Study Questions and Answers
1. Discuss the origins and organization of the Atlantic slave trade?
i. Began in late 1400’s European colonies were the world’s main supplier of Sugar cane, cotton and tobacco.
ii. However, there were not enough workers or servants to cultivate the land. American natives were enslaved but many died from new diseases and some resisted so to meet the massive demand for labour they went to Africa.
iii. When they got to Africa, they saw that slavery had long existed as people had servants and slaves and some slave owners gave the slaves the ability to possibly but their freedom.
iv. When the Europeans got there, they realized that they could trade manufactured products such as guns, rum and tobacco for slaves and they basically made it a business transaction
v. The Africans justified selling slaves by viewing them not as fellow Africans but as criminals and non-desirables or prisoners of war.
vi. By selling slaves kings enriched their realms and strengthened their kingdoms against tribal enemies.
vii. Because slave trade became a business, the traders insured their products their products as some of the slaves resisted or died during transportation due to diseases brought on by sanitation issues and all they had to show for insurance claims were the ears of the slaves.
viii. Because the traders realized that they could still get paid, they would cut off the ears of the slaves and abuse the slaves especially the women and children and when they got infections or died they’d just throw them over board and still get paid from the insurance companies.
ix. Many able-bodied Africans in west Africa where the slave trade began died.
2. Assess the African contribution to the ending of the slave trade
i. Africans started to resist after realizing that the slave trader would come, take slaves away who were never seen again, but kept returning for more.
ii. They viewed them as cannibals and began to be cautious about continuing slave trade with these Europeans.
iii. Slaves resisted their masters and refused to work or would commit suicide with the mindset that their souls would return back home in death.
3. Indicate new economic conditions, which emerged in the nineteenth century that paved the way for the abolishment of slavery.
During the 19th century the second industrial revolution took place which meant that slaves were no longer needed to perform certain tasks and massive urbanization and much higher levels of productivity, profit and prosperity took place. It also paved the way for colonization of many areas around the world.
4. Why did slavery remain so widespread in central Africa until at least the 1880’s?
i. Africans were very important to the Merchant Capitalist system because slaves were used as bartering objects in exchange for plantation crops, sugar, guns etc.
ii. Profits from the triangular trade was a major factor as to why several European port cities became so wealthy as they had access to multiple slave trade...