The Impact Of Slavery On West Africa

Decent Essays
Throughout the fifteenth to the nineteenth century multiple aspects of West African society were dominated by the Atlantic slave trade, however it is debatable as to the nature and extent in which the institution transformed African culture and history as a whole. The Bight of Benin was Africa’s second largest slave trading zone , and therefore may have been the most affected area in West Africa. Slavery penetrated not only trade, politics, society and the economy of the area, but also in matters that have arguably taken less of a forefront, such as moral consciousness. Historians such as Lovejoy in his transformation thesis, opposed by Eltis, argue that West Africa was significantly transformed by slavery, and that the institution was on a large enough scale to have had a substantial effect on African culture . This can be seen specifically in the Bight of Benin, where prominent cities and states in the area, such as Lagos and Dahomey, grew and …show more content…
The main trading posts in this area were Whydah, Porto Novo, and arguably most importantly, Lagos. Lagos thrived under the Atlantic slave trade, as it “forever altered the destiny of the tiny kingdom of Lagos, and the town by the same name that formed its capital.” However, slavery itself was not the only industry aiding the transformation of the state: “By the time the slave trade finally ended at Lagos in the mid-nineteenth century, a new and, in the minds of many Europeans, revolutionary type of commerce had emerged to take its place” – a vegetable oil derived from a West African palm fruit . Arguably this industry would not have had the ability to prosper had it not been for the wealth gained from the slave trade in Lagos, facilitating and supporting the growth of this

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    European Imperialism started in Africa as early as the 1500s, beginning with the slave trade, coastal outposts and colonies. Eventually it became something different as the European powers each sought to have their own piece of land in Africa. Throughout the years, Africa was affected positively and negatively through social and economic elements. The African people were forced to change in ways that made them “better,” or more modern, and tourism began growing, but there were also views and attitudes of some Europeans as being “superior races.” Africans were also affected economically because of colonies becoming linked through railroads, the forced advancement of society, and through the expansion of territories.…

    • 1027 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Portugal

    • 949 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Portugal’s Influence on The Kingdom of Kongo The slave trade has been argued to be one of the world’s most disastrous eras and its history is deeply rooted in Central-West Africa. In the early 16th century, The Kingdom of Kongo’s ruler, King Afonso I, addressed the King of Portugal in a series of letters where he expressed his concerns about their interconnected trading system; in which merchandise and slaves were exchanged between both states. Portugal noticed the naivety of the Kongo’s leader so they continued to depopulate their land which led to The Kingdom of Kongo’s gradual decline.…

    • 949 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    To start, the advances of ancient African culture are shown through their successful trade routes. As document 1 shows, the location of early African empires was essential to their…

    • 1378 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    African Slave Trade Dbq

    • 849 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Before this time period, the native indians of the Americas were used for free labor. Due to their lack of natural resistance to European diseases, the native population soon died down to the point of no longer being a viable source of free labor. This is when the Europeans began to import negro slaves. These slaves were brought from Africa by the Portuguese without a thought to how the Africans felt or how they were treated. They were stolen from their homes by the Portuguese and sometimes traded by their own people to the slave traders.…

    • 849 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    African Slavery Dbq

    • 345 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The world wouldn't be the way it is today if it wasn't for slavery. African slavery was an outstanding quality to the British empire because slavery shaped the new world of Americas. Initially, when the British defeated the peoples of Eastern North America (Indians), they had destroyed many Native Indians and caused an outbreak of diseases. Those natives who survived through the conquest of guns and diseases declined to work with the defeaters or on the plantations they produced. This led the natives to run away for freedom or submitting themselves to new diseases so that they wouldn't have to work as prisoners.…

    • 345 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    As political and industrial revolution scoured across Europe in the 19th century, governments and businesses began to take a particular interest in a continent of Africa. Due to the challenges it presented in previous centuries, it was not susceptible to imperial conquest similar to the Western Hemisphere in the 16th century. With the outset of the Industrial Revolution, along with its subsequent aspiration for raw materials and potential markets, a new set of motivations helped shape the dispute whether or not to make a presence in Africa. From economic gain, to building a sense of national honor and pride, European powers consumed the continent below them with a mentality that only the “survival of the fittest” being able to prevail.…

    • 388 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    African Slave Trade Dbq

