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The Trans Atlantic Trade

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The association of the trans-Atlantic trade had a massive impact on today’s view on humanization. this tragic mark in history occurred for roughly four centuries. The trans-Atlantic slave trade was explained through social theories, shown by treatment of the slaves and reflected through their lives in the plantations and the middle passage.

A key area or conspiracy in the Trans-Atlantic trade is the topic of imperialism. Imperialism is the domination of one countries political, economic or cultural life by another. Imperialism allowed the Europeans to have power and wealth to their county; the Europeans had complete power over Africa, which resulted in the Triangular trade (details further down). This procedure occurred because of the white …show more content…

Firstly, in Figure 2 it is shown the triangle system, the British ships would leave Europe and carry trading materials to Africa to trade what they owned for slaves or they would just kidnap them for slavery. Then they would set sail to America and place the Africans up for auction to work on fields or at master’s home to clean and take care of children (house slaves). The raw materials were then sent to Europe, causing Europe to be economically more advanced and have more power. The conditions the slaves were in while on board were unpleasant, they would travel for 2-3 months and it was estimated 300-400 or more in each ship. The men were shackled in slave shackles together below deck all cramped up (shackles shown in figure 3), while the women and children were above deck and some women were singled out and turned into ship ‘whores’. Sicknesses or diseases were common on board as the ships had no sanitation and the conditions were disgraceful. They were fed twice a day with food such as corn, yams, beans and rice. Some mechanisms used by the Africans were to …show more content…

The public who wanted the slaves would observe the Africans days before auction, they would measure and assess them of their physicality. In the plantation fields the slaves would work all day, weekdays and Saturday with 15 minuets breaks. Some Africans would damage the machinery so that they wouldn’t have to do the work or some would pretend to be sick. Although, these actions were threatened with penalties if the owners caught them. Other common punishments were beating or whips, or if a slave would try to escape they would be placed in neck collars or leg irons. In a small piece from a speech by Thomas Clarkson in 1840 he claims “there is yet in Store for him - the Chain - the Iron Neck - Collar with its frightful spikes - the Dungeon - and other modes of punishment.” Which proves the different mechanisms of punishments

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