Introduction
The reason for choosing this research is because of the conflicting results about the impacts of European colonization and slave trade in Africa. There have been many problems that the world has encountered such as the World Wars I and II but one of the cruelest events that ever occurred in history was slavery. Slavery is defined as the legal form of purchasing people as properties who can be sold for economic reasons. Slavery in Africa is a subject that has historians debating about the demographic impact it has had in history. This has caused many historians to research about the topic in order to find the true meaning of slavery and its impacts on all the people that were involved in it. According to most researches, it shows that slavery had a large impact on the European nations. One of the major impacts was that it helped increase the economy of most of the colonial European nations.
Slavery is very demeaning and degrading for people. The reason for stating this is that the slaves are claimed to have been mistreated, kidnapped, tortured and even killed by their masters. They had little means of escaping because they were always bound together with other slaves especially during transport. The reason for the transportation of slaves from Africa was so that they can work on the large plantations that were found in Americas by the European nation. In looking at all the findings, it clearly shows that there were positive and negative impacts of slavery for both the European nations and Africa. The demographic impact of the slave trade for Africans and European colonizers by the 19th century resulted in a decrease in population in Africa, loss of culture and identity for the slaves, increase in economy for the colonial Europeans, massive deaths of slaves and an increase of the literacy levels between the slaves.
Research question
What is the demographic impact of European colonization and slave trade in Africa?
Definition of terms
Colonization- This is the process in which people or a nation is able to establish colonies or territory.
Slavery- Slavery is defined as the legal process of taking people and treating them as properties that can be sold for economic reasons.
Significance of the research
There have been many claims and speculations about the impacts of European colonization and slave trade in Africa. This is the main reason why the researcher decided to do the research in order to find the real findings about the impacts.
The limitations of the study
The research will have its shortcoming because of the lack of real documentation of the exact figures of slaves that were transported out of Africa. According to most researches, it shows that during the time of slavery people did not document the number of Africans that were being taken out of Africa.
Brief history of slavery in Africa
In looking at the human history, one can see how people have committed heinous crimes on one another. One of the main crimes is slavery. In the 15th century, that it is when the European and African nations began the unique friendship that led to the depopulation of the Africans. The unique friendship in this research is slavery that continued until the 20th century. The colonial nations heavily depended on the slavery of the Africans because of the boost in the economy they got from that job.
In Africa, slavery had already begun before the arrival of the European nations. The reason for stating this is that the Arabs had already begun enslaving some of the Africans. The Arab Nations began the enslavement of Africans in the ninth century and continued on to the 19th century. In looking at history, it is evident that that the Africans were captured by force and sold to various different countries in America. Some of the most notable European nations that occupied Africa and engaged in slavery are the Portuguese, Britain, Spain and France. The slaves in Africa were transported through the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. According to the research, it shows that over four million slaves were transported using the red sea. The Swahili ports that are located in the Indian oceans were where the transportation of the slaves was done.
According to the researchers, the Trans-Saharan route is said to have been used to transport over nine million people out of Africa. Most slaves were transported across the Atlantic ocean. The number is claimed to be about over twenty million slaves that were transported over time. It has been claimed that the trans-Saharan trade originally began in the 15th century. This is when the European nations were able to expand their territories up to Africa. The Portuguese are among the first colonial European nations claimed to have began the slavery of Africans by kidnapping them from West Africa. Those kidnapped individuals were sent to Europe and made to work in their plantations.
According to the statistics, it is claimed that in the city of Lisbon the number of Africans increased by the 16th century. It is estimated that ten percent of the individuals were Africans. The Spanish people are the first colonial Europeans who took many slaves from Africa to the Americas in 1503. At that time, the mode of transportation was not a direct one. This however, changed in 1518 when the slaves from Africa began to be transported directly to America. In looking at the evidence, it is clear that most of the slaves hailed from the West Africa.
Literature review
The impacts of slavery for Africans and European nations
The impact of slavery was large for the Africans and European colonizers. There were some positive and negative impacts that have existed to the present. Some of the major impacts of slavery that occurred were that it led to the decrease of population in Africa and increased the economy for the European nations.
Decrease of population in Africa
Kizilov, Mikhail. " Slave Trade in the Early Modern Crimea From the Perspective of Christian, Muslim, and Jewish Sources." Journal of Early Modern History, 2007: 1-13.
