Evidence from the colonial era, journal of african economies, 251, pp. Pdf the archaeological record has revealed the advent of the atlantic trade, including the traffic in enslaved africans, as a period of dramatic. The arrival of europeans on the west african coast and their establishment of slave ports in various parts of the continent triggered a continuous process of exploitation of africas human resources, labor, and commodities. The longterm effects of africas slave trades center for effective. In addition to displacing a significant percentage of the population, the slave trade encouraged african nations to. The male slave population of west africa rose in particular, as males ceased to be exported to the americas. Account of the slave trade on the coast of africa by. Written by an abolitionist, this book is very interesting in the sense of the account it gives. The moors of west africa and the beginnings of the. In 1450, a west african population of perhaps 20 to 25 persons million lived in relative stability. Which description of west africa do you believe, equianos or the historians. The liverpool museum website has a firsthand account of the story of an african boy, ouladah equiano violently forced into a life of slavery. Several aspects set the african slave trade of the early modern period apart, starting with its magnitude.
The economic, political, and social impact of the atlantic. Socially, the biggest impact the transatlantic slave trade had on west africa was a decrease in their population. Since that time, the committee, which includes faculty, students, and administrators, has met periodically in an of. The largest and most studied of the slave trades is the transatlantic trade slave trade, where beginning in the. A biography of the continent, states, ancient ghana was the first source of west african gold to be exploited by the transsaharan trade 286. On the causes of the african slave trade and african. West africa, west central africa, and eastern africa to the. In his book, senegambia, historian boubacar barry describes a very different west africa.
The atlantic slave trade from west central africa, 1780. The untold story of african resistance against the slave trade. From 1690 until england abolished the slave trade in 1807, it was the leading carrier of enslaved africans. The arab slave trade is the intersection of slavery and trade surrounding the arab world and indian ocean, mainly in western and central asia, northern and eastern africa, india, and europe. The transatlantic slave trade and the evolution of political authority in. Effects on africa, karo kant states that, 10 to 12 million africans were forced into slavery and sent to european colonies in north and south america from 1520 to 1860 pg5. What were the reasons for the abolition of slave trade in. By 1444, slaves were being brought from africa to work on the sugar plantations of the madeira islands, off the coast of modern morocco. Slavery and the slave trade in eastern africa preliminary mss submitted on 2 april 2014 to unescos volume on forced migration of africans, to appear on unescos website for the slave. There was increasing concern about the unregulated slave trade from east africa to the middle east and to the islands in the indian office. First, the slave trade discouraged statebuilding and encouraged slave raiding. The transatlantic slave trade drastically diminished africas potential to economically develop and to maintain its stability socially and politically. Effects of the atlantic slave trade on some west african societies. The transatlantic slave trade radically impaired africas potential to develop economically and maintain its social and political stability.
Slave trade, the capturing, selling, and buying of enslaved persons. Slavery methods in west africa 284 slaving and the states of the niger delta 286 slaving and the interior states 288 expansion of the atlantic slave trade 288 resistance to the slave trade 290 the consequences of the slave trade in west africa 292 the abolition of the. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Recent revisions of estimates for the volume of the transatlantic slave trade suggest that approximately 11,863,000 slaves were exported from africa during the whole period of the atlantic slave trade, which is a small upward revision of my 1982 synthesis and still well within the range projected by curtin in 1969. The compatibility of the slave and palm oil trades in dahomey, 18181858 elisee soumonni4. Free pdf of account of the slave trade on the coast of africa by alexander falconbridge. A brief history pg145, state that the transatlantic slave trade was responsible for the forced migration of between 1215 million people from africa. The west african palm oil trade in the nineteenth century and the crisis of adaptation martin lynn3. Reasons for the decline and then abolition of slave trade in africa was the direct result of its abolition in the uk and usa slavery as a practice and then as an institution developed in the british colonies of the americas in early 17th century w. The impact of the slave trade on literacy in west africa. Effects of the atlantic slave trade on some west african.
The slave trade and the origins of mistrust in africa. Pdf the transatlantic slave trade radically impaired africas potential to. By the seventeenth century, the trade was in full swing, reaching a peak towards the end of the eighteenth century. The transatlantic slave trade began around the midfifteenth century when portuguese interests in africa moved away from the fabled deposits of gold to a much more readily available commodity slaves. Turning to the impact of the slave trade on political institutions, whatley 2012a focuses on political authority in west africa using data from the ethnographic atlas. The abolition of the slave trade act was passed on 25 march 1807, declaring that. The causes and consequences of africas slave trades. It involved trade between north africa and west africa on the one hand and east, central and southern africa on the other hand. As the nineteenth century continued, a thriving system of slavery and slave trade developed in the west african savanna, especially in the sokoto caliphate, but also in the middle niger and in borno.
