Consequences of Slavery

...

Atlantic Slave Trade

As many as one million people were enslaved due to the Atlantic slave trade. This drastically reduced the labor supply for the indigenous population. The trade started and expanded because sugar plantations in Brazil and the Caribbean needed laborers. Slaves were exchanged for sugar in Brazil and the Caribbean. Sugar sold for hefty dollar in Europe. The Europeans created an addiction for guns, gunpowder, copper, clothes, iron and these items could only be obtained through slave trade even when tribes wanted nothing to do with the trade (Kishlansky, Geary, & O’Brien, 2008, p. 17). Even when the Atlantic slave trade was outlawed, the result was over two hundred different languages and over 40,000 different people in one location. When given the option of acquiring imported goods for slaves the African people acquired the goods even though Africa has been historically lacking labors. The tribe chief sought to increase their following through agriculture and trade and sold the very people who swore allegiance to him (Becker, 1999). This is the social pattern of learning because of conquerors. Indigenous people were so hooked on imported goods from abroad the Indigenous slavery actually increased after the Atlantic trade was outlawed. Local basket weaving loss value due to cheap Imports and reliance on metal contributed to new methods of mass development in Europe. The low price of metal effectively eliminated the commercial incentive to develop it in Africa. The exportation of beeswax was also detrimental in that once hives were smoked out the technique destroyed the hive beyond repair. It was just another case of devastation of assets.

Slavery was and still is wrong in its entirety. Slavery destroyed the very soul of people to the point of self-destruction. Slaves were denied the necessities of being human beings. The Atlantic Slaves Trade gave them little to no hope of salvation, physically or psychology. It was a shameful time of American and European ignorance, greed, and hatred. As clearly stated, there is no doubt that internal slavery was like day and night in comparison to the Atlantic slave trade. The social, economical, and cultural cruelties has set the continent of Africa back years which has led to government corruption and destabilization because African have little to no knowledge to govern themselves. Mass murder between the Tutsi and Hutu occurred due to the social structure put in place by the Dutch and apartheid is just the lingering effect of the entire system.

References

Reader, J. (1997). Africa: A biography of the Continent. London: Hamish Hamilton

Becker, B (1999). Chronology on the History of Slavery. Retrieved May 08, 2011 from website: http://innercity.org/holt/slavechron.html

Ancient Egypt (n.d). Slavery its Causes and Practices. Retrieved May 03, 2011 from website: http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/timelines/topics/slavery.htm

Kishlansky, M., Geary, P., & O’Brien, P. (2008). Roots of Western Civilization. New York: Pearson Longman