Slave Trade in Africa - Term Paper Example

(Task) Slave Trade vs. Developed Africa Introduction The transatlantic trade is an issue that many believe is connected tothe under development of Africa. Some believe that it is the main reason why Africa is still struggling with poverty. However, others believe that it is not the main reason that led to the underdevelopment of Africa. Lovejoy believes that the Europeans over exploited the slave trade and severely reduced the population of the Africans. Therefore, according to Lovejoy, if the Europeans had not reduced the population of the Africans, they could be able to develop their continent. On the other hand, Thornton believes that the Africans ruined their continent. This is because they Europeans only joined the trade, which had existed for a long time. The traders from Africa are also to blame because they sold the slaves without the Europeans forcing or intimidating them. Therefore, they sold their people to a point of exploitation just for selfish reasons. Slave trade did not begin with the Europeans, as it existed for nearly 300 years (Law 13). It first started with the Arabs before other groups like Europe joined the trade. This paper will look at the different factors that explain whether the underdevelopment of Africa was a result of the transatlantic trade. Again, there is controversy as to whether racism was a result of slavery or whether the European slave traders chose the black Africans to be their slaves. This paper will look at this is more detail. I believe that the African traders offered cheap slaves at a cheap price and with time, racism grew among the Europeans. It is lucid that there is adequate evidence to show that both sides explain differently whether transatlantic trade led to the underdevelopment of Africa. There is no wrong or right answer. Therefore, it is necessary to look at the two sides more keenly and make a rational decision. Factors that affected the practice of the slave trade in Africa The times when Europe started buying traders, many people were improving their economy and getting a lot of wealth from produce from plantations. These crops, if grown well, and the quantity and quality are apt, will increase profit margins. Therefore, the demand of slaves was very high because there were no efficient machines (Spielvogel 289). Therefore, cheap and free labor was the way the European farmers could get a lot of wealth. This is because they would pay a low price for the labor that was used in their farms. The harvesting and planting of coffee and tobacco required many help from the labor provided by the slaves. The African leaders also contributed to spread and development of the slave trade. This is because they were willing to sell their own people to get new and rare merchandise from the Europeans, Muslim and Portuguese traders. The Portuguese traders were mainly Christians and the people they sold the slaves to were Christians. Therefore, they came up with their own beliefs to make what they were doing right. They made people believe that the black slaves were not human beings. They were deemed as monkeys or other types of animals. Therefore, it was not wrong for them to treat them brutally or overwork them in their farms (Eltis 43). The society also affected the spread of the slaves because it was believed that when one owns the slaves, he must be a wealthy person. Therefore, many owners of farms ensured that they had saved enough many to purchase one or two slaves so that they could be held highly by the society. Conflicts and wars that took place in Africa included capturing the young and healthy men. When the victors of the conflicts or the war went back to their villagers with the capturer, it was easy for them to sell the slaves and get wealth from the traders. Therefore, for the African communities to get more wealth from the foreign traders, they fought many other communities and captured many slaves. This ultimately led to increase and spread of the African traders (Law 6). This is mainly because the traders were in good relation with the Africans that sold them the slaves. Therefore, the trade grew drastically in many parts of Africa. The environmental factor that contributed to the slave trade was the good climate in many areas in the European and Portuguese countries. The good climate promotes the growth of many crops on a large scale, which ultimately leads to a demand of slaves. Therefore, the demand of slaves means that the farmers are willing to give out some of their wealth to get the labor. This is where the slave traders get the market in the countries to sell the African slaves (Lovejoy 200). Slave trade as a reason for under developed Africa One of the effects of the slave trade to Africa was on the population growth. This is because the slaves that were commonly sold to the Muslims, Europeans and the Portuguese were the young men that had not yet married or had just started a family. This means that the population growth in countries especially in the West African countries like Nigerian and Ivory Coast was reduced. This is because the young wives were left without husbands. Therefore, they could not start a family. Moreover, because of other factors that led to mortality like diseases and war, the population reduced significantly over time. This was more because of the uncontrolled slave trade where the traders would capture and sell as many Africans as possible. Therefore, the number of women in places like Ivory Coast was so high in comparison to the number of males (Klein 123). For slaves to be acquired, different African leaders fought weaker communities. They then used the slaves to acquire wealth from the European or Portuguese slaver traders. The effect of the war was very adverse because of the heightened effects of diseases and famine. This is because during the war and attacks, many got injuries from the fighting and the wounds were infected leading to diseases and death. Again, the war and attacks led to destruction of property and homes where people no longer had a place to hide from the adverse weather conditions leading to diseases and death. The attackers destroyed their farms and maimed the members of the community, and so they could not work in the farms. This thus led to famine, which increased prevalence of diseases and mortality (Eltis 52). Therefore, this meant that the Africans had to reorganize themselves so that women can take up some of the roles that the men used to do. Again, the Africans also had to look for a different way in gaining more wealth. This is because their population had been adversely reduced. Slave trade affected negatively on the African countries. Countries that practiced the highest amount of the slave trade are the poorest countries today. An example is the Democratic Republic of Congo which traded very many of their healthy young men. Today, it is significantly underdeveloped. Slave trade also led to colonization of many parts of Africa by the Europeans and the Portuguese. When the traders came to the rich lands of Africa to trade their goods, they realized that Africa was a very rich area not exploited. This made the Europeans and the Portuguese to want more