The Key Elements of the Slave Trade in Africa

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Discussion
Conclusion
References

Introduction

Before and throughout the transatlantic slave trade, slavery was a common practice in many West and Central African civilizations. Several African empires, small and midsize states, or related groupings engaged in conflict for political and economic reasons. Because they viewed them as outsiders, people from one African tribe often sold captives from another group into slavery (Lovejoy 1989).

Discussion

As prisoners of war, these captives gave the rulers of these slave communities the ability to control them. This was done to meet the workforce’s demands and grow their country or kinship. It was also done to exchange for financial benefit or to sway people’s spiritual views. Yoruba or Mandinka shared ethnic identities with other African peoples was irrelevant. Individual liberties, labor rights, and a cohesive black racial identity were unfathomable concepts. It should be acknowledged that Europe would see a far later phase of nationalism and general awakening.

Contrary to popular belief, African elites were more likely to be involved in kidnapping enslaved people than European slave dealers. The indigenous African population was first the target of invasions by the Portuguese and Spaniards (Lovejoy 1982). But as the demand for enslaved people increased, so did the local elites’ determination to meet it. Elites and rulers from slave communities in West and Central Africa even relied on their kin group—from blood relatives to enslaved people—to protect and preserve their riches and power.

The institutions of slavery in those days were highly similar to what we think of as Americans now. America emerged and took shape during the cruelest period of slavery, which included the transatlantic slave trade. Before this, slavery existed in a different form when enslaved people were treated more like servants throughout Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Since they were still humans, albeit at the lowest social rung, cruelty against them was generally prohibited (Thornton 2017).

Conclusion

In conclusion, the basis of modern slavery is the historically novel concepts of racism and supremacism. This led to brutality and terror against enslaved people, which was unheard of in earlier times. As a result, American perceptions of slavery in the modern era are more than justified.

References

Lovejoy, Paul E. “The Impact of the Atlantic Slave Trade on Africa: A Review of the Literature.” The Journal of African History 30, no. 3 (1989): 365–94.

Lovejoy, Paul E. “The Volume of the Atlantic Slave Trade: A Synthesis.” The Journal of African History 23, no. 4 (1982): 473–501.

Thornton, John K. Africa and Africans in the Making of the Atlantic World, 1400-1800. New York, N.Y: Cambridge University Press, 2017.

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The Key Elements of the Slave Trade in Africa

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