Transatlantic Slave Trade Case Study

1. Discuss the transatlantic slave trade, how it operated and its consequences on the African continent.
Slavery has a long history in Africa and before the transatlantic slave trade was created, slavery existed within the African country. Domestic slavery was driven by the under population in Africa. Therefore slaves were used for mining, agriculture, and household chores. Hence, the concept of slavery was not foreign to the African continent. In 1441, the first slaving occurred by Portugal. They took one man and one women slave back to Portugal. As the time passes Portugal sees African slaves as a good way to gain access in the African continent. In 1445 Portuguese built a fort on Arguin Island in order to have better access to Africa and to establish a route to import slaves but also gain access to the gold Africa had to offer. The Portuguese were the first to establish relations with the African countries, in the north they were trading horses in for slaves, then they would take the slaves and trade the slaves for gold. At first

For example, the problem of depopulation had worsen. In a course of 100-150 years, around 12.5 million slaves were taken over the Atlantic. Politically, the slave trade open the doors for mercantilism to flourish. During mercantilism, money was considered power. Also with the importations of weapons large communities (ruling elites) were able to dominate and control smaller communities in Africa. The Congo Kingdom and Oyo located in southwest of Nigeria were deeply impacted by end outcomes of the slave trade. Economically, the slave trade reduce the interest to industrialize. For example, cloth was cheaper in India than within African states therefore there was no drive to create that good, consequently, leaving the idea of industrialization behind. Since things were cheaper outside the African continent, local manufacturing was negatively