Atlantic slave trade

The Atlantic slave trade was the capture and transport of black Africans into bondage and servitude in the New World. It is sometimes called the Maafa by African-Americans. This term means holocaust or great disaster in kiswahili. The slaves were one element of a three-part economic cycle—the Triangular Trade and its infamous Middle Passage—which ultimately involved four continents, four centuries and the lives and fortunes of millions of people.

Origins

The slave trade originated in a shortage of labour in the new world. The first slaves used were Native American people, but they were not numerous enough and were being decimated by European cruelty and diseases. It was also impossible to convince enough Europeans to migrate to the colonies, despite attempts at coercive tactics such as indentured servitude or even distribution of free land (mainly in the US). The massive amounts of labour were needed for mining, but especially for the plantations, in the labor-intensive growing, harvesting and (semi-)processing of sugar (also for rum), cotton and other prized tropical crops which could not be grown profitably in chilly Europe, but did well in the warmer areas of New World, rather then having to import them (from the Ottoman empire etcetera). Growing sugar was an extremely labour intensive process. To meet this demand for labour European traders thus turned to Western Africa, especially Guinea as a source of slaves.

Related Topics:
Shortage of labour - Native American - Indentured servitude - Mining - Sugar - Western Africa - Guinea

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There Europeans tapped into the African slave trade that saw slaves transported to the coast of Guinea where they were sold at European trading forts in exchange for muskets, manufactured goods, and cloth. As a rule, they were not stolen by the Europeans but captured in tribal wars, in many cases even started with a view to the capture of fellow Africans- given the modest prices they asked, African labor was clearly considered abundant, not very valuable. There they were loaded into extremely cramped ships and given only minimal amounts of food and water. It is estimated that fifteen percent of slaves died in the voyage over the Atlantic.

Related Topics:
African slave trade - Musket

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The first slavers were Portuguese who desired workers for their mines and sugar plantations in Brazil. When the Dutch seized much of Brazil and became the dominant trading power in seventeenth century they became the leading slavers selling slaves to both their own colonies and to British and Spanish ones. As Britain rose in naval power and controlled more of the Americas they became the leading slave traders, mostly operating out of Liverpool and Bristol. By the late 17th century, one out of every four ships that left Liverpool harbour was a slaver. They were highly profitable ventures and played very important economic roles in those two cities.

Related Topics:
Portuguese - Sugar - Brazil - Dutch - British - Spanish - Liverpool - Bristol

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The slave trade was part of the triangular Atlantic trade, which was probably the most important and profitable trading route in the world. Ships from Europe would carry a cargo of manufactured trade goods to Africa. They would exchange the trade goods for slaves which they would transport to the Americas. In the Americas, they would sell the slaves and pick up a cargo of agricultural products, often produced with slave labour, for Europe. The value of this trade route was that a ship could make a substantial profit on each leg of the voyage. The route was also designed to take full advantage of prevailing winds and currents. For example, the trip from the West Indies or the southern US to Europe would be assisted by the Gulf Stream. The outward bound trip from Europe to Africa would not be impeded by the same current.

Related Topics:
Triangular Atlantic trade - Gulf Stream

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The immorality of slavery (clearly contrary to the prevailing Christian teaching) was excused by economics. Slavery was involved in some of the most immensely profitable industries of the time. 70% of the slaves brought to the new world were used to produce sugar, the most labour intensive crop. The rest were employed harvesting coffee, cotton, and tobacco, and in some cases in mining. The West Indian colonies of the European powers were some of their most important possessions and they went to extremes to protect and retain them. For example, in 1763, France agreed to lose the entire vast colony of New France in exchange for keeping the minute Antillian island of Guadeloupe (still a French overseas département).

Related Topics:
New France - Guadeloupe

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By far the most successful West Indian colonies in 1800 belonged to the United Kingdom. After entering the sugar colony business late, British naval supremacy and control over key islands such as Jamaica, Trinidad, and Barbados gave it an important edge over all competitors; wile many lost their shirt, some made enormous fortunes, even by uper class standards. This advantage was reinforced when France lost its most important colony, St. Dominigue, to a slave revolt in 1791. The British islands produced the most sugar, and the British people quickly became the largest consumers of sugar. West Indian sugar became ubiquitous as an additive to Chinese tea. Products of American slave labour soon permeated every level of British society with tobacco, coffee, and especially sugar all becoming indispensable elements of daily life for all classes.

Related Topics:
United Kingdom - Jamaica - Trinidad - Barbados - St. Dominigue - 1791

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