The Middle Passage's Role In The Slave Trade

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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. When the Slave Trade began it was used to describe the second leg of a slave ship’s journey. The second leg was”… the leg that carried slave cargoes to the Americas (McMillan,…show more content…
For some, the journey marked the end of their lives. Treated as cargo, many Africans experienced conditions that are hard to believe. The “superior” Europeans that considered Africans, savage and inferior, put these conditions upon them. When looking how the Europeans treated the Africans captives, however, it makes the Europeans look savage and inferior. Before looking at the conditions of the Middle Passage, it is important to understand the economics of the Slave Trade. The Slave Trade must be looked at from an economic standpoint because it is for economic reasons that many countries and people got involved in the Trade. The Slave Trade began in the mid 1440’s. It was…” launched for the specific purposes of providing labor to European colonies in Central and South America and the Caribbean. (McMillan, 9)”. As it began, the Slave Trade was a huge business that employed thousands of people both directly and indirectly. Countries all around the globe benefited from the trade in many ways. Many received money from trade and, of course, some received slaves, which meant they did not have to pay individuals for labor. At the time, it was an important aspect of world trade and international

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