History Research Paper On Indian Ocean Slave Trade

Slave Trade and its Impact/Effects in Africa Before 1800
Name
Institution
Slave Trade and its Impact/Effects in Africa Before 1800
Introduction
The systems of slavery and servitude have been in existence for a long time in the African continent. A majority of the African societies embraced the idea of slavery and actively participated in it way before slave trade began. While at times it is often made to seem like slavery started when the Arab or the Atlantic slave trade began, the fact is, the African continent was already used to the idea of subjugating their fellow men. Initially, before the slave systems changed, slavery in Africa was practiced in the form of military slavery, debt slavery, criminal slavery, as well as the enslavement of war captives. However, the slave systems changed and this happened mainly because of the influences of the Romans who represented the Christian views of the practice, the Islamic impact, and finally the Atlantic slave trade. In Africa, slavery was part of the society and was an important element of the economic structure. However, the many changes to the system led to some notable differences as years passed but the foundation of the system remained the same. The Christian and the Islamic views of slavery had significant effects on the slave trade in Africa, but it is the Atlantic slave trade that had a major impact. Initially, slaves were seen as the means of increasing one’s status in the community, but the onset of the Atlantic slave trade changed everything. Instead of keeping slaves for themselves, Africans of higher status, as well as kings and other leaders, decided to start bartering their servants in exchange for other products such as sugar, cowrie shells, firearms, and alcohol. Gradually, however, the demand for slaves outgrew the supply, and the pioneers of Atlantic slave trade had to find newer and sleeker ways of acquiring slaves. Slave trade was a scourge but back then it was seen as the easiest way of getting cheap labor, getting back what someone was owed as well as elevating one’s status in society. The Africans, Europeans, and the Arabs had not considered the long-term effects of their actions. However, it is evident that the world is still in the process of healing but the effects of slavery are indeed pronounced.[Manning, Patrick. 1990. Slavery and African Life: Occidental, Oriental, and African Slave Trades. London: Cambridge.]
How slaves were captured/acquired
As the demand for slaves increased, the Europeans (pioneers of Atlantic slave trade) had to devise ways of getting labor. Africa was unexplored, and it is only after the Portuguese made contact with the continent that the Atlantic slave trade began. After launching a series of exploratory expeditions, the Portuguese eventually discovered Africa and are indeed the first Europeans to make a successful slave voyage from Africa. America had huge sugar, tobacco, coffee, cotton, and cocoa plantations and these needed people to work on. Slaves made for an easy target because they were viewed as property and not as workers, therefore, they worked without pay. However, capturing or acquiring slaves was not easy, and some Europeans met their death while trying to acquire or capture Africans. The E...