large scale. Africa’s current participation in World
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.
As previously mentioned, there were independent or free states in Africa during European occupation. One of these free states was Ethiopia. Although Ethiopia was economically and socially free, it rightfully still disagreed with the injustice that occurred in Africa (Document 2). Moreover and more specifically into the injustice that occurred, slave ships embodied this very damage to Africa and its people. Through this European network of trade, they were prospering.
Africa had been the target of colonialism and slavery for many years. The colonies that European’s developed during fifteenth and sixteenth century were the main reason that started slave trade in Africa.
Trading goods and building markets becomes important also within the communities these countries operate in because it gives the natives a way to make money on their in turn the importing and exporting distributers only see opportunities in this. With countries fighting for territory, and resources the driving force of imperialism in Africa soon loses its motivation of that and starts to become more about national pride amongst the European countries foreshadowing what will happen in the years to come.
Africa was once a thriving and wonderful continent filled with luxurious and wealthy kingdoms, but that had all changed when a new and appalling type of slavery was introduced. Around the 18th century, Africa became an ideal place for Europeans to trade and buy slaves from. The slave trade in Africa seemed to be manageable and somewhat peaceful before the Europeans brought in a new type of slavery. When the Europeans bought slaves from Africans, they kept them as slaves for life which were very different from how long slaves were kept in Africa. Europeans kept slaves in extremely poor conditions and treated them as if they were less than human. These actions caused a great spike in the slave trade all over the world and many
In the late 1800’s Europeans took over Africa, took their resources,enslaving the Africans, and changed the course of history. The Europeans took over Africa, which is called The Scramble For Africa, in 1884-1914. The Europeans took over because Africa was rich in raw materials, they wanted power, and they thought their culture was superior. The driving force behind imperialism was need for resources, political competition, and technological advances. One driving force behind imperialism was need for natural resources. Document E uses a bar graph to show imports and exports in 1854, and 1900 between Great Britain and South Saharan Africa. Great Britain made 3 million British pounds in 1854, and 21
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.
Fly ash, a by-product of coal, was the primary source for a catastrophic event that caused an community to be uprooted from their way of life. Amongst the things that were destroyed were homes, water sources, farmlands, trees, and roads. Optimistically, the community hope that Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) would buy their property — as their land was now useless. Unfortunately, often cases like this have to occur before opportunities for improvement are stimulated.
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.
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
This paper addresses the issues surrounding the need for rationing increasingly scarce health care resources. There has been much debate over the questions of how best to provide quality health care coverage, which services are necessary and which are optional, and how to pay for it all. Although there does not seem to be a consensus on how best to distribute health care services, the growing demand for coverage and current expectations of the public make addressing the situation increasingly more pressing. Examples from the key health care areas of organ transplantation, reproductive technology, and geriatric costs are briefly analyzed and placed in the larger context of the overall scarcity of health care resources in order to illustrate the rationing dilemmas facing health care.
Africa had many resources that could not be found or grown in Europe. By colonizing these territories, Europeans had control over these resources and could use them to improve the European economy. Document D shows a list of resources exported from Africa and what these materials were used for. For example, in the French colony of French West Africa, oils, cotton, peanuts, bananas, coffee, and cocoa were all resources that were exported to France. The various items can be used for soap, candles, fabrics, and food. France was able to transport these items from Africa at a very cheap price, but they could also sell these items for more. This system allowed for more money to go to the government which greatly improved the economy. Also, European countries hoped to colonize Africa for the possibility of creating new markets. European countries controlled the trade in and out of the majority of African countries, which meant that Europeans often introduced mercantilism into the African countries. However, “Mercantilism… forced the colonies into a dependent relationship in which they were economically weaker than the ‘mother country.’" (ABC-CLIO). After colonizing, European countries had complete control over the economies of African people, and the African economies were ruined in a way that made it almost impossible for them to break away from the Europeans. Consequently, Europeans were able to use African colonies to improve their own economies and ruin the African
“He was a killer, a thing that preyed, living on the things that lived, unaided, alone, by virtue of his own strength and prowess, surviving triumphantly in a hostile environment where only the strong survived. (London 123)” In Call of the Wild by Jack London, Buck, a mixed St.Bernard and Scotch Shepard dog, along with other sled dogs take a journey to the Yukon. Buck encounters a hostile environment and has to change immediately to survive. Bucks changes in an instance, going from a perfect life to an arduous way of life.
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
Africa, once regarded as ‘good for nothing but exploitation’, however, the block has gradually gained modest relations, and aspiring to cultivate a multifaceted partnership with major global political players in all directions from Left-Right, East–West, North-South, and South-South. The two major partners forged their own cooperation are Peoples Republic of China and United States of America and the partnerships they created are known as Sino - Africa relations named ‘Forum on China-Africa Cooperation’ (FOCAC), and US – Africa which is dubbed ‘African Growth and Opportunity Act’ (AGOA) respectively.