Why Africa: What made Africa the most Notable Slave Exporter?
Due to previous
readings, we have seen the question arise asking whether or not racism or
slavery came first. Well I myself believe that slavery came before racism,
and that racism was spawn from the evolving idea of what it meant to own
slaves. The major question that sparked my attention the most about all these
readings was, "Why was Africa the main target for the Europeans to take
interest in possibilities of enslavement?" I'm not one to say that
another country’s civilians should have been chosen to endure this life
changing horror, but what exactly was it that made Africa the goldmine for this
new economical commodity?
As we learned in The
Idea of Race, Bernier argues that there were many different species of
human beings, and established this difference based on physical
characteristics. Voltaire on the other hand introduces a different idea,
discussing that there aren't multiple species but rather different
races that are found all across the world. The differing factors once again
were pointed to physical characteristics, but were associated with the
location in which each race of people were found. Either way Europeans always
felt that they were more superior than other "species" or races.
If that was so, then why was it that they sent their men to Africa
to acquire human property? Was it simply for the physical appearance that
Africans had, given that they were highly fit and strong, or was it that they
were already accustomed to working in agricultural occupations?
It wasn’t
until I read the article African American
Voices: The Life Cycle of Slavery, that I began to find understanding in
how the infamous slave trade acquired most of their captives from Africa. In
the reading, my views on the racism and slavery question was also confirmed that
slavery was in fact first, “The first true slave society I history emerged in
ancient Greece between the sixth and fourth centuries B.C…. It was not until
the late eighteenth century that pseudo-scientific racism provided the basic
justification for slavery” (Mintz 3,7). Based on the outside readings and
fictional work, it was under stood that there was slavery within the African
communities; based off: rivalry, debt, and marital clients. What made Africa
the all-time export for slave trade was the fact that many of the Western and
Central territories began to experience an economical decline, especially during
natural disasters. Trading their prisoners, and other enemies to the highest
bidder brought stability for not only their own tribes but those that were their
allies as well. Another point that was argued was that Europeans clenched on to
the African societies because they reminded them most of their Muslim enemies
who they once enslaved towards the end of the 15th century.
I also struggled to understand why Africa was a target for exporting slaves. I agree that slavery did come first; however, I'd like to assert that the enslavement of African people was sustained on racism. Due to the economic instability of Africa, Africa relied on the exportation of slaves to help improve their financial woes. Other nations took advantage of Africa's weakness by buying slaves and would later attach negative stigmas to black people that would aid in maintaining slavery in the colonies and other parts of the world.
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DeleteI agree as well that slavery came first and that slavery was justified and reinforced by the Europeans through racism. I believe that the tribes in Africa the selling of slaves only perpetuated the power hierarchy. With a greater number of slaves sold, the African tribes gained power and protection. These tribes relied on power in order to not be conquered and sold into slavery by their neighboring African tribes. With all these ideals in consideration, this still does not point to how the Europeans settled on Africa to obtain all the slaves. While Africa may have been weak as a national power due to the lack of unity within Africa and the tribes, this still does not point to why Africa, specifically, was chosen as the greatest slave exporter. There still exists many other places without unity other than Africa that could have been exploited for slave labor. Therefore, the question persists: Why slavery in Africa?
ReplyDeleteI had the same question about Africa being a target for slavery. The reading you mentioned provided some insight but I would like to expand on something you briefly mentioned. I believe that the Africans' physical features and work ethics played an important role is answering this question. The Europeans saw how the Africans lived and worked in their tribes in the sweltering heat of Africa. The Africans were better when it came to physical labor and it was used against them by the Europeans. Also, the fact that African tribes sold their people for goods made it much easier for the Europeans to enslave them.
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