The Consequence of the Atlantic Slave Trade Essay Example

The consequence of the Atlantic Slave trade is an ugly stain on human history. These consequences can be seen throughout history and helped shape it the way it is now. From how the slave trade disproportionated men from Africa and women to the Americas, the new commodities that this trade brought forth, new inventions created for the transportation of enslaved people, to how the Kingdoms of Africa reacted, and the revolution of enslaved people in the Atlantic world. 

After the re-discovery of the New World Europeans had one major problem to deal with,  those being the Amerindians. They planned to conquer them and force them to work in their plantations. But this idea was struck down as diseases killed ninety percent of all Amerindians. Because of this, they needed a new supply of workers who were already immune to the diseases of the Old World, and that's how the Atlantic Slave trade expanded. The most desirable “product” Africa had to offer was men. Men were highly sought after because of their strength and speed. Roughly 12.5 million Africans were enslaved and forced to work in the Americans from the 15th to the 19th century. This proved that the African Kingdoms preferred to keep the women as household slaves. Due to the imbalanced ratio of men to women, this perverse cycle kept circulating, especially in the Caribbean islands and Brazil, where the death rates were so high. Moreover, this imbalance brought forth the reinstitution of polygamy, allowing men to marry many wives to keep “supply” up. The discovery of the New World also meant the discovery/ easier crop growth of commodities and goods such as sugar, tobacco, and cotton. These goods were transported to Europe, as Europeans exported textiles, rum, manufactured goods, and weapons to Africa. In return African Kingdoms exported humans. 

To transport 12.5 million humans for around 4 months, huge boats were constructed to keep supplies up. These ships were designed to carry around 400 enslaved people in very cramped spaces varying around 4 square feet. This allowed diseases to run rampage killing many along the way.  As people died, they were just tossed overboard to make room for the others. People still fought back in their ways. Some did not eat, some fought back, and some choose to jump overboard in hopes of the ocean taking them back home. When I heard that, it made me remember a quote from the Marvel Movie, Black Panther, the antagonist Killmonger on the brink of death said “Bury me in the ocean, with my ancestors that jumped from the ships, because they knew death was better than bondage.” Some leaders of these African Kingdoms like the Kongo Kingdom indeed fought back against European intervention and other Kingdoms who participated in the trade like the Asante, Dahomey, Oyo, and Benin. Queen Nzinga was the ruler of one of the many Kingdoms in the Kongo. She was known for being an intelligent military planner and authoritative diplomat. She converted to Christianity and was able to hold off the Portuguese enslavers at bay during her reign. Only with the combined forces of other Kingdoms and the Portuguese were they finally able to have their way, but Nzinga evaded capture and performed guerilla warfare till her sixties. Another example of how people fought against this trade would be Dona Beatriz Kimpa Vita, a Christian visionary. Claiming that she died every Friday to converse with God, and was resurrected every Monday to broadcast his demands she believed that the Kongo civil wars needed to end to create a unified kingdom. She amassed a huge following but was burned at the stake in 1706. The reason why these Kingdoms sold off their own was for the commodities Europe traded with them, Many warlords took over creating kingdoms of strong fighters. These kingdoms were mostly seen on the west coast of Africa. 

The biggest consequence that the Atlantic Slave trade brought to the Atlantic World was the only successful slave revolt in all of the Americas, the Revolution of Saint-Domingue. The first revolution was for their freedom and the second for their independence from France. Saint-Domingue was an especially important colony for France, as a matter of fact, for all of Europe because 40% of sugar and 60% coffee. The breakdown and the events of the French Revolution had on its government meant that the enslaved people of Saint-Domingue finally had a chance to fight back. A civil war erupted and in 1793 the National Convention in France abolished slavery. But their struggle was not over as France fell under the command of Napoleon Bonaparte and he had his eyes set on Saint-Domingue. Toussaint Louverture, a former slave helped fight off the French who came back to reclaim the island, and in 1804 Toussaint Louverture claimed the new nation of Haiti independent. The consequences of the Atlantic Slave are something that will never be forgotten because it helped shape human history.