The Role of Religion in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade - Essay Example

The Role of Religion in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Introduction The transatlantic slave trade was driven by religion especially in the suppression, domestication and control of the African slaves. The European slave traders assisted the African tribal leaders in brutal capture of the slaves who were shipped to their colonies in the Americas where they were forced to work in plantation and industries. The Catholic Church contributed to the development of the trade because it was not opposed to the creation of the new world with the Holy Roman Empire authorizing European involvement in the trade. The justification of the slave traders for their conquest in West and Central Africa was that they needed to convert Africans into Christianity. In the Americas, the European masters claimed that it was through Christianity that the African slaves would be compliant to their rule but the unkind treatment of the slaves which led to many deaths illustrates how religion was used to justify the economic interests of the traders and the consequences of the trade. This paper gives a critical analysis on the role of religion in the development of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade in relation to the capture, domestication and control of the African slaves form the Africa to the Americas. Transatlantic Slave Trade The Trans-Atlantic slave trade took place from the 16th to the 19th centuries across the Atlantic Ocean. Slaves from west and central Africa were traded between Africans and slave traders from Europe. The European then shipped the slaves across the Atlantic to South and North America. In the Americas, the slaves were forced to work in the British colonies. The slavery involved forced labor in plantation of tobacco, coffee, cotton, cocoa and sugar. Moreover, the slaves were forced to work in silver and gold mines. Some slaves also worked as servants while others toiled in the construction industry and rice fields. The British, Portuguese, Americans, the Dutch, the Spanish and the French were involved in the slave trade. The local tribal leaders in the West and Central Africa sold the slaves to the slave traders (Flatley 99). The beginning of the trans-Atlantic slave trade was motivated by religious factors. The influence of Bartolome de las Casas, who was a Spanish missionary of the Catholic Church led to the replacement of the Amerindians in the Americas labor force with Africans. When Christopher Columbus arrived in the west, he encountered the Amerindians who were the natives in the Americas. The Amerindians provided hard labor in the western plantation. The settlement of the Spanish in this area was motivated by the need to find gold. The determination of the Spanish led to forced labor on the Amerindians in search of gold. Many Amerindians died as a result of the harsh treatment in the forced labor. However most of the Amerindians died out of the attack of epidemic diseases. The significant reduction in the number of Amerindians and the disputed harsh treatment of the Amerindians is what gave birth to the transatlantic trade because Africans were targeted as the replacement of the Amerindians as slave workers in the Americas. The Role of Religion The Trans-Atlantic trade is known of the inhumane treatment of slaves and the forced labor which they were forced to provide in the Americas. The happenings during the trade are usually referred as the conquest of the Americas. This conquest led to a great loss on human life and destruction of African cultures. Religion played a significant role in this trade as illustrated by the different religious backgrounds of the slave traders in the transatlantic slave trade (LaGuardia 45). The European for example entered Africa as a way of spreading the Christian religion to the local people. On the other hand the Muslim Arabs who were involved in the slave trade were motivated by the need to convert as many people as possible to the Islamic religion. The African slaves from west and central Africa who were shipped to the Caribbean originated from the African ethnic religions. The European slave traders wanted to influence the local religions so that they are converted to the Christianity (Lewer and Hendrik 765). This was the essence of the colonization of the West African region. As a result of this colonization, most of the local cultural and religious practices became part of the colonial life. The African natives in West and Central Africa were considered as inferior by the missionaries and the colonialists because of their religious beliefs. It is not surprising that the European treated the African slaves in very inhumane way during their capture and shipment across the Atlantic to the Americas where they were forced to labor on plantations. The Catholic Church played a significant role in the conquest of slaves and the consequences which resulted from the enslavement (Stern 16). The church did not oppose the opening of the New World because the Europeans believed that it was important for them to maintain social power on the slaves. Leaders of the church therefore provided leadership of the New World despite the inhumane treatment of the African slaves which led to consequences such as the loss of many lives (Matory 36). The Europeans applied the religious point of view in the enslavement of the African laborers with domination and pacification enabling them to stay in control. They claimed that they were in power so that they would monitor the treatment of the African slaves but the unfair treatment demonstrates that they cared less for the African laborers. Religion controlled almost everything during the Trans-Atlantic trade. There was need to control people, land and profits during the slave trade and hence the religion with the greatest influence took control of the trade. This is illustrated by great contribution of Christian missionaries toward the onset, development and end of the trans-Atlantic slave trade (Lewer and Hendrik 769). Some historians say that the Spanish had the greatest influence in the trade but the religions of the African slaves also contributed to the development of the trade. Because of the large number of African slaves adopted for labor in the Americas, the religious traditions of these people is still being felt in the Latin America up to date. The Africans had to find a way to survive in the hostile working environment in the Americas and hence had to find a way of imparting some influence on their captivators. Moreover, the ethnic integration which resulted from interaction and intermarriages between the participants of the trade also impacted on the trade (Sensbach 634). For a long time, there was Muslim military occupation on slave trade in Africa. The dominance of the Muslim slave traders in the continent was experienced between the 17th and the 