Europe quickly became the dominant region over the economic aspects of the Columbian Exchange, however their social influence in the Americas and Africa developed slower during the time period of 1492 to 1750. In the mid-fifteenth century, European interest in Africa expanded from goods to incorporate slaves. Europeans began to take over African civilizations and keep natives as their slaves. This was not a new practice to keep war captives as slaves. However the Europeans began to export these African slaves across the globe to established colonies in both North and South America for the first time.
Between 1500-1800 C.E. Sub-Saharan Africa experienced changes and continuity as they began to go further with their foreign relations. Culturally, Africa began to form syncretic cults that had Christian teachings and African traditions. Slavery continued to be one of Africa's main way of showing economic wealth. Africa experienced growth and change in their political organization and the rise and fall of kingdoms and states Before the syncretic cults, Africa's old traditions and beliefs surrounded deities, idols, and multiple gods.
The decision of using Africans as slaves and the issues of trade on an international spectrum are extremely important when looking at the subject of slavery. The Middle Passage is an important link in the Slave Trade that marked the beginning of a new a new and often horrendous life for many African people. It reveals the story of the savage treatment of the so-called “savages” that were captured from Africa. The Middle Passage is the term used to describe the trip across the Atlantic made by captive Africans. The definition of “Middle Passage” has changed over time.
Strategic factors played a changing role in Britain’s relationship with its African empire throughout the expansion period 1870-1902, the consolidation period 1902-1955 and the de-colonisation period 1955-1981. In some of these periods Strategy was right at the foreground of Britain’s rule in Africa and other times it was pushed to the back by other major factors. These include economic considerations, International relations, changing attitudes and nationalism. Many historians such as Martin Pugh saw that ‘the most obvious motive for British expansion was strategic’. Britain’s strategic motives in Africa centred on thwarting the growth of rival European powers as well as securing its interests in Africa.
As well as bring in huge profits the cotton industry with the help of free labour form the slaves could now expand and it was profitable to expand in to the west to find new land to set up plantations. The cotton industry was key for southern expansion into the west. Slavery was part of the culture of the south and it was there identity. It united the upper and the lower south under a common view of superiority and slavery, and without this the upper and lower sought may have fallen into conflict. It bridged the gap between the wealthy planters and the poor whites.
The ways in which sub-Saharan Africans were establishing new contacts with Europe paralleled their much older pattern of relations with the Islamic world. There were striking similarities and differences in Africans’ political, commercial, and cultural interactions with these two external influences between 1500 and 1800. Through Africa’s close proximity to the Middle East and Africa’s triangle trade with the Europeans and European influenced Americas, the customs, traditions and beliefs of many indigenous Africans changed and were replaced. Although both regions justified slavery, the Islamic and European concepts of slave work and obligation differed considerably. While Africa placed an essential role in the Atlantic and Islamic trading
The slave trade impacted Africa’s population, turning it into half of what it was expected to be in 1850. Organization of the Trade: 1. Triangle trade is a trade network in which slaves from Africa were carried to the Americas, sugar, tobacco, and other goods were carried from the Americas to Europe, and European products were sent to the coast of Africa to trade for the slaves and start the whole network. African Societies, Slavery, and the Slave Trade 1. Europeans made slave trade acceptable by saying that is was already practiced in the continent and they were not the first.
These inventions (refer to Document C for examples) caused great economic expansion across Europe. Yet at the same time, these exact inventions caused for a need of more raw materials. This is where Imperialism began to take shape, because before Imperialism in Africa had begun, there were still many examples of Europeans who’d enslaved africans on their own land. Which meant that once raw materials for machines that needed simple labor in a factory rather than the fields were needed to maintain their great economic boost; whichever European country had the most property in Africa, got to conquer the most land in its entirety (Scramble for Africa). Meaning these now obsolete slaves were being subject to have to watch European countries take over their lands and began industrializing on african soil because of how rich in materials the African land is.
Many were mostly sent to the plantations such as the sugar plantations this was mainly in Brazil and in the Caribbean’s. Seasoned slaves were preferred because they were already disciplined by their masters. Finally Africans survived the horrible treatment, and the conditions the most brutal of this was the Atlantic slave trade. When we look back at the struggles that the African Americans went through it testifies to humility and humanity as well as the spirit which is the corner stone as well as the middle of the African American
The transatlantic trade route connected all three countries and was very useful to Europe to import and export corn and potatoes; for the Americas to export and import food and supplies from Europe; for Africa to import food and supplies as well from Europe to keep afloat the slave trade. This trade route was best known as the triangular trading system. The first leg was from Europe to Africa, where supplies was carried to trade and sell. The second leg was called the middle passage which was from African ports to the new world where the European ships were already packed with slaves to drop off. Then the ship returned to Europe with supplies to keep up their mercantile