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African Women under Slavery

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African Women under Slavery
African Women under Slavery

This paper discusses the experiences of African American Women under slavery during the Slave Trade, their exploitation, the secrecy, the variety of tasks and positions of slave women, slave and ex-slave narratives. Also, this paper presents the hardships African American women faced and the challenges they overcame to become equal with men in today’s society. Slavery was a destructive experience for African Americans especially women. Black women suffered doubly during the slave era.
Slave Trade
The West African Slave Trade was a global event that focused on West Africa. It was the sale and ownership of another human being that was put into slavery. It was a type of “forced Migration” that lasted 300 years. From around 1551 thru 1850 about 15 million people were brought into the slave trade it is said that roughly 5 million people did not survive, and may have immediately died before making through the shock of enslavement. About 10 million people in the western hemisphere survived and were sold on the auction block. Generations continued into slavery, the offspring was also brought into slavery. The owners liked the idea of their slaves reproducing. This meant their work force would grow without having to spend much money on slaves. About 250 million lived in slavery throughout the 300 years. Slavery was also a traditional part of African society, various states and kingdoms in Africa operated one or more of the following: chattel slavery, debt bondage, forced labor, and serfdom. Ghana, Mali, Songhai were kingdoms that had large economies and supported large populations, they had knowledge of agriculture, and grew many different crops that sustained many people. Because of the West African Slave Trade, These kingdoms were affected by greed and would often go to war and capture prisoners to sell into slavery.
The Middle Passage was the journey of slave trading ships from the west coast of



Bibliography: Andrews, W. (2004). An introduction to the slave narratives. Retrieved August 17, 2011, from http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/intro.html. Hallam, J. (2004). Slavery and the making of america – the slave experience: men, women,& gender. Retrieved August 17, 2011, from http://www.pbs.org/wnet/slavery/ Experience/gender/history2.html. Kamara, L. (n.d.) Black women’s relations to white and black men: a heritage of slavery in america. Retrieved August 17, 2011, from http://www.slaveryinamerica.org/geography/slave_trade.htm. Kelley, R. & Lewis, E. (2000). To make our world anew volume i – a history of African Americans to 1880, Oxford Press University, New York, NY. Kelley, R. & Lewis, E. (2000). To make our world anew volume ii – a history of African Americans from 1880, Oxford Press University, New York, NY. Mullane, D. (1993). Crossing the Danger Water – Three hundred years of african-american writing, Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, New York, NY. Paton, D. (2007). Enslaved women and slavery before and after 1807. Retrieved August 17, 2011, from http://www.history.ac.uk/ihr/Focus/Slavery/articles/paton.html. Positions of african-american slave women. (n.d.). Retrieved August 17, 2011, from http://northbysouth.kenyon.edu/2000/women/slavewomenpage.htm Women in slavery. (n.d.). Retrieved August 17, 2011, from http://historyconnect.com/women+in+slavery.

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