West africa and the role of slavery us history i openstax. Over the course of more than three and a half centuries, west africa exported about half of the roughly 12. The slave trade was the business of acquiring, transporting and selling human beings, i. The legacies of slavery in and out of africa iza institute of labor. The slave trade had negative effects on africa in both the short and long term. From slave trade to legitimate commerce edited by robin law. Many more were captured but died of disease or starvation before arriving. In the triangular trade, arms and textiles went from europe to africa, slaves from africa to the americas, and sugar and coffee from the americas to europe. Although the atlantic slave trade was the shortest in duration, it was the largest and. My country ghana, formerly called the gold coast became. The internal trade was conducted within the african continent itself. Pdf the economic, political, and social impact of the atlantic. This barter occurred chiefly between the medieval era and the early 20th century.
Slavery has existed throughout the world since ancient times, and trading in slaves has been equally universal. This empowered interests that rivaled existing authorities, and po litical leaders resorted to violence in. On the causes of the african slave trade luis angeles. Britain continued its efforts to abolishing this trade by moving its west african squadron to the persian gulf. The consequences of the slave trade in west africa 292 the abolition of the slave trade 296 the making of the other 299. The gambia river, running from the atlantic into africa, was a key waterway for the slave trade. The trade was conducted through slave markets in these areas, with the slaves captured mostly from africas interior. The impact of the atlantic slave trade on west africa unl digital. By the time the slave trade ended, the english had transported nearly 1. Efforts by europeans against slavery and the slave trade began in the late 18th century and had a large impact on slavery in africa. Pdf west african archaeology and the atlantic slave trade. Enslaved persons were taken from the slavs and iranians from antiquity to the 19th century, from the subsaharan africans from the 1st century ce to the mid20th century, and from the germanic, celtic, and romance. Effect of the slave trade on west africa schoolworkhelper.
In contrast, manning argues that intensified polygynous marriages on the west african coast decreased the fertility of female slaves, thereby depressing population. The warfare, disruption, underdevelopment, and population decline resulting from the slave trade had a profound impact on west africa. The early modern slave trade has long been recognized as a central feature of african and indeed. Between the 16th and 19th centuries, the atlantic slave trade saw the forcible transportation of more than 12 million african slaves from their homes in central and west africa to european colonies in the americas.
The major european slave trade began with portugals exploration of the west coast of africa in search of a trade route to the east. Approaching the subject from an african perspective, the case studies consider the effects of transition on the african societies involved, and provide new insights into the history of precolonial africa and the slave trade, origins of european imperialism, and longer term issues of economic development in africa. This population, while divided into numerous ethnic, linguistic, and political. There are 500 million muslims in africa, and it is better to blame the west than talk about the past crimes of arab muslims. Africa britain and the ending of the slave trade, s. The arrival of europeans on the west african coast and their establishment of slave ports in. Rodney argues that the slave trade fundamentally altered african economies. The largest and most wellknown is the transatlantic slave trade where, beginning in the 15th century, slaves were shipped from west.
On the causes of the african slave trade university of glasgow. About twothirds of the people sold to european trades were men, the majority of. It reads in part, generally, when the grown people in the neighbourhood were gone far in the fields to labour, the children assembled together in some of the neighbours premises to play. African slaves were also brought to what is now the united states. The commercial transition in nineteenthcentury west africa. The economic, political, and social impact of the atlantic slave trade on africa article pdf available in the european legacy 116. It is relatively useless as a focused resource for finding books e. These books were valued as much as salt and salt, being then a rare commodity, was valued as much as gold gates 112. Who was more to blame for the slave trade, the africans or the europeans. Portugal was the first country in the continent to abolish slavery in metropolitan portugal and portuguese india by a bill issued on 12 february 1761, but this did not affect their colonies of brazil and. This was essentially the consequence of the transatlantic slave trade, which took a total of 12. The trade changed the social and economic makeup of communities on both sides of the atlantic forever, and remains one of the most shameful and damaging episodes in human history. This edited collection, written by eleven leading specialists, examines the nineteenthcentury commercial transition in west africa.
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