Humanitarian Concerns During The Slave Trade

339 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Slavery in Africa and the Caribbean

The absence of humanitarian concerns influences the treatment of slaves during the slave trade tremendously. At first glance, one can simply pick up the fact that Africans were treated as subhuman. This did not begin as a result of difference in appearance to those in settling in America, the inhumane torture actually started back in their homeland. There were always slaves in Africa, however, due to the constant need of non-Christian slaves in America the slave trade became a booming business in Africa. Any person, any day had the likelihood of being kidnapped and taken to a faraway land to be treated as mere possessions. The lack of civilized concerns towards the Africans during the times of the Slave Trade resulted in the callous behavior

Show More
Related

  • Analysis of White Over Black: American Attitudes Toward the Negro by Winthrop D. Jordan

    1182 Words  | 3 Pages

    Winthrop D. Jordan author of White Over Black: American Attitudes Toward the Negro 1550-1812, expresses two main arguments in explaining why Slavery became an institution. He also focuses attention on the initial discovery of Africans by English. How theories on why Africans had darker complexions and on the peculiarly savage behavior they exhibited. Through out the first two chapters Jordan supports his opinions, with both facts and assumptions. Jordan goes to great length in explaining how the English and early colonialist over centuries stripped the humanity from a people in order to enslave them and justify their actions in doing so. His focus is heavily on attitudes and how those positions worked to create the slave society established in this country.

    Read More

  • Slaves And Summary: The Transatlantic Slavery By William Snelgrave

    1572 Words  | 4 Pages

    The first aspects we can analyze is the level of difference between the slavery of Africa compared to the European form of slavery. As these sources illustrate traditional African slavery was quite different on several levels compared to the European form of slavery many are familiar with. Slavery in Africa as stated before can be more closely associated with indentured servitude where the slaves were often treated as a member of the family rather than treated with brutality. According to the multiple sources discussed earlier, a prominent aspect of European slavery in Africa was to the harsh treatment and dehumanizing of its slave it order to keep them subordinate to their European captures. Historians might beg the question why was European slavery different than traditional African

    Read More

  • Slave Trade Case Study

    1037 Words  | 3 Pages

    The documents of the slave trade case study contains documents, which were authored by individuals closely connected to the slave trade. Gomes Eannes de Azurara was a Portuguese chronicler who provided details about the early voyages on the west coast of Africa and the capture of Africans in the slave trade. The primary source that Azurara wrote was titled The Chronicle of the Discovery and Conquest of Guinea written in 1450. The second primary source titled Practices and Contracts of Merchants was written by Fray Tomas De Mercado in 1587. The third primary source, The Travailes of an English Man, was written by Job Hortop in 1567. These primary sources aid in exemplifying how

    Read More

  • Insights on the Domestic Slave Trade

    2115 Words  | 5 Pages

    The image of American slave traders popularized and ingrained upon the national consciousness is based predominantly upon the character of Mr. Haley in Uncle Tom's Cabin. It is one of brash and opportunistic men of dubious background, character and principles, inherently racist and brutish in nature, motivated solely by profit. Ironically this largely echoed the view depicted publicly in the pro-slavery oratory and writings, which typically minimized the importance of the trade and portrayed the traders as social outcasts from the genteel antebellum culture of the South, thus reinforcing this fictitious version of history. Close scrutiny by many prominent historians has unquestionably shown this image is not historically accurate however. Far from being social outcasts with no community ties, many traders were in fact prominent citizens holding important positions in government and business. The most enterprising and successful of their number took full advantage of the latest innovations in modern transportation and employed effective market and advertising strategies thus introducing a spirit of commercialism which was so prevalent in the North to the South's agrarian culture. While it can not be disputed the most of these men held strongly racist views and many committed appalling acts in the course of the business, most saw themselves as men of vision who were simply pursuing their own American dream of happiness and prosperity. In their estimation their business practices were no more unethical than those of Northern entrepreneurs and served a viable need to the public at large.

