The Atlantic Slave Trade: 15th And 18th Century

The Atlantic Slave Trade
The Atlantic slave trade occurred between the 15th and 18th century in the Caribbean islands, Spain, Europe, Asia, Britain, Portugal, Brazil, and in the Americas. The trade of black slaves between these countries worked like a triangle between Africa, Europe, and Asia. Between 1650 and 1860 approximately 10 to 15 million slaves were transported to the different countries and Africans suffered greatly from this. “But soon to my grief two of the white men offered me eatables; and on my refusing to eat, one of them held me fast by the hands, and laid me across the windlass, while the other flogged me severely”, (Olaudah Equiano). Britain encountered the Atlantic Slave Trade which impacted them socially, politically,
Captain John Hawkins was the first known to make an English slaving voyage to Africa in 1562 during the reign of Elizabeth I. He had made three journeys over the period of six years introducing slave trading to the English. The Europeans exchanged goods for enslaved Africans that began in the middle of the 15th century. This set the terms of the slave trade for the next 400 years. Cheap labor was in high demand between the European Colonists and the different countries in the Americas. It began around the 1500s when European colonists were in search of cheap labor and they began using enslaved Africans on plantations and farms. As cotton and tobacco farming became larger the demand for cheap labor increased in Europe as well as America. Farmers had originally used prisoners of war to work until Europeans noticed the advantages to using Africans for slavery. They noticed that (1) many Africans had been exposed to European diseases and had built up immunity. This was good because the slaves that they were using now continued to perish because of European diseases. (2) Many of the Africans had experience in farming and could be taught plantation work, (3) Africans were less likely to escape because they were unfamiliar with the new land. (4) Since African skin was a different color from white man's skin that made it easier to catch them if they escaped and
There was an increase in British profit from trading and goods sold. They benefited from cotton mills which became the emblem of the “Industrial Revolution” and the profits they gained from the slave trade gave the British economy an extra source of capital. Even after the abolishment of the Atlantic slave trade profits continued to flow into Britain from investments. A law was made towards the end of the slave trade that abolished slave trading and made judicial punishment for buying and selling slaves. European and American enforcement of the abolishment measures faced numerous obstacles including mutual mistrust of one another's naval forces, non cooperation and noncompliance of various nations, and innovations in slave smuggling along the African coast and on the high