Skip to main content
Like
Create new Glog
previous
next
Email share
648 views | 0 likes | 0 reposts
Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade
The Trans-Atlantic slave trade was the exchange of west Africans to the Americas. The main motive was for the Europeans to capture Africans so that they could harvest crops in America. The Europeans would execute slave raids, and take war captives from different settlements in west Africa. In return, the kings would sometimes receive goods for the trading of their captives, but most of the time the Europeans would just steal whoever they wanted. Once they were stolen, they took them to their boats and shipped them off to the Americas.
Conditions The conditions for the slaves on the ships were devastating. Hundreds of men were packed into the slave holds within the ships for days upon days. Each slave had about two feet of space for themselves, and some had to sleep on top of one another due to the lack of room. Occasionally the slaves were let out onto the main deck, but that was only if necessary. Some men even committed suicide because it seemed better to them than having to live in the slave holds for any longer.
Reactions: To react to the slave raids, the African colonies would go to war with one another so that they could take war captives. They would use these war captives for trading when the Europeans came back. The Europeans thought that the slaves were a perfect fit for harvesting their crops since they did not pick up diseases as easily as the Native Americans. The Trans-Atlantic slave trade overall led to depopulation within the African colonies and much more war in order to stay alive.
