Summary: The Rise Of African Slavery In The Americas

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“Why were the countries with the most developed institutions of individual freedom also the leaders in establishing the most exploitive system the world has ever seen?” The book, The Rise of African Slavery in the Americas, written by David Eltis, seeks many different types of answers for this question and reviews the actions of slavery, exploring all of the issues that best describe the three decades of progress in the study of the Atlantic Slave Trade and in American slavery. Slavery was an accepted term in human society for many years and Eltis wanted to figure out why bigger and wealthier countries were creating these exploitive systems in the world. He unites the African, European, and American markets with their similar transportation expenses of …show more content…

Because of long delays that are experienced in trading with Africa, the price of imported goods and the slaves exported from the continent have a worth that is about double their original price. The larger countries had a system of letting the smaller countries know who had the most power with the sales price of slaves and goods that are bought or traded. Besides the cost, gender was the next big thing when it came to trading. Africans preferred the female over male slaves because they were accustomed to any large task or complex job that was thrown their way. European traders and some plantation owners on the other hand, preferred more male slaves than female slaves but not because they had concerns with their health problems or their age, but from stereotyped European gender roles on the European continent. Europeans believed that men dominated over the women because they were men but, in order to trade with the Africans, the Europeans had to adjust with the African

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