The Causes Of The Slave Trade

There has been countless tragedies to occur throughout history. Some of these man made, like the Atlantic slave trade, which occured from the 16th to the 19th century, and some nature made, like natural disaster. After reading four separate articles by people of different standings during the Atlantic slave trade, light was shed on who, or what should be held responsible for the tragedies that occured during these 300 years. I have found that not one person or group of people can be held responsible, but instead, the human norms, beliefs, values, and customs that were practiced at that time. This is so important in world history because naturally, humans want to place blame on specific people or a certain person, but more often than not, the reason why tragic events happen is due to the circumstances of the time, and the beliefs, values and customs the people held when the event occured.

A document written by Olaudah Equiano, a victim of the slave trade, describes his experience in detail. He writes of his first encounter with slave traders, who ripped him out of his home at eleven and separated him from his sister, then was sold time and time again. He eventually ended up on the west coast of Africa, and was shipped to the Americas. This is only one of man tragic stories of people’s experience during the Atlantic slave trade. After reading this account, it is easy to blame the people who ripped the child from his home, but these people valued their business, and they wanted to make their