The European discovery of the Americas quickly led to the establishment of plantations to grow cash crops such as sugar, coffee and cotton. To generate the largest profit possible, slaves were used to cultivate these crops. Most of these slaves were taken from Africa. Soon, a system of triangular trade was formed. Goods and rum were shipped to Africa in exchange for enslaved people. These enslaved people were taken to the Americas in a deadly journey known as the Middle Passage. The Americas then traded cash crops and raw goods for these slaves. This trade system became known as the Atlantic Slave Trade System. The Atlantic Slave Trade System during the period of 1550 CE to the 1700s CE caused the displacement Africans from their native lands, …show more content…
The demand for slave labor led to the forced migration of millions of Africans through the Atlantic Slave Trade System. The University of Richmond's Slave Trade from Africa to the Americas 1650-1860 shows the movement of enslaved Africans from the western coast of Africa to various areas of the Americas. This shows how the Atlantic Slave Trade System displaced Africans from their native regions. (Doc. 7) The excerpt from Traditions and Encounters: A Global Perspective on the Past highlights the decreases in African populations due to export of enslaved people, showing that Atlantic Slave Trade led to the movement of people out of Africa. (Doc. 4)
The Atlantic Slave Trade System also led to the mistreatment of Africans. Dr. Alexander Falconbridge's account is about a pregnant woman who was kidnapped and forced into slavery. Without the Atlantic Slave Trade
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In the Americas, slaves were necessary to harvest cash crops at the greatest profit and these cash crops were an important section of the lucrative Slave Trade System. So, a new social hierarchy was formed and aimed to keep enslaved people in the lowest class. The advertisement from the New London Summary offers a reward for the capture of an escaped slave. This shows that enslaved people were kept under a slave owner's control and were not allowed to leave. So, the Atlantic Slave Trade System led to the creation of a social heirarchy with slaves under the control of slave owners. (Doc. 3) The New London Summary Advertisement is written by a slave owner for the purpose of recovering a lost slave. Because the document shows that the slave owner wishes to have a slave captured and returned, it supports my thesis that a slave-based society was established. (Purpose Doc. 3) Also, enslaved Africans were not allowed or taught to read or write. This was a means of control. Without the ability to educate themselves, slaves were not able to develop ideas of freedom or advance their social status, therefore cementing them in their social role. (Outside Information 2) Robin Blackburn's excerpt states that human law and the Christian religion allow slavery and order slaves to remain in their position. This shows that enslaved people were forced into one level of the