Though many have heard the tails of slavery's origin concerning the European slave trade, few have heard exactly how slavery in Africa began. Little do people know that slavery was actually known as punishment for criminal acts throughout African tribes. Although they were treated somewhat fair, criminals worked as slaves to repay the debt they owed to their society. The terms of African slavery would soon change once the information of European demand for human labor was spread.Dated around 1510, slavery had became "Big Business" among European societies. With Africans already using slavery plus the threat of the European's advanced weapons, it was easy to do as well. As the demand for slaves grew, so did the demand for slaves by Europeans. African chiefs even began to trade their "criminal slaves" in exchange for the E
uropean's weapons, which those African chiefs later used to sell to their tribe making crime which was punishable by slavery more likely to occur.Considering Europeans were also making their move to what is now the United States, coastal African tribes had an easier time exchanging slaves for profit. they even began invading inland villages to capture and trade "criminal slaves." All those who resisted were killed being as their means of weaponry was no match for the coastal African's European artillery. This embarked an era in African history which will live in infamy. Those actions lead to centuries of violence, war, fear and famine which subconsciously affects the world today. Look closely, and you to can still see the effects of slavery now!
5 comments:
I really like this post. You articulate really well how slavery began and I can tell that the topic was personal to you because you researched it well and exposed some of the misconceptions that people in society may have had. Well done. :)
I agree with your final statement and slavery still being active. You think with the world we live in now slavery would be a thing of the past. Great topic!
I'm assuming that come European colonizers adopted this practice of "criminal slavery," and, much like the practice of having indentured servants, the "criminal slaves" were most likely never able to work off their "crimes." And of course, when the Europeans discovered how much labor they could have done for free, they were sure to expand upon this practice until it grew into this ugly thing called the slave trade. I still find it hard to believe that human beings could treat one another that way.
Nice job. Slavery turned Africans against each other in a ferocious way, destroying existing governments and, creating a class of wealth exploiters, and decimating populations. In some way much of the rest of our course is going to provide more and more evidence for your point about contemporary impacts.
Good job. I also agree that slavery still exists....
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