from the African areas than the ivory and slaves that they received normally. As a result of the decline of the African population from the slave trade, the colonization of Africans was quite easy, as the Africans that remained were the weak and mostly the women. The Europeans and the Portuguese exploited Africans so much that by the time they left Africa, they could not compete with other worlds in development (Klein 119). They could not gain the wealth that other continents had acquired. How slave trade is not a reason for under development of Africa Slave trade was an activity that existed in Africa eve before the Europeans and the Portuguese joined in the trade. Therefore, this means that the Western world did not come up with this new phenomenon. The slave trade between the Muslims and the Africans took place into the eighteenth century (Thornton 157). The Europeans and the Portuguese are, therefore, not the reason why Africa became underdeveloped. This is because they just joined the slave in the nineteenth century after the slave trade was already deeply rooted in Africa. Therefore, means that the existence of the slave trade in Africa from the time of its creation is the leading reason for the underdevelopment of Africa. Again, the slave traders from the western countries did not force the African traders or the African rulers to trade in their people. The Africans themselves raided their neighboring communities and captured people who they sold as slaves. The western slave traders did not force the African rulers or traders to give up their people (Thornton 157). This means that it was the effect of the bad leaders of Africa that led to the under development of Africa and not necessary the western slave traders. If the leaders had been wise enough, they would not have sold their people. This is so as to prevent the reduction in their population. This shows that the poor planning and selfishness of the rulers of Africa is the main reason for Africa under development. Slave trade was an opportunity for the African traders to make money and become rich. This is because the traders did not have to invest anything but raid the different communities and become wealthy. They even received motivation from some communities. There are communities in which traders acquired elevated social status due to this practice. This means that they could change from being ordinary people in the community to noble men who were viewed highly. The exchange the African slave traders received from the slave trade were cowry shells, spices and glass, which were very valuable at the time. Therefore, Africa could grow economically from the barter trade they carried out with the Arab, Portuguese and Europeans traders. However, because of mismanagement the slave traders form Africa did not benefit Africa economically. Again, the European and Portuguese traders easily manipulated the African traders and rulers to trade the slave at a giveaway price. The African traders were not clever enough to get the right price for the slaves they sold. They were selfish as they just considered how the small amount they sold the Africans would satisfy their needs. However, it was not fair compared to the benefits the European traders would get from them. I have looked at the reasons that explain that transatlantic trade led to underdevelopment of Africa. I have also looked at the reasons that explain that transatlantic trade did not lead to the underdevelopment of the continent. I have thus concluded that indeed transatlantic trade led to the under development of Africa. This is because although the Europeans and the Portuguese did not start the slave trade, their demand of many slaves in the trade led to the over exploitation of the Africans (Spielvogel 20). This is because, unlike the Arabs, the western slave traders had a big market for the slaves in Europe. Therefore, there was no longer a balance but an exploitation of the slaves. If the western world had not joined the slave trade, the population of Africa would be balanced, and development would have been inevitable. Moreover, there was a great improvement in the economy of Africa because of the slave trade with the Arabs. This means that, without the interruption of the western world, the trade could have grown significantly, and improved the economy of the continent. Racism could not be an issue as it is in the world today. This is because, through the slave trade, racism came up as most of the slaves in the farms of the white man were black people. It was not a deliberate move but after the slavery of Africans grew in Europe, racism came up. Therefore, the attitude of people in the western world changed to view the black people as a poor, and as the people who should work at the lowest jobs. Racism led to the underdevelopment of Africa. This is because even after the abolition of slavery, the black people could not get good jobs to help their people back home (Monaghan 52). They held the lowest jobs that as the white people still regarded them as the lowest in the society. Conclusion It is clear that the slave trade started a very long time ago in Africa. It first started as trade between the African traders and the Muslim traders. As the slave trade grew in popularity, the Europeans bought slaves from the Muslims and used them in their plantations. With time, the Europeans and the Portuguese started trade with the Africans themselves. This means that the Muslims no longer acted as the intermediaries in the trade. Therefore, the western world was not the only reason for the underdevelopment of Africa. This is because the Arabs and the African traders practiced the slave trade for a long time. The slave trade had great effects on the economy of the country because of the reduced population of the Africans as a cause of the transatlantic slave trade. The Europeans had a great demand for slaves in Europe and took home many Africans to become slaves. Therefore, the trade became over exploitation of the African people. It thus took a longer time for the Africans to recover economically after the end of the slave trade. Works Cited Klein, Herbert. The Atlantic Slave Trade. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010. Print. Monaghan, Tom. The Slave Trade. Reedwood: Evans Brothers, 2008. Print. Engerman, Stanley. The Atlantic Slave Trade: Effects on Economies, Societies, and Peoples in Africa, the Americas and the Europe. Mexico: Duke University press, 2010. Print. Klein, Herbert. The Atlantic Slave Trade. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998. Print. Law, Robin. The Impact of the Atlantic Slave Trade Upon Africa. New York: Lit Verlag, 2008. Print. Lovejoy, Paul. Transformations in Slavery: A History of Slavery in Africa. New York: Cengage Press, 2011. Print. Spielvogel, Jackson. Western Civilization: A Brief History. New York: Cengage Press, 2010. Print. Eltis, David. The Rise of African Slavery in the Americas. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000. Print. Thornton, John. Africa and Africans in the Making of the Atlantic World, 1400-1800. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1998. 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