Question

How is the Atlantic Slave trade different from slavery as it has existed throughout human history up to this point?

What was the impact of the Atlantic Slave trade on the continent of Africa?

From the BlackStudy 140 Class

Answer 1

The Atlantic Slave trade began during the 15th century when Portugal, and aftterward other European Kingdom, were ultimately able to expand overseas and reach Africa. Western African slavery deal with slavery in West Africa, which occured before, during and after the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. Slaves in West Africa were often newly captured slaves, but they might also be slaves who had been slaves for many years there. The slaves taken to the New World from West Africa were of course part of West African slavery. When they were captured in Africa and either came to West Africa or were taken in west Africa. From West Africa, slaves boarded ships and sailed for the new world. There is a misconception that slavery only began with the Atlantic slave trade, However the concept of slavery had existed long before the atlantic slave trade. The European form was called chattel slavery. A chattel Slave is a piece of property, with no rights. Slavery within Africa was different. A slave might be ensalved in order to pay off a debt or pay for a crime.

The slave trade had many effects on Africa. Most of them were, of course, negative, though we can argue that the slave trade was beneficial for some African states in the short term. One negative about the slave trade was that it tended to increase the amount of war that occured in West Africa. The reason for this is that European (and American) slave traders did not simply go out into the African countryside and kidnap their own slaves. Instead, they bought slaves from the coastal kingdoms