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Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade: Analysis

African societies during the era of the slave trade were as affected, if not more affected, by this trade in human beings than the countries that initiated the trade or employed slaves in their production systems were. One of the critical questions of historical debate is whether African societies were primarily victims of the European dominated slave trade or voluntary collaborators in this trade. Walter Rodney (1999) takes the position that African societies were victims of the European led slave trade and were only marginally responsible for participating in this trade. Conversely, John Thornton (1999) takes the position that Africans were not under any direct commercial or economic pressure to deal in slaves and while they accepted slavery as natural in the context of their own societies, they participated in the European slave trade for a variety of reasons, including the desire to rid a tribe of dissidents or threats to the ruling elites, warfare, or the desire for economic prosperity.

Rodney (1999) notes that from an African viewpoint it is important to determine whether the reputation of a given tribe or locality was sufficiently decisive to influence the shape of the slave trade. He seeks to determine whether some African tribal peoples were viewed as more or less valuable as slaves or more or less suitable for foreign enslavement. He recognizes that African wars were a major source of potential slaves turned over by Africans to Europeans and states that some Africans, such as the Bijago, undertook campaigns to capture mainland Africans for sale to Europeans. He also notes that "with the incentive of European goods, slave raiding became a profession, with persons dedicating themselves entirely to the service of the slave trade" (Rodney, 1999, p. 58). Further, those Africans who violated the laws of their tribes or who offended their kings became fodder for the slave trade.

Rodney's (1999) conclusion is tha...

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Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade: Analysis. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 05:52, July 07, 2025, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/2000994.html