    Read More

  • Essay On Slave Trade

    1329 Words  | 3 Pages

    Since the beginning of slavery in the America, Africans have been deemed inferior to the whites whom exploited the Atlantic slave trade. Africans were exported and shipped in droves to the Americas for the sole purpose of enriching the lives of other races with slave labor. These Africans were sold like livestock and forced into a life of servitude once they became the “property” of others. As the United States expanded westward, the desire to cultivate new land increased the need for more slaves. The treatment of slaves was dependent upon the region because different crops required differing needs for cultivation. Slaves in the Cotton South, concluded traveler Frederick Law Olmsted, worked “much harder and more unremittingly” than those in the tobacco regions.1 Since the birth of America and throughout its expansion, African Americans have been fighting an uphill battle to achieve freedom and some semblance of equality. While African Americans were confronted with their inferior status during the domestic slave trade, when performing their tasks, and even after they were set free, they still made great strides in their quest for equality during the nineteenth century.

    Read More

  • Impact of Foreign Aid on African Democracy and Economy

    932 Words  | 2 Pages

    Every year, more and more money is donated to Africa to promote democracy in order to get rid of the powerful coups in many countries through out the continent. While the coups are declining and democratic governments are being established, the economic growth and development of Africa is not anywhere it should be considering the abundant natural resources and coastline that the continent possesses. Even though countries, like the United States of America, donate millions of dollars they are a large reason why Africa is underdeveloped economically. The Trans-Atlantic Slave trade is the most devastating event in the history of the world. Nearly 14,000,000 men, women, and children were displaced, sold into slavery, and killed by the trade routes.(

    Read More

  • Arguments Against African Slave Trade

    772 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Africans slaves were treated just as badly as the Native Americans if not worse. They were forced to work hard gruesome hours in a fields, never feed or kept in good health, they were branded like common farm animals and brutally tortured at any signs of disobedience and resistance. As European crops and materials grew in demand, more African slaves were brought to the New World for work, thus beginning the Atlantic slave trade Europeans justified the Atlantic slave trade, which was the buying and selling of African slaves, in different ways. Three commonly used excuses being one: “ Apologist for the African slave trade long argued that European traders purchased African who had already been enslaved and who otherwise would have been put to death.Thus, apologists claimed the slave trade actually saved lives.” As well as two: “ In the Christian world, the most important rationalization for slavery was the so called ‘Curse of Ham’ According to the doctrine, the Bible figure Noah had cursed his son Ham with blackness and the condition slavery.” The last justification was that Europeans, full of greed and power, needed more people that weren't of European descendent to do all the dirty, hard and dangerous work for them. All of

    Read More

  • African American Hardships

    1290 Words  | 3 Pages

    This slave trade brought about a different type of racism. It was the color of your skin that determined whether a person would be a free citizen or be enslaved for life. This slave trade also devastated African lives and their heritage. Some slaves were sold and traded more than once, often in a slave market. Families were torn apart, children hysterically cried while they said their goodbyes....

    Read More

  • Role Of Oppression In Colonial America

    1252 Words  | 3 Pages

    Most of them were forced to do hard labor in mines, while others were taken to large homes and they worked as servants. They were fed and housed poorly. There were many slaves who tried to resist slavery and run away. Sometimes the enslaved Africans would rebel. In order to prevent retaliation, the Spanish government passed slave codes and laws in order to regulate the treatment of the slaves. Some of the laws tried to soften harsh conditions the slaves had to face, however most of them were created to punish them and keep them in bondage. Over time, Europeans had associated slavery with black Africans. Having a dark skin tone eventually became a sign of inferiority to many Europeans. Slavery which was originally created in order to prove labor force, led to racism. The slave trade lasted for about 400 years. From as early as the 1500’s to the mid 1800’s. This contact between the Americas and Africa had also formed part of the Columbian Exchange . Africans suffered tremendously in slavery, being separated from their families, whipped, and