According to this research, slavery had already begun in Africa before the arrival of the colonial Europeans. At that time it was mostly done by the Arab Nations. In the Arab nations, it has been stated that over fourteen million slaves from Africa were taken to the Arab nations. These people are claimed to have come from the East Coast of Africa near the Indian Ocean. This numbers however, is not precise because people did not record the number of slaves taken to the Arab nations. When the colonial Europeans arrived in Africa, many people were then taken and turned into slaves in the European and Americas regions. The number of slaves taken from Africa was large in that it reduced the population of people in Africa. It is not clear how many people were taken from Africa to other continents because it is not well documented. This has become a major debate for many historians to find the exact figures.
Klein, Martin. The Study of Slavery in Africa. he Journal of African History , 1978.
According to a database that was conducted in the late 20th century, it shows that over 11 million to 20 million people were transported from Africa to other regions through the Atlantic oceans. According to this report, it shows that 9.6 million of those slaves did not survive the harsh conditions due to the way they were being mistreated in the voyages. The others died on the way to coast to be transported.
Mintz, Steven. Digital History Slavery Fact Sheets. Digital History, 2010.
The research shows that some of the slaves died because they resisted the Europeans and wanted freedom. In looking at the overall results, it has been estimated that over twenty five million people had been forcefully removed from Africa to the Americas and Europe in 1500 to about 1900. The result of slavery had adverse effects on the population of the African people in the African continent.
Whatley, Warren and Rob Gillezeau. The Impact of the Transatlantic Slave Trade on Ethnic Stratification in Africa. American Economic Review, 2011.
According to researches, it shows that the population in Africa reduced or at times stagnated. West Africa was one of the mostly affected regions in Africa whose population was reduced dramatically because they were taken out of their country to be slaves. It has been stated that Africa is the only continent in the world that was largely affected by slavery. The reason for this was that many people from the continent were forcibly removed from their land and turned into slaves in other continents. This large population removed made the African continent to be underdeveloped and the economy became bad and never recovered. The reason is that the people who were taken could have contributed to the development of the nation.
Increase of Africans in Americas
Parker, John. African History: A Very Short Introduction Paperback. Oxford University Press, 2007.
The new world Americas was discovered by the European nations. The land had good weather conditions, fertile land and it was large. At that time, the indigenous people were the ones who were occupying the land. The land was large; therefore, it became expensive for the Europeans to hire laborers. This caused the Europeans to acquire the slaves that were considered to be cheaper than paying for laborers. The slaves were been taken to the regions in the New World. According to the researches, it was stated that only 10 percent of the slaves went to the North Americas while 90 percent went to the South Americas. Brazil is claimed to have taken nearly half of the 90 percent of the slaves that were taken to South Americas. The slaves taken to Americas were mainly so that they could work in the sugar plantations and mining areas.
Northrup, David. " Africa's Discovery of Europe: 1450 to 1850." Oxford University Press, 2007: 8.
In the 17th century, that is when there was an increase in the production of agriculture in Americas. This caused the increase of slaves in the region. The Europeans in Americas brought about the large-scale production of cocoa, tobacco, cotton, rice and coffee. It has been claimed that approximately about 1.3 million people were taken to Americas in the 17th century. The number increased in the 18th century when it was estimated that six million were exported. The trans-Atlantic roué was the one that was used for transportation of the slaves.
Rose, Christopher. Episode 6: Effects of the Atlantic Slave Trade on the Americas. The University of Texas press, 2012.
According to this book, in the 16th century the Portuguese occupied the land in Brazil. After the occupation of the Portuguese in the land, it brought about the sugar plantations. In the beginning, the Europeans used the Indians for plantations. This plan however, was thwarted because of the columbine exchange, which caused the deaths of so many Indians due to diseases. These diseases caused the Portuguese to believe that the Indians were too fragile for the sugar plantation labor. The Portuguese were stated to have already being involved in the slavery business. They took the slaves from Africa and took them to Brazil. The slaves were used in the plantation fields. The number of slaves taken to Brazil is estimated to be four million. However, the numbers of the slaves become many in that some of them were used for other reasons in the country. Some of the slaves were used in the southeast side of Brazil in the mining areas. Others were used as house helps in Rio de Janeiro. In looking at the history, it is clear that in Brazil the slave trade continued a bit longer than the other Americas region. The effects that occurred after slavery is that in Brazil the population of black people are high. It has been stated that in the nation is made up of black and brown people.
