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The Transatlantic Slave Trade

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The Transatlantic Slave Trade

The Transatlantic Slave Trade was marked by a period in which millions of Africans were

forcefully taken from their homeland and sold into slavery in America. It involved the abduction

and kidnapping of African men, women, and children, traded and transported across the Atlantic

Ocean to work in American plantations. The transatlantic slave trade was a terrifying example of

human exploitation and suffering, with its consequences being felt even in the modern days. The

trade emerged in the 15th century as European people, such as Portugal, Spain, Britain, France,

and the Netherlands, began exploring and colonizing the Americas (Slave Voyages, 2021). Due

to the demand for cheap labor to work in the plantations and mines, Europeans were forced to

enter into trade with people in Africa who trafficked people to their plantations in exchange for

other goods such as textiles, firearms, and alcohol. The trade operated triangularly, where the

European ships sailed African access to the Atlantic Ocean to America for slavery. The paper is

an essay aimed at examining the transatlantic slave trade. It will mainly discuss its African roots,

the development of the cash crops and the plantation system, the development of racialized

slavery, slave resistance, and the African diaspora, and the importance of the issues, events,

people, and organizations discussed.

African Roots

According to the slave trade map, the Transatlantic slave trade had its origins in the

existing slave systems within Africa. Before the arrival of the European trades, slavery existed in

Africa, but it was different than the one developed during the Transatlantic slave trade. From the

discussion of the Slave Trade Routes in the Atlantic, While the bulk of humans trafficked during

this era were sent to the New World, there were other locations where enslaved Africans were

taken captive (Slave Voyages, 2021). Most African routes include Mauritania, Upper Guinea, the
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Gulf of Guinea, and another unspecified region. In the peak year, the region would have most

enslaved people working in the plantation. This data shows that the African route of the trade

before played a significant role in the emergence of the Transatlantic slave trade because the

Europeans knew specific areas and routes where they would get abducted in Africa easily.

The Development of the Cash Crops and the Plantation System

From the discussion, the New World was the most used slave trade and human trafficking

region. Men, women, and children were taken from Africa through kidnapping and sold into

slavery to work on the American plantation. The development of crops and the plantation system

was the major reason for the Trans-Atlantic slave trade because the New World wanted cheap

labor, which was not available to these people (Slave Voyages, 2021). Cash crops such as

tobacco, cotton, cocoa, and coffee were the central pillar of the New World economies, and due

to the high demand for the commodities, the plantations were expanded, resulting in a high

demand for enslaved labor. For instance, the discussion shows that sugar plantations equipped

expensive labor, and most people planted it because it was profitable.

According to Slave Voyages (2021), the transatlantic slave trade is characterized by the

development of racialized slavery, slave existence, and the African diaspora. The slave trade was

the main actor in the establishment and perpetuation of the actual slavey. This is a system that

hinders an individual legal and social status based on their ace, particularly the black people.

Several factors are said to have contributed to the development of racialized slavery, including

legal structures, ideological justification, and social constructs. The New World colonial powers

had laws and regulations that fostered racial slavery so that they could distinguish between Black

people and whites (Slave Voyages, 2021). These laws acted as barriers for the Africans to enjoy

their basic right and win properties. The colonial power and slave traders developed resist
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ideologists to justify the enslavement of black people. These ideologies portrayed Africans as

inferiors, which made it easier for the plantation owners to dehumanize them. Colonized slavery

was deeply employed in colonial societies where African Americans were excluded from the

benefit of citizenship and, therefore, subjected to systemic discrimination.

Slave Resistance

The enslaved Africans resisted their captivity in several ways, challenging the oppressive

system of slavery and asserting that they were human. According to Slave Voyages, African

Americans used various forms of existence to ensure the colonial powers understood the pain.

They used revolts and rebellions against their captors. The revolt ranged from small-scale

uprisings to large-scale rebellions that threatened the stability of colonial powers (Slave Voyages,

2021). An example of an event representing revolt and rebellion was the Haitian Revolution,

which established America's first independent black republic. Another form of resistance was the

everyday acts of resistance. The enslaved people engaged in everyday resistance to assert their

dignity and autonomy. These acts include sabotaging equipment and stealing food to maintain

their resilience and identity in the face of oppression.

African Diaspora

The Transatlantic slave trade led to millions of African people dispersed to the New

World, resulting in the formation of the African diaspora. The African diaspora included the

export of African culture into America. Despite the challenges and the trauma of enslavement,

Africans and their descendants continued to preserve their culture in the diaspora. These cultures

include African music, dance, language, and religion (VideoPowerPoint Week 6, 50:23-52).

Their culture acted as an expression of resistance, identity, and resilience. The enslaved Africans

could form communities and social networks with geographical and linguistic boundaries. The
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community provided them cultural preservation, solidarity, and mutual support despite being

oppressed and marginalized.

Some of the events during the transatlantic slave trade were beneficial to the enslaved

people and the colonies. Events such as rebellion and resistance helped them to feel themselves

for the oppression and discrimination. They could show the colonial people they were human and

deserved justice and freedom. The abolition movement and organization were significant pillars

to end slavery on ethical, moral, and humanitarian grounds. From the discussion, the

organization showed the public opinion that influenced policy change, resulting in the abolition

of slavery (Slave Voyages, 2021). The enslaved people were an important aspect of the slave

trade, where millions of Africans were transported to work in American plantations. These

people underwent oppression, discrimination, and dehumanization, but later, through resistance

and rebellion action, they managed to fight for their rights. The enslaved people in modern days

are important pillars and designers of how people in the diaspora are treated in the modern days.
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Reference

Slave Voyages. (2021). Trans-Atlantic slave trade - database.

https://www.slavevoyages.org/voyage/database