Title: BBC - History - British History in depth: Africa and the Transatlantic Slave Trade
Headings: Africa and the Transatlantic Slave Trade
Africa and the Transatlantic Slave Trade
Beginnings
Enslavement and racism
West Africa before European intervention
African enslavers
African resistance
The African Diaspora
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Content: However, by the mid-17th century the European demand for captives, particularly for the sugar plantations in the Americas, became so great that they could only be acquired through initiating raiding and warfare. There is no doubt that some societies preyed on others to obtain captives in exchange for European firearms, in the belief that if they did not acquire firearms in this way to protect themselves, they would be attacked and captured by their rivals and enemies who did possess such weapons. Top
African resistance
However, some African rulers did attempt to resist the devastation of the European demand for captives. As early as 1526, King Afonso of Kongo, who had previously enjoyed good relations with the Portuguese, complained to the king of Portugal that Portuguese slave traders were kidnapping his subjects and depopulating his kingdom. King Agaja Trudo of Dahomey not only opposed the trade, but even went as far as to attack the forts that the European powers had constructed on the coast. In 1630, Queen Njingha Mbandi of Ndongo (in modern Angola) attempted to drive the Portuguese out of her realm, but was finally forced to compromise with them. In 1720, King Agaja Trudo of Dahomey not only opposed the trade, but even went as far as to attack the forts that the European powers had constructed on the coast. But his need for firearms forced him to reach an agreement with the European slave traders. Other African leaders such as Donna Beatriz Kimpa Vita in Kongo and Abd al-Qadir, in what is now northern Senegal, also urged resistance against the forced export of Africans. Many others, especially those who were threatened with enslavement, as well as those held captive on the coast, rebelled against enslavement and this resistance continued during the middle passage.