Africans in America: The Terrible Transformation Response/Reflection

The video titled Africans in America: The Terrible Transformation thoroughly reassesses the history of slavery. The documentary tells of how slavery was brought to America, and of the conditions under which these slaves were forced to live. The trade that began in Africa was not initially focused on trading humans, but rather on gold. Gradually, the British took control and started trafficking Africans to their colonies in America. The conditions slaves lived under changed drastically from the original conditions when they first arrived to America compared to years after the slave trade had been functioning. This documentary re-examines the appalling social injustice that existed during this time period and how race was associated to such injustice. The African men and women had no idea what their life in America would be like. When the British colonies were first established, white indentured servants were typically relied on to cultivate crops. This labor force consisting of white people soon changed, and the English definition of who could be enslaved changed from non-Christian to non-white individuals. The Portuguese sailed to West Africa seeking gold. Over time, the British took control of the trade in Africa, and the trade shifted from gold to humans. Africans were needed on the plantations in America. The Europeans built factories on the West African coast to hold captives until they were shipped across the Atlantic ocean to America, the voyage called the Middle Passage. Not everyone survived the harsh conditions of the Middle Passage. The surviving Africans lives did not get any better once they arrived in America. Here, they were treated like animals and received no rights or respect. The mistreatment of Africans began once they were captured in Africa. Once captured, Africans would