Chief Abeeku and other chiefs like him used the slave trade for political gain and wealth, they deliberately went against their moral values for their own gain along the Gold Coast. The Gold Coast was also known as the Slave coast as it stretched about 300 miles with different transporting stations throughout. Ghana saw the slave trade as a good money. The slaves sold never seemed to be their own people, but people captured throughout time. Ghana was at first known for its Gold, but as the slave trade increased Ghana was known for their transporting of slaves. (Fage) The chiefs job is to keep the needs of their village at heart accordingly throughout Homegoing Chief Abeeku made sure to put his village first. He would say, “We work with the …show more content…
When I am chief, we will continue as we have, facilitating trade with the Asantes and the British.” (Gyasi 8) Chief Abeeku knew that there were benefits for working with the British for financial gain so he made sure that his people knew that the slave trade was to benefit them even it seemed morally demising. When Effia’s mother offered Effia to marry a British man he said, “If the white man marries her, he will think of this village fondly, and your trade will prosper from it.” (Gyasi 15) The Ghanaian British relationship was very important between the two parties. In order for their work together to stay stable and prosper there needed to be continuous benefits both sides benefits. The chiefs worked with the British for the sake of prospering. They took the saying keep your enemies closer to succumb to their perspective. They made sure that they could help their individual villages prosper. The slave trade was a way for Ghanaians from certain villages to put themselves on the map and gain wealth. There was a constant push for greatness that they all seemed to strive …show more content…
There seems to be a stigma that a person of a lighter complexion is seen as better than someone with a darker skin tone. The following article implies that colonization is the issue that seemed to be instilled in the minds of many West Africans that associated skin color with power. For some Nigerians, "good skin is usually fair skin," says Rotinwa. "It is sort of an indirect colonial legacy, a byproduct of colonialism." And if you think that "power” belongs to people who are fairer, who are lighter, why not then look like them?" (NWANKWO) This seemed to be a common misconception with the characters of Homegoing, that people of a lighter complexion were to be respected, but not accepted. Sadly, kids like Quey had to learn this from a young age. “Quey had wanted to cry, but that desire embarrassed him. He knew that he was one of the half-caste children of the Castle, and like the other half-caste children, he could not fully claim either half of himself, neither his father’s whiteness nor his mother’s blackness. Neither England or the Gold Coast.” (Gyasi 56) Quey questioned his identity because as the book says, ‘he could not fully claim either half of himself’ this created a feeling of misplacement. People of a lighter complexion were not seen as the rest of the Ghanaians they were seen almost as foreigners and not
The first chapter focuses on the first impressions between the people of different color also the reasons Africans had evolved or changed into what they now appeared to be. The section on causes of complexion was both fascinating and entertaining. Many of the theories were of the wall and far fetched. One such opinion of how Africans gained their complexion that the book gave includes an ancient Greek myth of Phaeton. This character drove a chariot into the heavens and thus altered in his appearance (p11). Though this Greek myth, probably not the truth of how Africans gained their color many did believe it probably had something to do with the sun. The theory of equatorial dwellers of Africa, this being the reason for the skin pigmentation, became illogical once Africans were compared to the Indians living in the hottest parts of the New World (p14). Some believed that the African was merely dark because they had left their colder northern climate. Experiments quickly ruled this out as a possible answer (p15). The most far-fetched and humorous theory came through the biblical illustration involving Noah. Many believed it the curse given upon Noah’s son Ham for “looking upon his father’s nakedness” (p17). Each of these contrasting views on color needed to be used in this book. For no better reason in that it showed from an initial point that the English viewed the color of the Africans as a plague. Instead of excepting that Africans may in fact be different, the English consistently made attempts to explain the dif...
First published in 1789, Volume I focuses on Equiano’s short time in Africa followed by his treacherous journey as a slave. He begins the narrative with an in depth description of his homeland of Nigeria, speaking of their food, clothes, and religious views. He then recounts the events following his kidnapping, as well as the treacherous expedition from Africa to the West Indies known as the Middle Passage. Once in the West Indies, Equiano saw firsthand the selling of his countrymen. While there, he was not purchased, so Equiano was taken to Virginia, where he labored in the fields of a plantation. Not long after arriving in Virginia, Equiano was sold to Henry Pascal, a lieutenant in the British navy. After purchasing Equiano, Pascal returned to England. During their journey, Pascal renamed Equiano Gustavus Vassa. Once in England, Equiano began to go to church with his new friend Robert Baker, who began to teach him to read and write. Pascal later sent Equiano to work for his sisters, the Guerins. The Guerins promoted his education and Christianity, and eventually, the sisters convinced Pascal to permit Equiano to be baptized. Eqiano was extremely loyal to Pascal, but after a few years the slave was sold to James Doran. Equiano was astonished th...
The slave trade in Old Calabar was accepted as a means for economic growth. The people of Old Calabar even had slaves of their own, however the quality of life of enslaved peoples in Africa was drastically different from the lives of those who were transported to other countries.
