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The Trans-Atlantic slave trade was established because the Americans needed workers and slaves to work cheaply for them. Ship captains would gather up enough money so they could sail across the Atlantic ocean and to Africa. Once in Africa they would buy enough slaves to fill their boat and travel back across the Atlantic. Once back in the united states they sold off all the slaves to make a large sum of goods that they could sell to Europe. They would then repeat this process over and over again until they were satisfied.
The conditions for the slaves on these voyages were terrible. All of the slaves were bound together but chains or some sort of material. They were treated like dirt and if any of them were out of line they would be severely punished. On the boats going to America life was hell for the slaves. They were crammed into the bottom of the ship with hardly any room to breath. The boat trips would usually last anywhere form 3 weeks to 3 months. Disease would most likely kill about half of the slaves before they arrived to their destination. Once the slaves got to where they were to be living they had to work in brutal conditions for little to no pay. Also if a slave ever tried to escape he or she would be tortured or severely beaten and then made to work again. As you can tell the slaves lives and living conditions were awful.
The main thing that the Trans-Atlantic slave trade did for the Americas was that it boosted the economy. It made many people very prosperous but that still didn’t mean it was right to do. Merchants prospered a great amount and so did certain industries that supported slave trade. The fact that trade was doing so well meant that most port cities were thriving also. The port cities that were having the most trade come in and out of them were the most prosperous. The Trans-Atlantic slave trade really benefited the economy.
Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade
