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History Of The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade

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The world has a rich history of slavery extending from the past to present day. Although present day slavery is seen for the most part as an abomination to human life, the past tells a tale of a different story; a story that often seems as though slavery was justified and accepted. This paper seeks to provide a brief history of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. It is intended to help educate the reader and develop a perspective on whether or not slavery was a justifiable commodity given the time period. Alternately, it may lead to the conclusion that the triangular trade route was developed by early day entrepreneurs whose intellectual dishonestly allowed the slave trade practice to prevail for centuries. Although slavery has been around far …show more content…

As the inhabitants of the world progress towards a more peaceful ground for living, ethical and moral norms often move at different paces given a societies demographics. While some societies viewed slavery as an act against humanity, some justified it and viewed it as a norm. It is important to understand why slavery began and why slavery has lasted for so long. The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade began when European Empires began to expand. The need for a larger work force peaked as the Europeans expansion lacked a sufficient amount of laborers as a vital resource. Europeans viewed Africans as exceptional workers due to their experience with agriculture and farming. Africans were also experienced in working in warm climates that often meant they were more resistant to diseases. The most common explanation during the existence of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade for why Africans were best suited and chosen as early slaves is that they were reputed as being great workers in …show more content…

Slavery had been a tradition in African culture. Many states within Africa had practiced slavery through forced labor, debt bondage, as well as, many other forms. Slaves from the Muslim dominated North African coast had been tested but it was found that the slaves were too educated and thus were more prone to rebel. This seems to be an early indication that slavery was unethical, but it still prevailed centuries to come as the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade emerged. Was the failure of the recruitment of the Northern Coast slaves due to the intellectual properties of the slaves and could the solution to this have been to find less educated Africans in order to force the burden of slavery upon them? The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade provides history with evidence that intellectual dishonesty and prior proper planning of manipulation may have been a powerful variable in the success of the slave

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