Compare And Contrast The Atlantic Slave Trade

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The Atlantic slave trade, although gruesome and detrimental in nature it was one of the most profitable industries of its time. It was mostly Europeans and Spaniards who imported slaves from Africa to the Americas. However, Europeans and Spaniards did not act alone the majority of the Africans captured were either captured by their own people or stolen from neighboring west African villages and exploited for commerce. Although both exported and indigenous slaves alike faced extreme hardships their experiences have differed in comparison. These contrasting experiences of these varying …show more content…

For instance, the countries off the coast of Africa became dependent on the commerce in regards to the slave trade. When a countries primary source of stimulating economy is derived from the buying and selling of people that country becomes dependent. For example, King Alfonzo writes a letter to the king of Portugal exclaiming the horrors that were taking place in his country in reference to the merchants that would buy and sell slaves. Merchants are not only purchasing these men and women but they trade good such as guns, wines and other imports in which the Africans merchants became accustomed to. Moreover, African merchants would continuously kidnap civilians, children, women and noble men to satisfy the desire for these new foreign goods. With that being said rightfully so King Alfonso took notice and outlawed the trading od slave in his nation although white merchants bought slaves in secret, it remained prohibited by law. This dependency has a direct correlation to the longevity of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade
The experiences in which these captives endured varied greatly, mostly deepening on the region and mercy the master. However, a great deal of damage still remains from the trans-Atlantic Slave trade. For example, African Americans are still limited in regards to tracing their ancestry due to the lack of records concerning slaves. Moreover, the trans-Atlantic slave trade

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