...The Atlantic Slave Trade Between the years of 1450-1750, the Europeans had used the people of Africa as slaves. They would kidnap them from their homes and then board them onto a ship to be sent to America to labor in their vast farmlands. Because of this, their race has been treated in the most unfair manor throughout history. During the 1400’s throughout the 1700’s, there was a growing demand for slaves in America. The Europeans weren’t allowed to sell the Native Americans as slaves because they were freed by the king, so they instead decided to sell the Africans in what was known as the “Atlantic Slave Trade.” This trading process would take people from Africa to Europe and then transport them by ship to America to be sold and used as slaves. This was a very long and uncomfortable voyage that killed many before they even reached the shores of America. (Documents 1 & 5) The life on the ship was horrible for all who were aboard it. There was not much room on this vessel to put the slaves, so they were all packed inside of a very small room. It got so tightly packed, that many almost suffocated because of the lack of oxygen in the room. When they did get air, it was very putrid and carried a disease that killed many before they arrived. The slaves were often beaten several times a day for irrelevant things, such as, not finishing...
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...A Brief Overview of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade David Eltis(Emory University), 2007 The trans-Atlantic slave trade was the largest long-distance coerced movement of people in history and, prior to the mid-nineteenth century, formed the major demographic well-spring for the re-peopling of the Americas following the collapse of the Amerindian population. Cumulatively, as late as 1820, nearly four Africans had crossed the Atlantic for every European, and, given the differences in the sex ratios between European and African migrant streams, about four out of every five females that traversed the Atlantic were from Africa. From the late fifteenth century, the Atlantic Ocean, once a formidable barrier that prevented regular interaction between those peoples inhabiting the four continents it touched, became a commercial highway that integrated the histories of Africa, Europe, and the Americas for the first time. As the above figures suggest, slavery and the slave trade were the linchpins of this process. With the decline of the Amerindian population, labor from Africa formed the basis of the exploitation of the gold and agricultural resources of the export sectors of the Americas, with sugar plantations absorbing well over two thirds of slaves carried across the Atlantic by the major European and Euro-American powers. For several centuries slaves were the most important reason for contact between Europeans and Africans. What can explain this extraordinary migration, organized...
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...Someone Knows My Name Narrator’s Journal This is probably the most difficult piece of literature I have ever written. Putting myself into the shoes of the many slaves that were being discriminated against was very hard, and not something I could ever picture myself living through. Creating the character of Aminata Diallo was also something that was very challenging for me as a writer. I was writing the story as if I was a woman, a young woman at first that gradually aged throughout the years through different places with many slave owners. I had to capture the feeling of what I think it would have been like if I were in Aminata’s shoes and being sold as a slave. This was the absolute most challenging part of writing this novel. Aminata is such a heroic and charismatic character, that even though she goes through so many problems, and sees so many horrific sights throughout her life, watching her friends be beaten, and so on, I really felt that in order to make this novel a success, I needed to sit there and really think about the character that I wanted to create and bring to life in this novel. I also wanted to make sure that Aminata possessed some skills that the other slaves were not fortunate enough to have learned. For example, Aminata possesses the skills of a midwife, she was taught this by her mother at a young age. I also felt it was necessary that Aminata learned how to read and write. When writing the novel, I also felt it was necessary to have Aminata torn from...
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...believe it truthfully portrayed an adaptation of what actually happened and what captured Africans were subjected to against their will. For me, one of the most significant parts of this film in the present day was the number of extremely well-known actors and who took part in the production of the piece directed by none other than Stephen Spielberg. Historical non-fiction is not a common topic in the movie industry, especially not those that expose events that depict America in a less-than-perfect light. I thought it was greatly significant that so many celebrities would assemble to create this film that could stir up controversy in its portrayal of actual events, revealing the dehumanizing treatment of Africans during the time of the Slave Trade. Amistad is a film that undeniably makes an impact on whoever watches it, and I found it impressive that so many public figures would come together to work and make that statement unashamedly, not to mention the movie’s favorable box office results. The events of history the film reveals are brought to attention in the contemporary world, and even with its few inaccuracies, the movie educates its viewers, bringing history into the present day in a medium to which the public can easily relate. I find this important because often it seems that the general American public chooses to ignore the truth of the past or is simply ignorant of what horrific practices were in place in this country’s not-too-distant history. Though the imagery and...
