The French Language And The Slave Trade - Assignment Example

Download file to see previous pages The effects were both social and economic. In terms of social effects, it led to conflicts among Africans themselves. The French used to bribe some Africans to lure and capture their own. After the others had begun realizing what was going on, they started revenging against the collaborators. It led to “misery and loneliness. This is because the French were capturing on the active and healthy individuals who would look after cows, plow their farms or go out hunting for food so that their children and older parents and other beneficiaries could benefit from them” (Parkman, 36).
Another social effect of the slave trade is language. The local languages of the Africans where the French were carrying out their trade changed drastically. The languages were mixed in some instances with the French whereas others the Africans adopted the French language entirely.In West Africa where these incidences were highly reported, the national and official language is French. This is evident in countries such as Mali, Senegal, Cameroun, and others. The trade hence led to a change in languages (Leroy, 04).
Additionally, the mixture of the traditional African culture with foreign French culture resulted in the erasure of the African culture. The French ensured that their culture is superior and more felt on the ground than the traditional African culture. Since then, the African culture in those countries was erased and replaced with the French thus affecting Africans more. In fact, most of the children who were born after the transatlantic trade do not recognize a lot of their cultures (Dubois, 51).
The economic impacts were as many as the social ones. First, there was exploitation of Africa’s resources by the French. “After they realized that the West African countries were rich in natural resources, the French began exploiting them and sending to France where they would benefit them. ...Download file to see next pagesRead More