Essay On African American Slave Trade

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In the Document Africa and the Americas by Andrea Overfield there is question of how connected was Africa to the outside world. The connection of countries even if it isn’t where you are from is important because in the big picture we are all here to help each other spread and grow. In the 1500’s the slave trade world was a massive way for many Europeans to get tasks done for cheaper amount of money. It was practiced since ancient times and the slaves would be sold to Arab traders. Portugal and Spain became increasingly involved in the African slave trade during the early 1500's, after they had established colonies in the Americas. Portugal acquired African slaves to work on their sugar plantations that its colonists developed in Brazil. Spain used slaves on its sugar plantations in the West Indies. Africa appeared to be a prosperous country…show more content…
The slaves were sold for goods or money usually with other countries. Therefore opening up Africa to the outside world by trade. This is where the trade of slaves would begin to use several triangular routes. The king would choose certain people to be overseers of trading and merchants, and they alone are allowed to approach the Europeans...” (HR. p. 77) Kings are those who controlled how fast Africa would connect to the outside world. Next, the slaves were carried across the Atlantic Ocean to the West Indies and sold for huge sums of money. They called this part of the route the Middle Passage. The traders used much of their earnings to buy sugar, coffee, and tobacco in the West Indies. “ The larger cloths, particularly the striped ones, our people sell again on the Gold Coast, where they… traded most in the region of Gabon and Angola” (HR. p77). The trading was a huge reason that they connected so fast to so many countries. In the big picture the use of slavery is what grew Africa to connecting to other countries and the outside
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