The Atlantic Slave Trade

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Hamza Haymour 10 white B Atlantic Slave Trade The Atlantic Slave Trade was responsible for forced migration of an approximate 12 - 15 million African people to the Western Hemisphere, during the time period from the 1400’s to the end of the 19th century. The trafficking of Africans was run by the major European countries. The Atlantic Slave Trade is sometimes referred to as the “Great Disaster”. The brutal trade spurred by a strong demand for labor on plantations in the Americas. Eventually, it became an integral part of an international trading system in which Europeans and North Americans, exchanged merchandise for human shipments along Africa’s western and west central Atlantic coasts. The African slave market sparked as the exploitation…show more content…
This voyage could vary from four to twelve weeks, dependant on the location of departure, and the selected destination of the shipments. Travel on these ships were extremely hostile, specifically on the “consignment”. The captives were extremely underfed, but were mainly provided with boiled rice, and corn. When supplies ran low priorities were set for the crew, forcing the slaves to settle with little to no food. The conditions on these ships were so horrific, that many slaves attempted to commit suicide. One of the main methods used was to refuse the food given to them. This caused problems for ship captains as they needed their valuable cargo to remain alive. The captains then force-fed the slaves using devices such as a speculum orum, which forced the mouths of the captives open. Other captains would torture the enslaved until they agreed to eat. Eventually the hardships on these ships led to a 25 percent death rate between the 17th century to early 18th…show more content…
The most common was forced labor, of which the enslaved would work due to the fear and threat of themselves, or relatives being beaten. Another is debt bondage, where poor people would pay off a debt by working. This debt could go on for generations and was very unlikely to be payed off. Parents would often use their kids to pay off these debts, and would rarely pay it off themselves. Sexual slavery was also very frequent, as women, children, and even male adults were used, and or sold to fulfill sexual desires. All slaves under the age of 18, are considered to be child slaves. These slaves can be abducted, or forced to pay a family debt. Domestic servitude is another major form of slavery, this type of slavery includes forced labour on private, or extremely secretive land. Domestic workers become slaves once their employer uses force, or coercion in order to control, or convince the slave that they have no choice but to obey orders. Slaves who worked within a dwelling, were often treated much better than those who worked on a field. House servants would be treated as the master's son/daughter, but field workers were not treated

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