BY: David Berry
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Image link: http://www.superstock.com/stock-photos-images/1899-27120
)
Moral arguments
calling for an end to slave trading grew momentum in Europe towards the end of
the 18th century with support of evangelical groups and activist
such as British politician William Wilberforce who led a massive public
campaign during 1787. However, despite the ethical nature of the argument, it
is no coincidence that support for the abolition become prominent at a time
where slave trade was become a less appealing market for Western entrepreneurs,
who saw greater return in the manufacturing industries of Britain. Slave
revolts and the resistance to slavery threatened profit margins for slave
owners and this caused European investors to be frightened and skeptical about
investing.
During this time,
Africa’s economical landscape was changing. They were becoming a source for raw
materials and a market for manufactured goods, rather a source for laborers.
Their commodities such as palm oil, kola nuts, cotton, tobacco, and sugar cane
provided a high profit in exporting than slave laborers for Europe. This
promoted industrialization and allowed for manufactured goods to be returned
into Africa. In order to meet this demand, there was an increase in slave labor
in West Africa to fertilize more land. By now, a large number of capable men
had been dispersed from Africa due to the Atlantic slave trade. The resulting
labor shortage in combination with the increasingly demanding market for goods
from the area made slave labor extremely profitable in this period that
followed the abolition of the Atlantic trade in 1807.
Surprisingly, with
an increase in demand for African commodities the quality of life in West
Africa had still not improved. Instead, it created a strengthened hierarchical
power structure, reinforcement for slave labor, and brutal treatment to those
enslaved. Despite the praise received
for the abolitionist movement that succeeded in creating a ban on slave trading
I 1807, the cessation of the trade did little to restrict the flow of goods
that were produced by slave labor, and therefore did nothing to restrict
slavery practices itself. It caused a shift for plantations and mineral
extraction sites from the United States to West Africa.
Interesting Articles:
·
http://www.bl.uk/learning/histcitizen/campaignforabolition/abolitionbackground/abolitionintro.html
Insightful Videos
This is definitely an interesting and controversial topic. It would seem somewhat ironic that slavery would shift back to the place where slaves were previously drawn from for centuries. However, seeing that Africa was becoming a major source of materials and marketable goods, it would seem somewhat obvious that slave labor would become a rising "need" in these parts of Africa. This reminds me of the movie Blood Diamond and how the process of receiving these rich commodities was filled with immoral and unjust practices.
ReplyDeleteInteresting article. I definitely had no idea that slavery was re-established in Africa after the slave trade had been abolished. The post mentions how this happened as a result of the shift in the macro economic picture during the time so it's interesting to think about how the bigger picture affects the social norms and cultures of a region.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting especially when we talk about the colonization of Africa from the 1890's onwards. The model was basically a slavery model. The British kicked Africans off their land and enslaved Africans for some odd 155-200 years. Whats more you also found that other Africans enslaved each other as this is the model they were accustomed to, the only difference was that they did not use force and britality on their slaves. Slavery in itself still exists today in Africa and Asia its just not brought to the forefront as it makes a lot of companies money and if we knew about it we would probably not buy the products these companies sell us.
ReplyDeleteThis was powerful!
ReplyDeleteVery interesting and insightful post. I learned a couple things even from the above comments. It is unfortunate that slavery reverted back to Africa after the slave trade and even more unfortunate that it still exists today and is driven by capitalism.
ReplyDeleteWonderful article, and I especially appreciated the video on the most shocking facts about slavery. I honestly did not know that 4.5 Million slaves were sent to South America. This was very intriguing to me because this is a substantially large number that you never hear about when talking about slavery.
ReplyDelete