Essay On African American Slave Trade

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Between the years of 1500-1866, the slave trade added a substantial African presents to the mix of Europeans and Native American in the Americas. More than 12 million individuals we ripped from their African societies and shipped across the Atlantic on the infamous middle passage. The slave trade is often described as “the Maafa” by Africans and African-American scholars, meaning "holocaust" or "great disaster" in Swahili. Though the Europeans had a much different perspective of the Atlantic Slave trade, it was not all smooth sailings. Europeans lacked one major resource when trying to expand to the “New World” -- a work force. Most of the native people were dying off from the various diseases brought over by the Europeans, so they were no …show more content…

African Elites and Europeans often enriched themselves, while the slaves were victimized almost beyond ones imagination. This new commerce brought in new revenue for Europeans and African Elites who sold their already enslaved Africans. Most of the slaves were obtained through raids and kidnappings. The Slave trade and forced labor of the slaves undoubtedly enhanced Euro-American societies, even as the practice of slavery backed the racial stereotypes of the European people. After the Africans were either bought or captured, they were displaced from their home cultures, beaten, often branded, and forced into hard labor. The experience the most Africans endured was a most tragic one, filled with pain and suffering. The slaves were treated as goods and were handled as such. Packed tightly into cramped ships, so that they could carry as much “merchandise” as possible. Almost 2 million slaves died along the journey across the Atlantic. Once the journey was made, millions of slaves were scattered throughout South, Central, and North America. Most slaves would work on coffee, cocoa, and cotton plantations, while others worked in gold and silver mines. The African diaspora injected into these new societies issue of race that endure still today in the 21st

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