Slave Trade In West Africa

West Africa was greatly impacted by the Atlantic Slave Trade. Though there were countless negative effects, some short-term positive effects did occur. First off, the slave trade directly correlated with the number of wars in Africa. As demand for slaves increased, so did the quantity of wars to capture them. African kingdoms would wage war and go on raids in order to supply prisoners of war to sell. This was a start of a domino effect, in which kingdoms and tribes would capture slaves, trade them for guns to become more powerful, and then use said power to enslave even more people. A vicious cycle was created in Africa as a result of the slave trade. In spite of these negative effects, it is arguable that it was slightly beneficial for a

number of the kingdoms. By trading people for guns, the kingdoms gained strength and the capability to wage war. Short term, these kingdoms grew in power, wealth and strength as a result of the Slave Trade.
Long term, however, the kingdoms and tribes were hurt ultimately. Though they gained plenty of materialistic goods, they lost a huge portion of their human resources. For starters, the slave trade took away millions of Africans in their prime. As a result, cultures and economies were greatly crippled. Young, strong and healthy Africans were all sold and all that remained in Africa were the elderly, decrepit, and weak. Africa sacrificed nearly an entire generation in return for gold, guns, and goods. Perhaps its gain in wealth can be interpreted as positive, however, many would argue that being deprived of practically an entire generation of citizens can hugely damage a country. Sure, individual tribes grew in influence, but ultimately they too felt the negative repercussions of losing such an immense number of able-bodied people.
Though the young and old were not directly captured in wars and raids, they did not escape the consequences of those attacks. Many that were unfit to be sold for labor were simply looted and left to starve. This, added with the forced marching of captives over long distances, inflated the death toll to a substantially high number. It’s speculated that the continent of Africa was so handicapped from losing so many lives that its population remained stagnant until the end of the nineteenth century.
Numerous social and political changes were also a byproduct of the slave trades.

Social relationships were destroyed and reconstructed, while traditional values became suppressed. The social hierarchy became strained. Practically all relationships were changed, from kingdoms, to religious groups, to the very enslaved themselves. Societies were transformed and new forms of leadership were established in hopes of ensuring protection from merciless raiders. For the most part, the slave trade halted the progression for the majority of Africa. Many agree that the slave trade left the continent massively underdeveloped and disorganized. This is understandable considering that about figures as high as 15.4 millions of records are reported

missing.
Perhaps Africa could have avoided the catastrophe. Unfortunately, when its fate was on the line, the tribes and kingdoms only saw a chance to rise above the others. By ransacking each other, the tribes of Africa themselves are what contributed to its hinderance in development and advancement. By seeking individual gain, the tribes dug their own grave, destroying their supply of able-bodied people to gain power. Before the slave trade had even started, the tribes were already using slaves to maximize their own personal benefits. Why not keep your neighbor as a slave and have them work for you after you capture them in war? This evolved into “why not sell the massive amount of prisoners?” With this mindset, greedy tribes can potentially be blamed for feed fuel to the fire of the slave trade that resulted in all of the aforementioned distress and chaos in Africa. Regardless of blame, 19th century Africa was unarguably a very different place from what it had been four hundred years earlier. A trinidadian historian, Walter Rodney, shows that “Africa had been drawn by the slave trade down a dangerous path, and it was now well and truly underdeveloped...Africa [is] now centered on the ‘backwardness’ and ‘savagery of the continent.” With all the wars going on in Africa before the slave trade, it appeared as if the continent was heading down a dark path. The slave trade only worked to seal that unfortunate fate. The tribes divided and turned on each other in a time where they needed to work together. Their self-seeking nature resulted in a huge loss of demographic, diversity, and lives. Cultures were changed, traditions lost, and values forgotten. The economies of individual tribes and subsections grew, but as a whole, Africa definitely did not “get their money’s worth” in terms of their human labor and workforce. Progression became completely irrelevant during the slave trade and as a result, Africa is highly regarded as an underdeveloped country.
Many of the negative repercussions can still be seen in the modern-day continent.

The savageness of wars created a permanent scar in the people. While the rest of the world advanced technologically, Africa is still full of underdeveloped tribes STILL at war with each other. The slave trade is largely responsible for the condition of Africa. The wounds of treachery, wars, and raids still last to this day. Africa is literally fighting with itself. Largely underdeveloped, many Africans are depicted as in poverty and weak. Those in tribes are considered to be mindless “savages.” As a result of the slave trade, Africa is now only seen as a self-destructing continent full of primitive people that fell behind in technological advancement. All things considered, much of this resulted from the slave trade and the cracks it created in Africa’s

society.