15th century. The Christians also joined in the slave trade from 1519 to 1815 (Sandberg 18). However there are differences between the Islamic and the European slave trades illustrate how religion impacts on slave trade. The Islamic slave trade shipped more female slaves than men for exploitation but the Trans-Atlantic slave trade on the other hand captured more men who were able bodied to work in the plantations within the Americas. Furthermore, the domination of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade by the Portuguese and the Spanish who had previously suffered the Muslim occupation demonstrates how religion contributed to the human trade (Foley 377). The Spanish and the Portuguese must have learned from the earlier Muslim trade which made them to enter the trade due to religious, economic and political reasons. In 1519, the Holy Roman Empire authorized the involvement of Europe in the Trans-Atlantic slave trade (Sandberg 21). This gave the European slave traders an okay to participate in the trade because of the support they had from the church. Europe was brought into the disgraceful Trans-Atlantic trade by the enemies of reformation such as Emperor Charles V (M’baye 607).The involvement of the church in the human trade which was characterized by deaths and inhuman treatment of slaves can be described in the content of the Holy Bible which has scriptures on slavery. The African slaves who were captured and sold to the Americas were not Christians and therefore it can be argued that the church considered them inferior. In addition, the traditional and religious practices of the Africans at the time were considered to be pagan who had no sense of the existence of God. The view of the Africans by the Christian slave traders therefore made them believe that slavery is what the Africans deserved. Because of this, the African slaves were treated in the most inhumane manner. In 1493 Pope Alexander VI barred the Spanish involvement in Africa through the Line of Demarcation Bill. This did not reduce the development of the Trans-Atlantic trade (Stern 18). Instead the elimination of the Spanish dominance in the trade, the ban created a monopolistic involvement of other slave traders such as the Portuguese, the French and the European. Spain which had colonies in the Americas received slaves from the other slave traders who were forced to work in the plantations and industries of its colonies under harsh conditions (Sensbach 631). The slave traders in the Trans-Atlantic slave trade had a religious justification for the domestication of slaves. It was said that the trade would make the Africans to turn to Christianity (M’baye 609). In addition, the justification of the European traders was based on the need of converting the Muslims into the Christian religion. The interest of the Europeans was beyond the spread of Christianity. This is demonstrated by the fact that the African slaves were forcefully captured and treated in a non-Christian manner during their transportation and in the plantations and the industries where they were forced to work (Sandberg 23). The capture of the African slaves in West and Central Africa was forceful and the Europeans contributed to their capture. Though the European slave traders claimed that the slaves were provided by the tribal leader in Africa, they provided assistance in the forceful capture of these slaves. Religion played a significant role in the shipment of the slaves to the American and it also acted as the driving force behind the enslavement of the Africans in the industries and plantations within the British colonies. Christianity was used to make the African slaves more compliant when they arrived in the Americas. The European believed that the Africans would be controlled and domesticated without problems if they dropped their religious beliefs and became followers of Christianity (Williams 440). Ironically, the use of Christianity was a mere justification by the Europeans to make the African slaves provide hard labor for them without controversy from the opponents of human trade and slavery. Some religious leaders and clergy were opposed to the inhumane treatment of the slaves in the plantation and industries within the Americas. However, their opposition was against the bad treatment of the slaves because the bad living and working conditions of the slaves led to the death of many African slaves (Lewer and Hendrik 771). These leaders proposed that it was possible for good slavery to be practiced and therefore called the African slaves to be obedient to their masters. This would not create any positive impact on the mistreatment of the slaves because they were not fully opposed to slavery. Conclusion The Trans-Atlantic slave trade was characterized by inhuman treatment of African slaves who were captured from parts of West and Central Africa and transported across the Atlantic to the Americas. In the Americas, the slaves worked in plantations and industries the European colonies. Religion contributed significantly to the development of the trade by acting as a driving force and justification for the trade. The support of the trade by the Roman Empire also promoted the domestication of slaves. The slaves lived in hard conditions in addition to the hard labor which caused the death of many slaves within the Americas. The European masters in the Americas claimed that the use of Christianity would make the African slaves compliant but it was a mere excuse to exercise full control and mistreat the slaves for their own economic gains. Works Cited Foley, Sean. "Muslims and Social Change in the Atlantic Basin," Journal of World History, 2009, 20.3: 377-398 Flatley, Robert. "African Voices of the Atlantic Slave Trade: Beyond the Silence and the Shame/Slavery and the Making of America", Library Journal, 2004, 129.18: 99-100 LaGuardia, Cheryl. "The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade", Library Journal, 2001, 126.7: 45 Lewer, Joshua J., and Hendrik Van den Berg, "Religion and International Trade: Does the Sharing of a Religious Culture Facilitate the Formation of Trade Networks?", American Journal of Economics & Sociology, 2007, 66.4: 765-794. Matory, J. Lorand, "Surpassing 'Survival': On the Urbanity of 'Traditional Religion' In the Afro-Atlantic World", Black Scholar, 2000, 30.3/4: 36. M’baye, Babacar. "The Economic, Political, and Social Impact of the Atlantic Slave Trade on Africa" European Legacy, 2006, 11.6: 607-622 Sandberg, B., “Beyond Encounters: Religion, Ethnicity, and Violence in the Early Modern Atlantic World”, 1492-1700. Journal of World History, 2006, 17(1), 1-25 Sensbach, Jon F. "Religion and the Early South in an Age of Atlantic Empire." Journal of Southern History, 2007, 73.3: 631-642 Stern, Sheldon M. "The Atlantic Slave Trade--The Full Story." Academic Questions, 2005, 18.3: 16-34 Williams, S., “The slave trade: The history of the Atlantic slave trade”, 1998, 440-870 Read More