The Atlantic Slave Trade Research Paper Example

📌Category: History, Slavery, Social Issues
📌Words: 1139
📌Pages: 5
📌Published: 24 January 2022

The movement of Africans to the American continent between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries represents one of humankind's largest transoceanic migrations. The movement is distinct from the modern form of migration that has seen Africans move to America and Europe due to its involuntary nature and increased rates of deaths and societal dislocation resulting from capture and transportation. The geographical origin of slaves shifted in the seventeenth and eighteenth-century due to changing political circumstances and trade alliances. Slaves emerged as a result of expansion efforts by the colonial states or by local collaborators in Africa . As a result, most populations were captured and sold as slaves different colonial powers grew. It is vital to understand that slavery in Africa before the Europeans arrived was primarily motivated by economic needs. Precolonial Africa has a communal land ownership policy, and therefore owning slaves was one way individuals could produce and accumulate wealth. However, the slave trade institution in precolonial Africa was marginal. The sub-Saharan African societies lacked powerful states and robust trade routes to support the slave trade. 

The inclusion of a diversity of actors and agents in examining slave trade networks and transatlantic networks as a whole allows the understanding of the various dimensions  incorporated in the forceful migration of Africans. Contemporary research examines why the Europeans conducted slave trade and why they primarily focused on Africa as a source of slaves. Historians had raised vital themes such as in response to the demand of a new world labor force when other slaves had been tested and proved less successful, and that slavery was possible and profitable at the time . Africa was able to provide a source of slaves primarily due to its critical geographical position. Also, the diversity of precolonial African states created an opportunity for military conflicts and conquest. Essentially the Atlantic slave trade can be better understood through the perspective of internationalism of commerce. Moreover, it is vital to understand that during the precolonial period, the African identity was non-existent as the people living in the continent identified themselves through their ethnic identities. Only after colonialism did the identity of Africans emerge and the creation of the contemporary African states. Also, the shared experiences of people involved in the Atlantic slave trade forged a sense of oneness that ultimately strengthened the African identity among those shipped abroad as slaves.

Slavery in its diverse forms is an ancient institution, and it goes back to many years and exists in many areas such as Greece, Rome, and Egypt . However, although slavery was an institution known to many complex societies, the institution was much more restricted as a system of industrial and market productions. Although there were other slave trade routes, such as the Muslim Arab Empire, the Atlantic slave trade differed in many respects. For instance, most slaves traded to the Americas were predominantly male. Also, in European societies and their colonies, slaves mostly worked in occupations where most people were unwilling to work. Moreover, slaves worked in demanding, difficult and degrading work and were often mistreated by their masters, anxious to make profits . The European conquest of the Americas and the growth of staple agriculture created an insatiable demand for labor. The Europeans had to turn to Africa to satisfy their labor demands. Therefore slavery became a permanent and racially casted affair. Due to political and religious reasons, most slaves who did not align to the religious factions of the Europeans were not preferable, including the Indians slaves. Also, European diseases mostly severely affected other slave groups, including the Indians, which left Africans as the most desirable slaves to advance the economic and industrial visions of the Europeans.

England's presence in the Americas increased its dominance of the Atlantic slave trade. Interestingly, from the time that the slave trade started in the 1690s to its abolishment in 1807, England was the most outstanding handler of slaves from African bring them to what is now referred to as the United States of America. Given the sheer magnitude of the slave trade that England led, it is crucial to look at how slave trade affected the African societies. Most historians argue that slavery had a series of political, social, and economic impacts on African culture. For example, Patrick Manning describes slavery as a means of corruption characterized by theft, bribery, and brutal force . Therefore the idea posits that slavery was one of the motivations for modern-day slavery from the colonial contexts. Additionally, some people also argue that the Atlantic slave trade hindered Africa’s development in favor of other regions including the United Sates factors that have contributed to under-development and dependence in contemporary African states. However, other historical commentators, including David Northrup, were of a divergent view regarding the effects of Atlantic slave trade. For instance, focusing on the slavery effects experienced in southeastern Nigeria, Northrup argues that although the trade was cruel and contributed to fear and confusion among African societies, the socio-economic effects were benign .

Groups of local and regional slave traders in Europe, Africa, and the Americas contributed to the transatlantic slave trade routes. The forced migration was premised on three complex and related systems that incorporated the European and American investor's interests and those of the traders and planters in regions such as America and those of local African merchants and leaders. Therefore the majority of Africans transported to America were a part of the triangular trade . On one end, the Europeans brought goods to African coasts in exchange for slaves captured by different trade partners. Then the acquired Africans slaves were transport the Americas coasts across the Atlantic. Finally, the Europeans bought products such as coffee and sugar and sold them in Europe. African slaves who emerged through the ocean voyage were exposed to a difficult life in America as they were forced to work in estranged lands. The slaves worked in mines and as domestic assistants, among other roles, and they lived on little food. They also worked for long hours and days and suffered beatings, and in many cases, slavery was passed to new generations.

Essentially, the Atlantic slave trade exposed African slaves to grueling conditions in the Americas. Most people were delineated from their lands and culture as they were taken to strange lands. As a way of coping, African slaves kept vital things such as their musical traditions and histories alive. The slaves also revolted by being less productive in their works, and some resulted in opening revolts. The Atlantic slave trade had serious effects on America and Africa. Numerous cultures in Africa lost their strong generations, and many families were torn apart. The influx of many Africans in American society during the trade also left an indelible mark that persists in contemporary American society.

Bibliography

Inikori, Joseph E., and Stanley L. Engerman. The Atlantic Slave Trade: Effects on Economies, Societies and Peoples in Africa, the Americas, and Europe. Durham: Duke University Press, 1992.

Klein, Herbert S. The Atlantic Slave Trade. Cambridge University Press, 2010.

Northrup, David. "The Atlantic Slave Trade." Atlantic History, 2010. doi:10.1093/obo/9780199730414-0053.

Ocran, Matthew K. "Emaciation of African Economies I: The Slave Trades, 1451–1830." Economic Development in the Twenty-first Century, 2019, 221-247. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-10770-3_7.

Swingen, Abigail L. Competing Visions of Empire: Labor, Slavery, and the Origins of the British Atlantic Empire. Yale University Press, 2015.

WHATLEY, WARREN C., and ROB GILLEZEAU. "The Fundamental Impact of the Slave Trade on African Economies." Economic Evolution and Revolution in Historical Time, 2020, 86-110. doi:10.2307/j.ctvqsdnxq.9.

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