Impact Of The Atlantic Slave Trade

In order to contrast the impact The Atlantic Slave Trade had in Africa and Europe, one must first learn how and why the trade began. The Atlantic Slave Trade is the exchange of African slaves for European slaves, as well as manufactured goods. In return for slaves, Africans traders wanted European and Indian textiles, cowrie shells, metal goods, firearms, alcohol, and decorative figures. This trade is the most profound endurance of human consequences than any other commercial tie. “Between 1500 and 1866, this trade in human beings took an estimated 12.5 million people from African societies.” Of those 12.5 million people, 14.4 percent (1.8 million) died during the slave transportation. The Atlantic Slave Trade began in Africa in small societies, where slavery was accepted as a normal human practice. This establishment was influenced by the Americas, where slave trade presented the continuation of owning and selling slaves. “The Atlantic slave trade and slavery in the Americas represented the most large-scale expression of a very widespread human practice.” Even though slavery …show more content…
The affects were drastically leading to war, cultural suffering, separation, and a population decrease. The trading of slaves elevated the number of wars that occurred in West Africa, due to the lack of European traders capturing their own slaves. As a result, many people from Africa felt obligated to transfer over to the Americas, where they will make an enormous influence economically. As for the culture of Africa, many families were divided and traded to separate countries. Africa’s population was nearly 18 percent around 1600, but significantly dropped to six percent in the 1900s. Slave trade did not generate subside of the population, but it did slow the growth rate, while other countries were expanding. This impact led to a loss of millions of people during four centuries and also an economical