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...provided one of the most detailed and descriptive accounts ever recorded in history about a thriving slave society. The society which he wrote so much about was Surinam. Located on the northwest corner of Brazil, Stedman was sent to Surinam from the Netherlands to help put down a slave revolt that was threatening the existence of the colony. Throughout his stay Stedman wrote about all that he saw. One thing that became a focus of his writings was the issue of slavery. He wrote about specific slaves and Negros he came in contact with, the perception that others had of these people, the treatment of these slaves and the rising tensions and conflicts between the revolting slaves and the colonists. At times he would write in a tone that sensed he favored abolishing slavery but this was far from the case. Stedman never acknowledged that he wanted to end slavery but rather he expressed his concerns and feelings towards the ways that slavery could be improved in the colony but still present and a vital part to the land. The reasons for this are that he felt slavery was not wrong, he realized how crucial slavery was to the economic success of the colony and the consequences that would arise from freeing the slaves. One of Stedman’s main points throughout this entire book was that he was not against the idea of slavery. “From all this I must conclude that this trade, or buying of Negro slaves, is not so bad a thing as some try to support, while it is the effects that follow from it alone...
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...have been taught to tribute Juju existence and development exclusively to the Fon tribe who inhabit the country of Benin in West Africa. However, there are more than thirty five different ethnic groups in West Africa who are responsible for the development of Juju religion. Another popular misconception regarding Juju’s religion is that it was developed in Haiti by African slaves who were transported to the new world. This theory is wrong, due to Haiti only been an independent republic since 1804, and some anthropologists have estimated Juju to be as much as 10,000 years old. Juju religion was already well established, completely developed and widely practice religion prior to its arrival in Haiti. Juju is also the official religion in Benin, the only African country that still proudly recognizes it as traditional religion. Western faith are been imposed to other African countries in order to legitimize themselves as a civilized nation. The Juju religion was brought in the Americas by slaves from West Africa. The slaves’ trade in Americas was different in different countries. In the Caribbean, the slaves lived together in hiding place called Colombo. Colombo was hiding places in the Caribbean...
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...Advanced Composition DeVry University Online Professor Berardi-Rogers Rice in the Low Country of South Carolina According to local history the rice seed was brought to the low country of South Carolina in 1672 and by 1691 the General Assembly was allowing the plantation owners to pay their taxes in rice. Rice flourished in the low country of South Carolina which encompasses the southern coastal areas between the rivers and the ocean. The black slaves in the area where from Gambia River area of Africa where rice was grown. These slaves taught the whites how to use their tidal rivers to plant and grow great crops of rice call South Carolina Gold. (Rice and Slavery: A Fatal Gold Seede) Rice was the money making crop for Antebellum South Carolina, it was a labor intensive crop which produced great riches for the white plantation owners and caused great trial and tribulations for the black slaves. Rice became the staple crop for the southern coastal regions of South Carolina. The rice fields were built by African slaves brought to the low country for this specific purpose. They taught the white plantation owners how to make this crop thrive. It made many white men rich. The rice fields were great works of art. “Historical archeologists have found evidence from records that the embankments were six or more feet tall and 15 feet wide. When compared to building the Egyptian Pyramids, the amount of dirt moved along just the East Branch of the Cooper River was estimated...
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...rich soil. Their soil was rich due to the ample amount of rainfall they had all year long, which kept all of the natural resources fresh and growing. Many kingdoms were jealous of the Kush’s wealth and prosperity, and wanted to take it over, but the Kush did now allow it to happen. The “Iron Age” was when iron ore was at its peak and every kingdom wanted it to make weapons and tools. Kush was the center of the iron trade in ancient Africa. Burnt wood was needed to produce iron from ore and because wood was running out, the Kush had to trade other goods. The Kush was the reason for the Trans- Saharan Trade Route. In 750 CE, the Kush used camels and camel trains to cross the sand. They knew it was a miserable and dangerous journey, but knew it could be done. Attention was then turned to trade with West Africa, starting the beginning of the Trans- Saharan Trade Route. The Axum civilization, also known as Aksum, dated from 100 BC to 700 AD. The capital of the Kingdom of Axum is in modern- day Ethiopia. Axum’s kingdom was very successful in their maritime trade and naval power. Axum royalty was believed to descend from King Solomon. The son of King Solomon, Menelik, brought the Ark of...
