Title: A History of African Traders of Enslaved People
Headings: African Traders of Enslaved People
African Traders of Enslaved People
Motivations for Enslavement
A Self-Replicating Cycle
Opposition to the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade
Enslavement as a Part of Life
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Content: Enslaved people were different by virtue of their social and economic status (what we might think of today as their class). Enslavers also kidnapped people, but again, there was no reason in their minds that made them see enslaved people as "their own." A Self-Replicating Cycle
Another reason that African enslavers were so willing to sell off fellow Africans was that they felt they had no other option. As the trade of enslaved people intensified in the 1600s and 1700s, it became harder not to participate in the practice in some regions of West Africa. The enormous demand for enslaved Africans led to the formation of a few African states whose economy and politics were centered around raiding for and trading enslaved people. States and political factions that participated in the trade gained access to firearms and luxury goods that could be used to secure political support. States and communities not actively participating in the trade of enslaved people were increasingly at a disadvantage. The Mossi Kingdom is an example of a state that resisted the trade of enslaved people until the 1800s. Opposition to the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade
The Mossi Kingdom was not the only African state or community to resist selling enslaved Africans to Europeans. The king of the Kongo, Afonso I, who had converted to Catholicism, tried to stop the sale of enslaved people to Portuguese enslavers and traders.