    • 890 Words
    • 4 Pages

    African slave trade and European contact with sub-Saharan Africa during the Age of Discovery is a very debatable topic in world history. However, this was not mutually beneficial in terms of economic exchanges and political relationships. Europeans almost always took advantage of those in sub-Saharan Africa as well as treating them horribly in many different scenarios.…

    • 890 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The negative impact of the international slave trade on Africa was immense. It can be seen on the personal, family and continental levels. In addition to the millions of able-bodied individuals captured and transported, the death toll and the economic and environmental destruction resulting from wars and slave raids were disturbingly high. In the famines that followed military actions, the old and very young were often killed or left to starve. The most basic level of negative cultural impact lay in how slavery tore African family units apart.…

    • 131 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Now the reason why the slave trade flourished so well in the West Indies and in America was because of Capitalism. The most essential aspect of Capitalism is the free market. The free market is essentially run by supply and demand. So because the demand of slaves was growing, the supply had to increase to meet this demand. Owners of slaves did what they wanted with the slaves, as they were essentially property.…

    • 779 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    During the 19th century, much of Africa had been occupied by the British Empire. Society was changing and becoming more open to the abolishment of the slave trade. As the slave trade ended, the British still controlled many locations within Africa and established colonies. The British imposed their customs to try to “civilize” the Africans. For some Africans slavery still existed in areas not occupied by the British.…

    • 1336 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The angles which attempted to justify slavery was based off of ignoring and the manipulation of facts or religious beliefs, which still did not fully make slavery ethically acceptable. Those who were slaves and witnessed or experienced the actuality of the situation were able to uphold the wrong that was conducted through slaveries existence, which ultimately aided their racial freedom. The enslavement of African Americans was looked upon through multiple angles and those who attempted to perceive it as a benefit found reasons to justify it, such as Richard Furman and George Fitzhugh. However, through their justification the masking of reality was unobjectionable, as the actuality of the slave situation was described through the harsh experiences…

    • 1067 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Brilliant Essays

    Negative Effects Of Imperialism In Africa

    • 1743 Words
    • 7 Pages
    • 7 Works Cited

    Politically, European imperialism created tremendous conflict among African people, expanded Europe’s colonial boundaries by carving up Africa, and attempted to restructure society, only to leave Africa’s political structure weak and corrupt. Economically, European imperialism destructed Africa’s self sufficiency and increased dependance on colonial powers; strengthened Europe’s own economy, therefore further weakening Africa’s economy; and exploited many raw materials within Africa. Culturally, European imperialism uprooted Africa’s spiritual and traditional values, exploited the people of Africa, and prompted colonial racism. Works Cited Barnes, Andrew. “Economic Parasitism: European Rule In West Africa, 1880-1960.”…

    • 1743 Words
    • 7 Pages
    • 7 Works Cited
    Brilliant Essays
  • Great Essays

    Effects Of Slavery

    • 1876 Words
    • 8 Pages

    The Lingering Effects of Slavery During the 16th century, there occurred a vast emergence of slave owners. People were confined to the venomous belief of slavery being a natural, God-sent form of labor. They believed that it was fair for African peoples (mostly African Americans) to be forced into horrific extents of labor without pay. The slaves were given no rights or freedom; they were dehumanized. They were treated as commodities, meaning they were bought and sold as property.…

    • 1876 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    East African Slave Trade There are many atrocities in this world that result in the social injustice of certain people. In the case of the East African Slave Trade, those people discriminated against were the women traded along the East African coast. They were traded as domestic servants that served people in the Middle East, East Africa, and West India. The slave trade stretched from the east coast of Africa to the west coast of India. At first the slaves were traded mainly from northern Europe, but as the numbers dwindled from there, they started taking slaves from the east coast of Africa and the Savannah.…

    • 849 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    A diaspora involves the dispersal of a group of people throughout the world. In history, there have been various causes of a diaspora: war, civil strife, famine, hostile political conditions, and external drives, such as the hope for better opportunities elsewhere. Drawn out of the need for labor, the Trans-Atlantic and Trans-Saharan slave trades were key players in the African Diaspora. Trans-Atlantic slave trade brought Western Africans across the Western hemisphere, while the Trans-Saharan slave trade moved Africans across the Sahara Desert to sub-Saharan locations within Africa. As a result, Africans were dispersed among locations where there was a need to grow settlements and maintain profitable agricultural practices.…

    • 1915 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays