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examples.docxEXAMPLES
Discussion 1:
Africa: Before and After Slave Trading
“To have complete power over another human being, to able to use that human being like a beast of burden has got to be something that is damaging eternally to the spirit, to the human spirit” (Spielberg). Aside from the incredibly obvious physical trauma and hardships that slaves endured throughout the Atlantic Slave Trade, many people forget to think about the emotional and mental deterioration that was caused during the entire process of slave trading. Before the Atlantic Slave Trade started in 1500, there were clear signs of the white man objectifying these people and using them essentially as part of their barter system. Once these poor human beings were turned into objects, it was then difficult for slaves to individualize themselves, leading to lost hope. Imagine being stripped and taken from your homeland, where your culture was established, and shipped off to an unknown world where you were set to work for the remainder of your life. To the white men, this was simply business, and this quote briefly describes the evil that went into obtaining a slave. “African leaders are working with slave traders, people are using the slave trade to create a second class of people who can be sold” (Spielberg). This was only the beginning of the horror that continued up until the 19th century.
The problem with slavery is that it came at a time when Europe, the Americas, and Africa had a system that worked. Each continent wanted a share on the lucrative cash crop industry that was all run through what became known as the Triangular Trade. As seen in our lecture slides, the Triangular Trade had three components, which included, “European manufactured goods sent to Africa, African slave purchased and sent to Americas, and cash crops purchased in Americas and returned to Europe” (Old World Amc & African Religion, Slide 89). This established and well-run system allowed the world look at innocent human beings as animals, and business necessities.
Africa was built on tightly knit families and villages, where it was common that everyone knew everyone. In an article online, it emphasized how many lives were lost by saying, “Although it is difficult to determine how many Africans died en route to the new world, it is now believed that between ten and twenty percent of those transported los their lives” (PBS, “The Middle Passage” para. 8). Each and every village and family that miraculously survived and/or escaped the journey to the New World was stripped of a family member or friends, and that caused the most change in Africa. Hundreds of years of inferiority and brutality led to an acculturation in the most inhumane way possible.
Works Cited
Feres, Angela. "Old World Amc & African Religion." 1 June 2016. Web. 23 May 2016.
"The Middle Passage." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 01 June 2016.
Spielberg, Steven. "THE Middle Passage Documentary by Steven Spielberg." YouTube. YouTube, 02 Nov. 2013. Web. 01 June 2016.
Response to article:
I see that you quoted the Spielberg documentary often in your response. The video did a very good job emphasizing the emotional toll that the slave trade had on the African family. A point that you made in your last paragraph about how the loss of a family member caused the most change in Africa. Something that I find devastating is that the slave trade took a group of people that relied a great deal on every individual in the family to contribute and systematically destroyed that culture.
Africa was a bunch of large families that were very tight-knit and that each person in the clan identified with the family first before themselves, and the slave trade took people from their families. Stripping them of all their ties to their culture, family, history and leaving them naked figuratively and literally as individuals in a foreign land. This complete reversal of everything they’d known didn’t just happen to a generations of people but generations after generations for hundreds of years is something difficult to comprehend.
EXAMPLE 2:
African culture, like many cultures, changed with time and by significant events that alter the way that communities function. This is common with many different cultures, but what happened to the African people during the 15th century till the early 19th century has got to be one of the most violent, inhumane ways that culture could change.
The African people lived in urban communities, with advanced ways of living relative to the time period. The African culture was based off very close family relations, and also the remembrance of their history (Spielberg). Also, women were very important figures in the African culture, as there were ceremonies and festivals that celebrated women ancestors, mothers, and the female goddessOshun (Primal Religions, slide 74). But the African livelihood would change drastically when the Europeans set up camps and ports along the west coast of Africa.
Europeans initially came to Africa in hopes to find gold. While doing so, an explorer brought along twelve African men and women tied together in chains on a journey to the New World (Spielberg). This journey marked the beginning of what is known as the triangular trade. This was the transport of European made goods and resources to Africa in exchange for slaves, which were then put on boats in route to the Americas to be sold in the slave trade. Europeans would raid African communities in search for slaves, and put fear in the African people. So much fear, in fact, that fellow Africans would capture other Africans in their communities for the Europeans; even their own friends. This is just one example of how slavery changed the way Africans treated each other and their communities. Once captured, they were escorted to the coast, then placed on boats on their way to the Americas. This journey to the Americas was known as the Middle Passage, which can be described as the worst experience imaginable. " ... it is now believed that between ten and twenty percent of those transported lost their lives [during the journey]"(PBS "The Middle Passage" para. 8). Another aspect of the African culture that had been questioned during this journey was the effect that it had on the women, as they were stripped down as well, and only used for the sexual desires of the European men. This must have had a huge mental effect on both the men and women, as women in the African culture were treated at such a high level.
Meanwhile, back in Africa, culture and priorities were changing as well. African communities became more focused on providing a defense system against their people being captured for the slave trade, which led to more weapons being available, which led to more violence in African communities.
The way that these people were being treated should never be forgotten, and we need to the pass this knowledge along to other people who may not know about this dark chapter of human history. "Understanding history is finally what will determine our future" (Spielberg).
Response 1:
I really enjoyed reading your post on option C, and think your explanation of the beginning of the Triangular Trade is spot on. After watching Spielberg's video, it is crazy to think that the first man who brought slaves to the New World , was basically responsible for starting the trading of human beings. It is also very clear why Africans would betray their own, and their vulnerability was completely taken advantage by the white men. Africa thrived off of family ties, which trust and loyalty are the main components of. But once Africans were given an idea of their fate, it became a life or death situation, and some were so fearful of this that they turned in their own friends and family to save themselves.
One more thing that I think is really important that you touched on is the introduction of firearms to the African people. Once their traditionally ways were stripped, they were forced into a much more violent and powerful world, which the African people soon implemented to protect themselves from being apart of the slave trade. On the other hand, these powerful weapons gave the Africans power that they had never felt before, leading to much more violence then they had before the Europeans arrived.
Response 2:
I was really intrigued by reading your post on Option C, about the Triangular Trade, Middle Passage, and African cultures. I still cannot wrap my mind around the fact that people were chained together and had to walk thousands of miles; and that wasn't event he beginning of it! Often, some died and were left because the slaves had to continue on their journey. I can't imagine being shackled to a ship with hundreds of people closely around me not being able to breathe clean air, or even having a pace to go to the bathroom. At the end of your third paragraph you mentioned how women were stripped down and only used for sexual desires of the European men. I definitely agree with you on that this must have had a HUGE mental effect on women.
Another thing that interested me when I was reading your post was about the African defense system. This led to more weapons, which led to even more violence then what they had before the Europeans. After reading all about this subject of "slave trade", it really made me realize that I have grown up in such a great environment and continue to live a great life that I am very thankful for.
Example 3:
Slavery among the indigenous peoples in Africa were faced with 'nightmare' conditions. Slave trade began in the 15th century until the 19th centuries. The African slaves were captured by raiding parties and force-marched to be held in these containment pens at the coast. As the captives were starting their voyage through the Middle Passage, (a three part voyage which transported slaves across the Atlantic that began and ended in Europe), the slaves were under very harsh conditions. "This human cargo was transported and sold to New World slave owners, who bought slaves to work their crops" (pbs.org). Approximately four million were killed before arrival because of multiple causes such as, malnutrition, beatings, suicide, and even diseases. These slaves were shackled to the ship and barely had room for breathing. The air became to harsh to breathe because of all the hundreds of bodies next to each other, "that the air soon became unfit for respiration, from a variety of loathsome smells, and brought on a sickness among the slaves, of which many died"(pbs.org). Their living conditions were so bad that often, the slaves would try to starve themselves so they could die; however, they would end up getting tortured and if that did not work, they would be force fed with a contraption that held the mouth open.
During the Triangular Trade, Europe, Africa, and the Americas all tied together, three important factors occurred. European manufactured goods were sent to Africa; especially firearms, African slaves were purchased and sent to the Americas, and cash crops were purchased in the Americas and returned to Europe.
This slave trade had social and political effects as well as an impact on African regions. Rwanda, Bugunda, Masai, and Turkana, resisted the slave trade because they benefited from the distance from the slave ports on the Western coast. African population expanded due to the importation of American crops. Also, polygamy was encouraged which meant women acting in traditional male roles. Firearms increased the the violence of already existing conflicts. More weapons meant more slaves, and more slaves meant more weapons. An increased slavery meant high demand for crops, manual labor, and depleted native populations.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part1/1narr4.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part1/1p277.html
