Discuss The Negative Effects Of Trans-Atlantic Slavery

Trans-Atlantic slavery in the 15th century was sparked by the growing hunger for money and power, and was discouraged during the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century. The ideologies of Charles Darwin and Karl Marx help us understand and explain the reason for the rise and fall of this type of slavery. These ideologies also allow one to determine if this slavery was inevitable or not. Great Britain’s capitalistic society, strengthened their drive to form colonies leading to the exploitation of colonial people. The development of the slave trade started off with the Portuguese in the 15th century who were looking to get around Muslims who had a monopoly on the sub-Saharan trade in gold and spices. They exported small amounts of slaves to
When we look at the African society during this time period we see many negative impacts that Trans-Atlantic slavery brought the nation. In Walter Rodney’s How Europe Underdeveloped Africa he identifies how the past of Africa contributes to how the contemporary society came to be. The first negative effect the Trans-Atlantic slave trade had on Africa was the inequality of power it brought. The Africans that were fortunate enough to live on the coasts had a better chance of dominating their own kin that lived further inside. This established sort of a power gradient, those who lived on the coasts were most likely to receive guns and ammunition from Europeans. As you go deeper into the country the presence of such advanced weaponry decreases leaving the inner parts of Africa weaker and more vulnerable to raids. This brought about unrest within the villages, and the Africans began to exploit each other by capturing individuals and selling them to Europeans in exchange for firearms to protect themselves. This created hatred between African states and supported the slave trade at the same time. Another detrimental impact the slave trade had on Africa was the deterioration and abuse of their justice system. In order to meet Europe’s growing demands Africans began falsely accusing individuals of crimes like witchcraft or voodoo. They took advantage of the accused and
In the late 18th century, some people began to question the interpretation of the Bible, slavery was beginning to be seen as a sin. Throughout history, man has continuously been evolving. As Rodney says in his book, there has been constant economic development within human society starting from the Paleolithic era where we see hunting and gathering societies, to the domestication of animals and beginning of agriculture. The Paleolithic and agricultural eras were both communal ages, people carried out tasks for the benefits of their people and families. There were no ranks, or competition, it was really just an era where the word prestige didn’t exist. Finally, Rodney goes on to say that the improvement in character of work from being an individualistic activity to an activity that assumes social character or status. I believe Rodney is saying that jobs began to take on character leading individuals to define and distinguish each other based on the type of job they had. When individuals began to think they were capable of doing certain things differently than each other, they began to exploit one another leading to some of the first conflicts and wars. We see the same thing happen with slavery, Europeans see the Africans as lesser people or barbarians and exploited them. Evolution is a key factor throughout history. Charles Darwin’s ideology allows one to comprehend and answer the question on whether