Shortly after, Portuguese traders entered the practice of slave trading, Europeans did. Europeans brought exorbitant amounts of slaves to work on plantations in America. European traders “relied on African rulers and traders to seize captives in the interior and bring them to coastal trading posts and forts” (Ellis & Eysler 453). Captives were then traded for textiles, metalwork, rum, tobacco, weapons, and gunpowder; the slave trade led to three hundred years of profitable trading. Eventually, African leaders like Affonso I, ruler of Kongo, began to try and end the practice of transatlantic slave trade. Affonso I was alarmed as Portuguese continually came to Kongo to buy slaves but wished to continue his solid relationship with Europe. He was unsuccessful in his attempts to end slave trade; however, many African rulers followed in his footsteps. Another African to lead in the example of Affonso I, was the almany of Futa Toro, a religious leader during the eighteenth century, in present day Senegal. The almany forbade slave trade transport through Futa Toro for sale abroad. However, this attempt was also unsuccessful because traders just found a different route along the coast. African slave trade greatly increased during the times of European exploration and many African leaders saw the negative impact of the slave trade and attempted to
Though the Atlantic Slave Trade began in 1441, it wasn’t until nearly a century later that Europeans actually became interested in slave trading on the West African coast. “With no interest in conquering the interior, they concentrated their efforts to obtain human cargo along the West African coast. During the 1590s, the Dutch challenged the Portuguese monopoly to become the main slave trading nation (“Africa and the Atlantic Slave Trade”, NA). Besides the trading of slaves, it was also during this time that political changes were being made. The Europe...
...nd contrasting points of African kings. While they both approved the use of slaves, Mbemba despised the slave trade and coaxed Portugal’s royalty into ending the entire business for the benefit of his nation. The king of Ouidah however seemed adamant about getting rid of his slaves in the trade without regard to how the slaves were being treated or how it affected his country. The mixed opinions on the slave trade and the identical thoughts of slavery during the 17th century allows one to see the varying notions the two issues had on the kings in Africa.
Published in 1789, “The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano” tells the captivating life story of none other than Olaudah Equiano himself. Not only did this story contribute to British’s abolitionist movement but it also depicts the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. The narrative, written by Equiano, told about his experience as a slave. For the majority of Equiano’s life he went by the name of Gustavus Vassa, which one of his masters Henry Pascal gave to him. Equiano goes through his memories as a child, in Eboe, better known today as Nigeria. Equiano was born in 1745 in a region named Essaka. At a young age the British kidnapped, sold, and separated both his sister and himself. Eventually, a slave trade bought Equiano. Equiano describes his journey from the Middle Passage to the West Indies on to Virginia. In Virginia, Henry Pascal, the Captain of a British trading vessel bought Equiano. Before King, a slave owner in Montserrat, bought him, Equiano spent many years at sea. In Montserrat, Equiano continually traveled the sea on trade routes. Along the way of the trade routes Equiano traded his own goods. Through doing this he earned enough money to buy his freedom back. King only made Equiano pay him 40 pounds for his freedom, which was the same amount he had bought Equiano for. Equiano then was able to live the life of a free man and later returned to England. Through Equiano’s life he experienced many different events that changed his views of race.
Western attitudes to African people and culture have always affected how their art was appreciated and this has also coloured the response to the art from Benin. Over time, concepts of ‘Race’, defined as a distinct group with a common lineage, and ‘Primitive’ which pertains to the beginning or origin,, have been inextricably linked with the perception of Africa. The confusion of the two in the minds of people at the end of the 19th century, and some of the 20th, caused a sense of superiority amongst the ‘White Races’ that affected every aspect of their interaction with ‘the Black’. The ‘Civilisation’ of Africa by conquest and force is justified by these views.
The British had a triangle of trade with Africa. They would go to Africa trade finished goods and bring them to
Have you ever been discriminated against simply because your skin is darker than the next person? Have you ever been told by someone that “your pretty for a dark skin girl or boy?” Have you ever been racist toward your own race? Since long before we or our parents were born, the black community has faced this problem of racism within the same race. In the black community, it is said that if a person has a lighter skin complexion, then they are superior to those with a darker skin complexion.
...e, unlike the surrounding nations which were powerful, rich empires, Africa consisted of small tribes and kingdoms. These kingdoms’ greatest exports would consist of gold, salt, and slaves, in exchange for the goods imported from the surrounding empires.
In this paper I ask, how did slavery begin in Ghana? What impact did it have on Ghana? How badly is Ghana underdeveloped due to this enslavement that took place? Lovejoy, Northrup, and Rodney argue that the transatlantic slave trade did in fact contribute to the underdevelopment of Africa. I support their arguments and believe the trade didn’t exactly “destroy” Ghana, but it did affect it by not letting the country improve faster, although eventually Ghana was able to depart from that “underdeveloped” category.
Africa’s struggle to maintain their sovereignty amidst the encroaching Europeans is as much a psychological battle as it is an economic and political one. The spillover effects the system of racial superiority had on the African continent fractured ...
Ghana: The Gold Coast of Africa The Gold Coast, now known as Ghana, is one of many civilizations of Africa. It was a British Colony until March 6, 1957, when it became independent as the State of Ghana. In 1471, the Portuguese invaded this area and became involved in gold trade, giving the region the name, The Gold Coast.
There are a lot of causes of the scramble for Africa, and one of them was to ‘liberate’ the slaves in Africa after the slave trade ended. The slave trade was a time during the age of colonization when the Europeans, American and African traded with each oth...