Chapter 14 - Commerce in People: The Atlantic Slave Trade

    The Atlantic slave trade took place across the Atlantic Ocean from the 15th-19th centuries. The majority of those enslaved that were transported to the New World, many were on the triangular trade route and its Middle Passage, were the West Africans from the central and western parts of the continent sold by other western Africans to western European slave traders, with a majority of being captured directly by the slave traders in coastal arrest, and brought to the Americas. Many slaves were taken to South America than to the north. The South Atlantic and Caribbean economic system started producing commodity crops, and making goods and clothing to sell in Europe, which led to an increasing amount of numbers of African slaves brought to the New World. This was crucial to those Western European countries which, in the late 17th and 18th centuries, were striving with each other to create overseas empires. Before 1500, the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean basins were the major arenas of the Old World slave trade, and southern Russia was a major source of slaves. Most slaves would work in their owners' households, farms, or shops. Many slaves worked hard labor and on top of that were being treated badly by their owners while the others slaves were lucky enough to have a decent caring owners that will treat the slaves as a human being. When talking about history the most common topics that come up is slaves. When reading this chapter, I remembered how badly slaves were being treated. Slaves were not being treated as a human being but was treated as monsters. The Americans and Europeans shipped the slaves in a ship where the slaves barely have any room to move or go use the restroom. Slaves were shirtless and were lined in rows in order to fit as many as possible in a small ship. Throughout the slave trade the year that began to increase slaveries was in 1751-1850. After 1851-1866, slaves that were imported from Africa decreased by a whole lot. If I were to go back in time to change one thing I would change the usage of slaves. I would ask the owners if slaves did not exist how would the owners and their families survive in rough conditions.