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...Exam 1: Introduction to Africana Studies Short Answer Questions: Be sure to respond to the ENTIRE question, since each question has two parts. (4 points each/100 points total) 1) Why would you say that some see Africa as a country? How would you describe the size of Africa in relation to the size of the United States? 2) The view of Africa as a jungle is erroneous, since a jungle or forested area is not one of the continent’s major environmental features. Name two that are. 3) Africa can be discussed from either an Afrocentric perspective or a Eurocentric perspective. Give two examples of the way Africa is portrayed that support a Eurocentric perspective. 4) Turning to an Afrocentric perspective, name the African scholar honored for exerting the greatest influence on Black thought in the 20th century at the Black World Festival of Arts and Culture in Senegal, West Africa. Name the African American scholar honored for the same reason. 5) Name the Origin of Humankind theory that Dr. Cheikh Anta Diop said was so rigorously defended until science cast it aside. What reason did he cite for its rigorous defense? 6) From “Journey of Man,” name the reason humankind took so long to populate Europe. How many years did it take? 7) What delayed the American geneticist’s travel into Central Asia? Why was getting to that destination so important to him? 8) Name the word that the Navajo man took issue with the geneticist using...
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...Kevin Penn American Intercontinental University Unit 2 Individual Project 2 HUMA215-1302B-18 Topics in Cultural Studies Kelly Dormady June 29, 2013 Abstract This paper will explore the decentering of non-western culture by the Europeans as well as within the African nations. It well look at the conditions in the African nation were in before the decentering of these nations i.e. religion, traditions, and overall culture. Also, this paper will give examples of what the impact of decentering of the African culture by Europeans has had on the continent up to and including present day. In the late 19th and early 20th century the military, communication, naval might and technology began strengthening in the western world. None of the non-Western cultures wanted to assimilate to these Western cultures because of their own values and own way of thinking. The western cultures main focus was not so much the re-centering of a civilization; but by placing many fundamental challenges to their cultural identities it decentered their culture. (Sayre, 2013,) The Europeans were determined to impose their will on these smaller and weaker nations claim them and incorporate them as a part of their own new territories. These non-Western cultures were not ready for a decentering of their own culture which ultimately would have these cultures losing their identities. Yet we see where the western cultures were continually gaining strength over other cultures and they began...
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...practice of slavery was allowed to flourish in the colonies. They just present the facts of its occurrence. They do not consider the mindset of the people who thought it was justifiable to enslave a specific race. This paper seeks to answer this question using evidence from the studies of Degler, the Handlins, and Morgan. Slavery was not brought into existence by any one singular variable. It is a combination of attitudes and circumstance. Specifically, a preexisting discrimination of darker skinned people by the British and colonists led to the foundation and inconsistent growth of slavery, while the economic factors caused for its widespread acceptance. For instance, there are many more cases of blacks being treated as slaves before the legal status of slave came into existence than there are of whites. In Degler’s article Genesis of American Race Paradox, he argues that racial discrimination was present from the beginning and that the institution of slavery was just the law catching up with the practice (Degler). This essay agrees with and will use many of the points he makes to argue how a predetermined attitude to the Africans created the basis of slavery, but will stop short of saying that is the sole determinant. The English have a history of ethnocentrism. This can be seen in the associations of the words white and black. White symbolizes virginity, purity, cleanliness, goodness, etc. Contrastingly, the color black is associated with death, evil, filth, and violence. The...
