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The Slave Trade The slave trade of the 15 th- 19 th century is an example of the largest migration in the history of the world. This forced migration turned out to be the event that influenced the historical process until now. Although the slavery derives from the ancient world, the transatlantic slave trade appears to be the largest in its scale and amount of people involved. Approximately 12 million of people from western and central part of Africa were brought to the North and South America.
Despite less then 5 percent of that people were transported to the territory that now belongs to the USA, the problems of slavery and racism are the questions that are argued and discussed up to now. The transatlantic slave trade played a significant role in the formation of societies in Europe and both Americas; it also moderated the events of the modern history of different countries on all continents. The events of this period are observed and discussed by the specialists from all over the world, including the countries that were not involved into the slave trade. Some authors insist that there is a definite connection between the slave trade and todays problems of Africa.
Cultural and traditional links were broken and lost. The social and economical, as well as cultural influence on the American nation is still evident. There are the observers that speak about slave trade as one of the factors implemented into industrial revolutions in European countries. New facts about the process, unknown data and records appear regularly.
The findings provide the possibility of making new conclusions, estimating the facts, providing with the material for research and observation and allowing new calculations. African slaves turned out to be an excellent working force in conquering the new world. The native peoples couldnt resist new illnesses brought from the European continent; the Europeans werent used to the climate and tropical diseases. The slaves from Africa had an agriculture experience, they could survive in tropical climate and they could do the hardest work in mines and on plantations. Africans had been traded as slaves for centuries -- reaching Europe via the Islamic-run, trans-Saharan, trade routes. Slaves obtained from the Muslim dominated North African coast however proved to be too well educated to be trusted and had a tendency to rebellion. (2) In the period between the 15 th and the 19 th century slaves were delivered from the west coast of African continent.
The process went on with active support of the tribal kings in Africa and merchants. The Europeans in turn provided the kings with various kinds of goods, such as textiles, alcohol drinks, horses and weapons. The weapons helped them conquer new lands, thus getting more slaves. The ships transporting slaves gathered people along the western coast, visiting slave ports. There were definite European countries that organized the trade, definite African tribes that helped them in finding new slaves and new peoples that became the subject of the trade. After stealing the people to become slaves, the merchants directed the marching slave caravans to the coastal regions.
A huge number of people died during these marches, forced to walk as far as 1000 miles or more. Those who were too sick were killed. Those who managed to reach coast camps were put into the dungeons to wait for a ship. Six coast camps were built by the European traders along the west coast of the continent, to keep future slaves before transporting them to Europe and Americas. The European traders were waiting in the camps for a slave cargo; the African merchants brought them the people from the western and central parts of Africa. A huge number of people died in the coast slave camps due to hunger, diseases and bad conditions.
Many of those who managed to survive in the camps died within first two weeks of the journey, suffering under multiple diseases and starvation during their journey to Europe and Americas. This journey usually lasted for more than 60 days. There is an evidence of a person who travelled on board a ship that transported slaves from Africa to America: Africans were often treated like cattle during the crossing. On the slave ships, people were stuffed between decks in spaces too low for standing. The heat was often unbearable, and the air nearly unbreathable. Women were often used sexually.
Men were often chained in pairs, shackled wrist to wrist or ankle to ankle. People were crowded together, usually forced to lie on their backs with their heads between the legs of others. This meant they often had to lie in each other's feces, urine, and, in the case of dysentery, even blood. In such cramped quarters, diseases such as smallpox and yellow fever spread like wildfire. The diseased were sometimes thrown overboard to prevent wholesale epidemics. Because a small crew had to control so many, cruel measures such as iron muzzles and whippings were used to control slaves. (4) The transatlantic slave trade reached its highest level by the end of the 18 th century.
During this period the largest amounts of slaves were stolen in western and central parts of Africa and transported to the New World. Great Britain had a monopoly of bringing slave cargo to Spanish America. According to the records, twelve to twenty million people were shipped as slaves from Africa by European traders, of whom some 15 percent died during the terrible voyage, many during the arduous journey through the Middle Passage. (3) Some observers state that the total amount of people died during the voyages from Africa to other continents or later after their arrival is much more larger than the number of people who remained in Africa. There are also historians that suppose that the merchants and the slavers tried to keep the slaves alive, as they had a special interest in working force. There are also some authors that speak about capturing the women as the brides. As they explain, the males were captured together with these women as their protectors and then transported to the market.
Works Cited Boddy-Evans A. The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. Clark, Andrew F. (2005) THE ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE REVISITED. Journal of Third World Studies.
Slavery. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The African Slave Trade and the Middle Passage. Africans in America.
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Research essay sample on Atlantic Slave Trade 19 Th Century