Haiti in the beginning was occupied by the Spanish. They were the first to bring slaves in the country. The first slaves in Haiti are believed to be the indigenous Indians. The Indians also began to die due to the diseases they had and therefore, their population had decreased. This caused the Spanish and later the French to take measures and brought on the African slaves to do the labor work. In the 19th century, the French are claimed to have had over four thousand trips from Africa to bring slaves to Haiti. According to the records, it has been stated that in 1720 the French were importing per year over eight thousand slaves. In 1734, the French realized that coffee growing was very lucrative in that more slaves began to enter Haiti. By the 19th century, the slaves in Haiti had grown to over half a million. The reason for this is that over 10,000 slaves were being transported to the region.
Manning, Patrick. The Slave Trade: The Formal Demography of a Global System. Social Science History, 1990.
According to the statistics, it claims that two thirds of the slaves hailed from Africa and were born there. The cash crop growing was very profitable in that the number of the African slaves became higher than that of the colonist. The ration is estimated to have been 10 to 1. The fact that the slaves outnumbered the colonist made it easy for them to organize revolts in order to get their freedom. This revolt led to the Haitian revolution. The revolution was caused by the superiority complex of the French colonist who they believed that they were superior to the African slaves. After the revolution, there was a lot of destruction to the once very thriving and fertile land. The slaves won the war and gained their independence but the land never recovered and it is claimed to be one of the poorest countries in the world. It is mostly populated by African people who were once slaves.
Jacobs, Harriet A. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1987.
In the Spanish colonies slaves were the ones brought from Africa to work as laborers in the sugarcane and rice plantations. The numbers of slaves in most parts of Americas were considered to be less if compared to those in Haiti and brazil. In Mexico around 18th century, it is considered that there were about 16000 slaves. The numbers of the slaves seem to be little but they outnumbered those of the Spanish colonists. The slaves from Venezuela, Cuba, Peru, Colombia and Ecuador used to do mining work and as Laborers in the sugar plantation. The slave from Argentina and Costa Rica are claimed to have worked as domestic works. The numbers of slaves were very minimal but they ended up forming one third of the population in the countries. In looking at history, it has been claimed that most of the people in Latin America have an African descendant.
Effects on the economy in Europe
Daudin, Guillaume. Profitability of slave and long distance trading in context : the case of eighteenth century France. Journal of Economic History, 2004.
The hunting and selling of human beings from Africa become a very lucrative business and investments for the colonial European nations. According to Eric Williams, he believes that the introduction of slavery is what brought about the industrial revolution that made Britain increase its economy. The other European nations that dealt with slavery increased their economy. According to some historians, they believe that the abolition of slavery in Britain at that time was brought on by the lack of profitability from it. There are some historians who do not believe in this statement because they believe that the morality of slavery caused them to abolish the trade. It has been estimated that 10.30 million Euros was made by the British during the period of 1784 to 1786. This is also claimed to have been the same amount that was collected in the period of 1824 to 1826.
Rose, Christopher. Episode 6: Effects of the Atlantic Slave Trade on the Americas. The University of Texas press, 2012.
According to this research it shows that the profit made by some of the European nations was not that much by the 1800s. For those who believe in the profitability of slavery believe that if the slavery did not generate profit then there was no possible way of having the industrial revolution. This means that they believe that the industrial revolution was greatly influenced by slavery. In America the exportation of the slaves increased from fifty-four percent to 82.5 percent from the 16th century to the 17th century. The historians believe that the slavery in general caused the increase of economy for so many people in the European nations.
Effects on the African economy
Shillington, Kevin. "Encyclopedia of African history." Michigan University Press, 2005: 1401.
This book is trying to show that there have been a number of researches conducted regarding the economic state of the African continent due to slavery. In most of the findings of the researches conducted, it is evident that the local economy for many villages in Africa was greatly affected by the forceful shipment of the people who would have normally worked on the plantations or mined in Africa. The other reason was that there were constant civil wars in which the people were resisting to be taken by force as a slave. In the African continent, slavery caused the people to stick to their ethnic groups in order to help one another in case there would be a raid by the European colonist. This made it hard for any political stability to be brought on to the regions in Africa. The people in Africa some of them never saw the good in slavery. The kings and leaders of the region seem to have increased their wealth.
Equiano, Olaudah. Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano (Broadview Literary Texts. Ontario: Broadview Press, 1998.