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...Exam 1: Introduction to Africana Studies Short Answer Questions: Be sure to respond to the ENTIRE question, since each question has two parts. (4 points each/100 points total) Why is Africa a continent and not a country? How would you describe the size of Africa in relation to the size of the United States? Africa is a continent because it is a large land mass with many countries within it. A country is a large community with their own set of political rules that differ from other countries. Not all of Africa is governed by one government, if so that would make it a country. Africa is about 3 times the size of the United States. It is much larger than the United States. The view of Africa as a jungle is erroneous, since a jungle or forested area is not one of the continent’s major environmental features. Name two that are. 1/5th of Africa is a rainforest and 1/3rd of Africa is a desert. Africa can be discussed from either an Afrocentric perspective or a Eurocentric perspective. Give two examples of the way Africa is portrayed that support a Eurocentric perspective. A Eurocentric perspective of Africa is represented in many textbooks, media, and teachings, by not making clear that Eygpt is located in Africa is not made clear. It is typically referred to as being in the Middle East. It is even occasionally taught as a part of Western Civilizations, although Egypt is not located in the West. Another example is how the Europeans...
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...• African identity- this term will be used interchangeable. (1) realizing the African continent commonality, (2) the culture and behavior of the slaves (African born and creoles)—basically what defines the slaves’ identity. • Creoles- (1) Atlantic creoles that are phenotypically and culturally mixed with African and European cultures. The Dynamic African identity: Coping with Slavery Upon considering the changes and the creation of an “African” identity (definition 2), it is important to realize that similar to the constantly changing slavery due to the frequent shifts in the social, political, and economic contexts, the “African” identity was also dynamic. Although the overall reason that prompted the development of the notion of the African continent (definition 1) might be similar across the board of slavery, the specifics of what constituted this identity (ex: religion, family formation) is largely dependent on the time period and region being discussed—ex: the 17th Century African identity in North America is different from the 18th Century identity in Europe. Several factors that enhanced the creation of the African identity (definition 2) include: (1) ability to form families as a result of the gender ratio, mortality rates, segregation from other slaves, (2) population ratio of native-born to creolized slaves, and (3) religious movement that were characteristic of the time and space. These three factors allowed for the African identity to be realized...
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...Afsara Kelline Mir April 1, 2011 Period 4 Anna Deveare Smith has meshed together many untold stories of victims to racism, bias and prejudice. Though we might perceive this line of work to be her attempt to unveil the truth of the conflict in Crown Heights, I believe that Smith retold the stories that reflected prejudice, racism and bias in Crown Heights, not to seek who was wrong or right in Crown Heights, but to uncover the deep-seated hatred that occurs in this country. The truth may never be revealed but the audience is able to understand that the reasons for the rage in Crown Heights are more than just the Gavin Cato case of Yankel Rosenbaum’s murder. Anna Deveare Smith’s method of finding the truth in peoples stories lies in their syntax. The stutters and the “um’s” give the audience a better understanding of the character because in those stammers and pauses we, even for a moment, see some truth. Although it may help us understand where people are coming from, we still have no definite answer for why things ended up the way they did in Crown Heights. For example, in the monologue titled, Static, a Jewish woman says, “ I saw a little boy in the neighborhood, who I didn’t know and who didn’t know me—not Jewish, he was black and he wasn’t wearing a yarmulke because you can’t—“. The pauses in this particular monologue tell me that this woman is trying to watch what she says. In the times of hatred between Blacks and...
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...islands where French, English, and Spanish planters were accustomed to purchasing African Slaves. The main parts of the Atlantic trading system ill go into is West Africa and the slave trade, New England and the Caribbean, and slaving voyages. Majority of the enslaved people taken to North America originated in West Africa. Some of the main Coastal rulers served as intermediaries, as they allowed the establishment of permanent slave-trading posts in their territories and supplying resident Europeans with slaves to fill ships that stopped regularly at coastal forts. Whydah was the major slave-trading port. It was said that Whydah passed at least 10 percent of all slaves exported to the Americas, and Whydah's merchants earned substantial annual profits from the trade. The Portuguese, English, and French all established forts there. Before any Europeans could begin to acquire any cargo, they had to pay fees to Whydah's rulers. However, the slave trade brought varying consequences for the nations of West Africa. Because of the trades centralizing tendencies, it helped to create such powerful eighteenth-century kingdoms such as Dahomey and Asante. The trade disrupted original trading patterns, as goods once sent north to the Mediterranean, were redirected to the Atlantic. Agricultural production intensified, especially in the rice growing areas because of the need to supply hundreds of slave ships with food for transatlantic voyages. Prisoners of war made up the bulk...
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