Atlantic Slave Trade
Question 1
Atlantic Slave Trade, commonly referred to as Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, was incorporated in the Trans triangular trade that existed between Europe, Africa, and Americas between 15th and 19th centuries. This trade was propagated by the Portuguese who were the masters of this trade. The idea to incorporate slaves in the trade came about as a result of high demand for human labour in the newly established colonial farms in the American continents. In this trade, ships started their journey in Europe carrying goods that would later be exchanged through barter trade with stuff like salt, gold and slaves from Africa (Rawley, 13).
In their second voyage, these ships would later leave African coast and head to the America across the Atlantic Ocean carrying with them slaves for sale. At the Americas coast, the Portuguese would sell the slaves and purchase sugar, tobacco, molasses and other raw materials for their industries and markets in Europe. Thereafter, these merchants would turn to Europe to sell their merchandise and set off for a new cycle of trade.
The first African slaves landed in North America in 17th century to work in sugarcane, tobacco cotton and rice fields. The port of Charleston in South Carolina acted as the landing base for where these slaves were traded. Slavery continued until mid 19th century when it was completely abolished.
Question 2
Olaudah Equianos (1745-1801) life portrays a classical experience of one of the slaves which exposes the brutal side of the slave trade from life of absolute freedom to that of total control and later buying his freedom through his own sweat. Originally from Benin province ofpresent day Nigeria, he was first captured by slave traders and sold to domestic slavery at an early age of 11 years. He was later sold to European merchants where he went through a horrifying and agonizing passage across the Atlantic Ocean in a packed ship among other slaves. The trauma almost made him get into despair as at one moment he wished for his last friend called death to come and relieve him from the sufferings.
However he made it to America and was sold from one master to another. His second master named him Gustavus Vassa. Through his experiences, freedom of a slave in and out of slavery was only an illusion but he was determined to fight for it.
Olaudah derived a lot of inspiration from his African name which he said to have meant fortune. He knew at the back of his mind that there was a need to overcome whatever he was going through without despair. The zeal to succeed in life led him to utilise every opportunity which came on his way to learn. The education he gained is the one that helped him to articulate his thoughts to the outer world about the negative aspects of slave trade. He managed to overcome many challenges on his life as a save and later used the strength he had developed and education to speak for millions who were still enslaved by this vice (Doudou, 18). He also found it hard to accept the fact that racism was still a force that existed in the face of humankind during his struggle to resettle the freed slaves.
He was an ambitious man and he used every opportunity that came on his way to work and earn his freedom and to learn which later helped him to be a successful in business and fighting for the abolition of slave trade. His courage, eloquence and endurance formed a strong pedestal that won the admiration of many to the advantage of self and fellow victims of slave trade. His compassion is seen when he worked with the project to repatriate the slaves from streets of London to current day Sierra Leone (Rawley, 25).
In his view, slave trade was a war against a mans heart which hardened the mind of people to a level that they had no feelings towards humanity. To him, in and outside of slavery there was a need to maintain a certain level of humanity. Even though he died many years before the end of slavery could come to pass, through him we see a man who went through the process of slavery and later became a voice to reckon and a pillar on which the reason for abolition of slave became well attached to.
Question 3
None of the slaves who found him or herself in slavery ever came to a point of despair. They all looked forward to a day when their condition would come to an end and they return back home. As a result of this, the vestiges of African culture survived among most of these slaves in British North America for as long as they remained in slavery. The hope for emancipation of slavery, the racial segregation in most of their life made them acknowledge and retain their sense of racial identity through their culture.
Slaves from Africa maintained their culture through oral traditions such as story telling which played a big role in preserving their history, morals, experiences and other important cultural information among African Slaves and African Americans. The slaves were not only fed up with the forced labour but the lack of control over their day to day lives. The conditions they were going through drew them together and they helped each other in times of danger and need to maintain resistance from their enslavers (Doudou, 31). The most binding force became their family bond and religion.
Out of this, they maintained a type of identity through musical styles such as ring shouts, popular spirituals and field hollers maintaining a racial identity. Such was composed of songs full of messages of hope that were recited and sung in unison among members of African slave society. This became a common factor that helped them in enduring the hard times of slavery.
Question 4
Enslaved Africans and African Americans preserved their own form of human identity through the way they interacted to each other in their own separate lives away from the face of their masters and other supervisors. They made friends with each other, sang together, shared stories, fell in love and married amongst each other forming a strong society. However, most of their masters tried to break these bonds by interfering in their family life and marriages. It was intention of the slave owners to deny them education as they thought they would use their enlightened platform to set a stronger rebellion (Rawley, 52). Most of the survivors today portray a lot of traditions which have African origin or which has a lot of correlation to character they acquired from the experience of slavery.
Their ways of eating, dancing, talking singing, religious worshiping and thinking. Most of present day dances among African American community has some origins from the customary of African dance styles. Some of these have evolved to Hip hop, Rock, Jazz, Blues with their forms of call and response having a lot of correlation to traditional Africa music. Today, African cultures, experiences of slavery, their rebellions have continued to shape most of African American lifestyle, religion, language and many others that have remained parallel from their enslavers (Doudou, 49).
In summary, slave trade instilled a significant mark on the face of humankind since its inception, throughout to the time it was practised and the resentments that lingers today on the minds of those that experienced it. The inhumane treatment of the victims is the major vice that will forever be remembered.