This research shows how slavery is a very expensive type of commodity during 18th century, therefore; the leaders in Africa were paid really well to sell out fellow Africans. Some of the things that they were able to acquire in the slavery business were firearms of poor qualities, gunpowder, clothes, metals and alcohol. It is stated that the trade between the European nations and the Africans cost them about three to four million pounds per year. The slaves as well after the abolition of slavery were able to start investing and make more money for themselves.
The introduction of racism
Jacobs, Harriet A. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1987.
The European nations discovered Africa and occupied the area in which they began enslaving the people and colonizing the regions. In slavery, it has been claimed that over 25 million people were taken out of Africa. The enslavement of the Africans for so long during the 16th to the twentieth century made the Europeans and the younger generations to believe that the Africans are meant to be kept as slaves or commodity. When the abolition of slavery was introduced and implemented the colonist still had this belief that the Africans were slaves. This made them think that they were superior to the Africans and thus was beneath them. This is the reason why they formulated laws that will make them more superior to the blacks immediately after the abolition of slavery. In America, many people were killed, tortured and segregated by the white Americans. Some of the European nations also did this action. Racism is also demeaning to the people and it can still be felt in the modern world.
Loss of lives
Mintz, Steven. Digital History Slavery Fact Sheets. Digital History, 2010.
The number of lives lost in the slavery business is numbered in millions. According to the research, it shows that there were millions of people that were transported from the trans-Saharan route to the European and Americas region. On the way, most of the people died or were killed. The main reasons for those deaths were because of the harsh conditions that they received in the voyages and also on their way to the ports. According to the results, about 6.5 million people were able to arrive from Africa using the Atlantic Ocean route to Europe and Americas. Over a million are claimed to have died on the way.
In conclusion, the demographic of slaves taken from Africa from 16th to 19th century had a major impact on the world. Some of the impacts were in the economy for both Africa and the European nations, morality rates, increase of population in the Americas region of slaves and decrease of population in Africa. The economy in Africa is that in many nations the economy decreased while some of the leaders in Africa gained wealth from the slavery. The economy in the European nations increased more than half bringing about the industrial revolution. Many people lost lives during the slavery era for both sides but the slaves were the ones who were killed more. The reason for stating this is because the Europeans had superior warriors and thus were able to capture them easily and the slaves were tortured while being transported out of Africa.
Research methodology
Research design
The research design that will be used in this research paper will be the qualitative research methodology. The reason for using this design is because the researcher will be looking at other researches that have been conducted in order to find the results that they want.
The study population
The populations that will be used in this study are the European colonizers and the African who were enslaved. This will look at the records that have been conducted in the 19th century.
Reference
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Behrendt, Stephen. Transatlantic Slave Trade. New York: Basic Civitas Books, 1999.
Campbell, Gwyn, and Edward Alpers. Introduction: Slavery, forced labour and resistance in Indian Ocean Africa and Asia. Slavery & Abolition 25 , 2004.
Daudin, Guillaume. Profitability of slave and long distance trading in context : the case of eighteenth century France. Journal of Economic History, 2004.
Equiano, Olaudah. Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano (Broadview Literary Texts. Ontario: Broadview Press, 1998.
Goucher, Candice. Commerce and Change: The Creation of a Global Economy and the Expansion of Europe. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 1998.
Jacobs, Harriet A. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1987.
John Parker and Richard Rathbone. African History: “A Very Short Introduction”. May 1, 2007
Kizilov, Mikhail. " Slave Trade in the Early Modern Crimea From the Perspective of Christian, Muslim, and Jewish Sources." Journal of Early Modern History, 2007: 1-13.
Klein, Martin. The Study of Slavery in Africa. he Journal of African History , 1978.
Manning, Patrick. The Slave Trade: The Formal Demography of a Global System. Social Science History, 1990.
Mintz, Steven. Digital History Slavery Fact Sheets. Digital History, 2010.
Northrup, David. " Africa's Discovery of Europe: 1450 to 1850." Oxford University Press, 2007: 8.
Parker, John. African History: A Very Short Introduction Paperback. Oxford University Press, 2007.
Rose, Christopher. Episode 6: Effects of the Atlantic Slave Trade on the Americas. The University of Texas press, 2012.
Shillington, Kevin. "Encyclopedia of African history." Michigan University Press, 2005: 1401.
Spiegel, Marjorie. The Dreaded Comparison: Human and Animal Slavery. New York: Mirror Books, 1996.
Whatley, Warren and Rob Gillezeau. The Impact of the Transatlantic Slave Trade on Ethnic Stratification in Africa. American Economic Review, 2011.
