Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and Its Impact on African Societies - Essay Example

The other cause of the trade was because the labor from Africa was cheap, unlike the labor they used to get back in the colonies. This, therefore, increased the trade even more as more laborers who were cheaply bought in auctions and ship paddocks were easily available. The higher the demand, the more the Africans were captured in Africa and shipped over only for them to go and become slaves being mistreated and humiliated by their white employers and being worked mercilessly and tirelessly.

The other cause was that the African traditional leaders such as the chiefs wanted prosperity and they sought it by selling off some of their people to the European traders to be shipped over as slaves in return for getting riches such as ivory, gold, beads, clothes, shoes among others. These goods they were given in exchange with the slaves were not commonly available and hence brought about not only wealth but prestige and more power to the leaders.

The slave trade caused conflicts among the Africans themselves splitting some communities, resulting in deaths and the permanent rift that is still present in some West African states to present. These conflicts were brought about because the slaves were captured during raids of communities and once the raid took place, then conflicts between the communities were ensured resulting in more fighting, death, destruction of property, and political system among other negative consequences (Green, 2012, pg. 179).

Male slaves that were muscular and energetic were the ones sought after to be sold and this happened in large numbers as the slave trade was at one point the main source of export in West Africa. This resulted in disproportion in the male population as well as the break-up of the traditional family setup as women were forced to be the heads of households as well as offer security to their homesteads in addition to being the breadwinners. Without strong males, the Africans became vulnerable to attacks as well as dwindled in farm produce as labor supply reduced drastically.

The slaves took with them diseases from Africa which led to the deaths of many of the whites who contracted them especially in Brazil and the Caribbean. In the New World, the mistreatment of slaves led to dividing between the blacks and white which later on led to the blacks demanding independence and making history in the process. The economy of both the new world and Europe grew drastically as they got more produce at fewer production costs as well as got raw materials for their industries as it was in the industrial revolution period (Green, 2012, pg. 180).