Atlantic Slave Trade, commonly referred to as Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, was incorporated in the Trans triangular trade that existed between Europe, Africa, and Americas between 15th and 19th centuries. This trade was propagated by the Portuguese who were the masters of this trade. The idea to incorporate slaves in the trade came about as a result of high demand for human labour in the newly established colonial farms in the American continents. In this trade, ships started their journey in Europe carrying goods that would later be exchanged through barter trade with stuff like salt, gold and slaves from Africa (Rawley, 13).
In their second voyage, these ships would later leave African coast and head to the America across the Atlantic Ocean carrying with them slaves for sale. At the Americas coast, the Portuguese would sell the slaves and purchase sugar, tobacco, molasses and other raw materials for their industries and markets in Europe. Thereafter, these merchants would turn to Europe to sell their merchandise and set off for a new cycle of trade.
The first African slaves landed in North America in 17th century to work in sugarcane, tobacco cotton and rice fields. The port of Charleston in South Carolina acted as the landing base for where these slaves were traded. Slavery continued until mid 19th century when it was completely abolished.
Question 2
Olaudah Equianos (1745-1801) life portrays a classical experience of one of the slaves which exposes the brutal side of the slave trade from life of absolute freedom to that of total control and later buying his freedom through his own sweat. Originally from Benin province ofpresent day Nigeria, he was first captured by slave traders and sold to domestic slavery at an early age of 11 years. He was later sold to European merchants where he went through a horrifying and agonizing passage across the Atlantic Ocean in a packed ship among other slaves. The trauma almost made him get into despair as at one moment he wished for his last friend called death to come and relieve him from the sufferings.
However he made it to America and was sold from one master to another. His second master named him Gustavus Vassa. Through his experiences, freedom of a slave in and out of slavery was only an illusion but he was determined to fight for it.
Olaudah derived a lot of inspiration from his African name which he said to have meant fortune. He knew at the back of his mind that there was a need to overcome whatever he was going through without despair. The zeal to succeed in life led him to utilise every opportunity which came on his way to learn. The education he gained is the one that helped him to articulate his thoughts to the outer world about the negative aspects of slave trade. He managed to overcome many challenges on his life as a save and later used the strength he had developed and education to speak for millions who were still enslaved by this vice (Doudou, 18). He also found it hard to accept the fact that racism was still a force that existed in the face of humankind during his struggle to resettle the freed slaves.
He was an ambitious man and he used every opportunity that came on his way to work and earn his freedom and to learn which later helped him to be a successful in business and fighting for the abolition of slave trade. His courage, eloquence and endurance formed a strong pedestal that won the admiration of many to the advantage of self and fellow victims of slave trade. His compassion is seen when he worked with the project to repatriate the slaves from streets of London to current day Sierra Leone (Rawley, 25).
In his view, slave trade was a war against a mans heart which hardened the mind of people to a level that they had no feelings towards humanity. To him, in and outside of slavery there was a need to maintain a certain level of humanity. Even though he died many years before the end of slavery could come to pass, through him we see a man who went through the process of slavery and later became a voice to reckon and a pillar on which the reason for abolition of slave became well attached to.
Question 3
None of the slaves who found him or herself in slavery ever came to a point of despair. They all looked forward to a day when their condition would come to an end and they return back home. As a result of this, the vestiges of African culture survived among most of these slaves in British North America for as long as they remained in slavery. The hope for emancipation of slavery, the racial segregation in most of their life made them acknowledge and retain their sense of racial identity through their culture.
Slaves from Africa maintained their culture through oral traditions such as story telling which played a big role in preserving their history, morals, experiences and other important cultural information among African Slaves and African Americans. The slaves were not only fed up with the forced labour but the lack of control over their day to day lives. The conditions they were going through drew them together and they helped each other in times of danger and need to maintain resistance from their enslavers (Doudou, 31). The most binding force became their family bond and religion.
Out of this, they maintained a type of identity through musical styles such as ring shouts, popular spirituals and field hollers maintaining a racial identity. Such was composed of songs full of messages of hope that were recited and sung in unison among members of African slave society. This became a common factor that helped them in enduring the hard times of slavery.
Question 4
Enslaved Africans and African Americans preserved their own form of human identity through the way they interacted to each other in their own separate lives away from the face of their masters and other supervisors. They made friends with each other, sang together, shared stories, fell in love and married amongst each other forming a strong society. However, most of their masters tried to break these bonds by interfering in their family life and marriages. It was intention of the slave owners to deny them education as they thought they would use their enlightened platform to set a stronger rebellion (Rawley, 52). Most of the survivors today portray a lot of traditions which have African origin or which has a lot of correlation to character they acquired from the experience of slavery.
Their ways of eating, dancing, talking singing, religious worshiping and thinking. Most of present day dances among African American community has some origins from the customary of African dance styles. Some of these have evolved to Hip hop, Rock, Jazz, Blues with their forms of call and response having a lot of correlation to traditional Africa music. Today, African cultures, experiences of slavery, their rebellions have continued to shape most of African American lifestyle, religion, language and many others that have remained parallel from their enslavers (Doudou, 49).
In summary, slave trade instilled a significant mark on the face of humankind since its inception, throughout to the time it was practised and the resentments that lingers today on the minds of those that experienced it. The inhumane treatment of the victims is the major vice that will forever be remembered.
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