Atlantic Slave Trade and its effect on economy
The Atlantic Slave Trades Effect on Africa's EconomyThe African continent has long been a source of slaves for different regions of the earth. From as early as the ninth century Muslim countries benefited from the use of African slavery. Furthermore, the use of slaves has a long history within the continent of Africa itself. In the latter half of the fifteenth century, the meaning of slavery changed forever with the discovery of the New World and European trade on the coast of Africa. In 1472, Portuguese explorers became the first Europeans to arrive in Africa. They brought with them brass and copper, and exchanged these goods for pepper, cloth and slaves. For a short time the Portuguese enjoyed monopoly over the trade with Africa, then in the sixteenth century the English arrived followed by the French and other European nations. The English soon dominated the business of removing young Africans from their native soil to work in mines or on plantations in the New World. This triangular trade between Europe, the New World and Africa allowed the European countries to develop their economies at the expense of the African people. The effects of the Atlantic slave
Instead the slave trade led Africa on a path towards colonialism and underdevelopment. European trading companies soon realized the benefits of obtaining slaves through African suppliers. The few existing manufacturing activities were either destroyed or denied conditions for growth. Therefore, the corrupt leadership that undermines the economic development in Africa today has a long history. It effectively commercialized Africa's economy, restricting Africa to the commercial and political ambitions of Europe. But the slave trade business continued illegally in parts of Africa for many decades after the British abolished it. Any chance that African societies could have developed a system of capitalism and industrialization was blocked by the slave trade. The companies would not have been able to directly capture the large numbers of slaves they required. The most common European goods that were exchanged for slaves were rifles, gunpowder, brandy, cloth, glassware, salt and iron. The African slave traders became obsessed with the goods the Europeans offered in exchange for slaves. They both traded the resources of their people for their own glorification and prosperity. The African slave trading class only thought of their own selfish needs when trading with the Europeans. y were devastating because it permanently created an economic system that diverted resources from the indigenous people. The demand for African slave labor arose from the development of plantation agriculture and the demand for miners. They did not take into account the implications or long term effects it might have on the African continent.
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