    Read More

  • The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade

    1948 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the seventeenth century, slaves became the major focus of trade between Africa and other parts of the world, namely the Americas and Europe. This was known as the trans-Atlantic slave trade. The trans-Atlantic slave trade was an involuntary voyage of Africans from their homeland, across the Atlantic Ocean, to the New World. The trans-Atlantic slave trade caused the deportation of millions of Africans to the Western hemisphere of the world. Millions of captives were shipped to their destinations performing hard labor under terrible conditions. The slave trade was horrific, and the enslavement of the Africans was cruel and dehumanizing. Throughout the world of trans-Atlantic slave trade, the Americas, Europe and Africa were connected, playing

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Slave Trade In Colonial America

    2015 Words  | 5 Pages

    Colonial America depended on their natural resources to provide the things they needed to live. Some parts of the colonies differed from others depending on their location, therefore they relied on trade to make up for what they may have been lacking. For instance England had poor soil, so to get food and crops they would trade with another region that prospered in farming. (Trade in the Colonies ) Slave trade was very useful for almost anyone who lived in the Colonies. They used the slaves for farming and gathering materials. There was a lot of open land in the Colonies due to the fact it was newly discovered. People came from many different countries for many reasons. Some came because they were poor and thought this would be a good opportunity

    Read More

  • The Atlantic Slave Trade

    920 Words  | 2 Pages

    The changes in African life during the slave trade era form an important element in the economic and technological development of Africa. Although the Atlantic slave trade had a negative effect on both the economy and technology, it is important to understand that slavery was not a new concept to Africa. In fact, internal slavery existed in Africa for many years. Slaves included war captives, the kidnapped, adulterers, and other criminals and outcasts. However, the number of persons held in slavery in Africa, was very small, since no economic or social system had developed for exploiting them (Manning 97). The new system-Atlantic slave trade-became quite different from the early African slavery. The influence of the Atlantic slave trade brought radical changes to the economy of Africa.

    Read More

  • Slave Trade

    457 Words  | 1 Pages

    My critique comes from a commentary titled " Did We Sell Each Other Into Slavery?" by Oscar L. Beard. The author is a consultant in African Studies. The commentary was written May 24, 1999, which contains a discussion about slave trading. The author wants readers to understand the history of slave trading before making any type of judgements. The author feels African American character has been negatively effected because of the remarks made about slavery. My discussion will hold two views. The views will show that I agree we did sell each other to slavery in some forms and I agree Whites had some responsibility for slavery too.

    Read More

  • The Brutalizing Effects of Slavery Illustrated in the Book, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

    1637 Words  | 4 Pages

    Frederick Douglass, the author of the book “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass”, said “I saw more clearly than ever the brutalizing effects of slavery upon both slave and slaveholder” (Douglass, p.71). Modern people can fairly and easily understand the negative effects of slavery upon slave. People have the idea of slaves that they are not allow to learn which makes them unable to read and write and also they don’t have enough time to take a rest and recover their injuries. However, the negative effects upon slaveholder are less obvious to modern people. People usually think about the positive effects of slavery upon slaveholder, such as getting inexpensive labor. In the book “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass”, Douglass also shows modern readers some brutalizing impact upon the owner of the slaves. He talks about Thomas Auld and Edward Covey who are his masters and also talks about Sophia Auld who is his mistress. We will talk about those three characters in the book which will help us to find out if there were the negative influences upon the owner of the slaves or not. Also, we will talk about the power that the slaveholders got from controlling their slaves and the fear that the slaveholders maybe had to understand how they were changed.

    Read More

  • Dehumanization Exposed In Toni Morrison's Beloved

    662 Words  | 2 Pages

    For a society to accept the gross mistreatment, murder, or enslavement of a group of people, that society must first dehumanize their victims. If a society were to truly consider the individuals with whom they are at war, or enslaving, or torturing and see them as human beings with all the good and bad that it entails, it would be difficult for the victimizers to continue with their actions. Without dehumanizing black slaves, American society would not have been able to continue the culture of violence and supremacy that is necessary to keep an economy based on slavery intact. So, in an attempt to keep both themselves guiltfree and enslaved Africans submissive, American slaveholders made an effort to dehumanize their captives and treat them like cattle. They did this by assaulting the bodies and minds of the enslaved, which exposed their captives to both physical and psychological trauma.

    Read More

More about Humanitarian Concerns During The Slave Trade

Open Document