Between the 15th and 19th century, the Atlantic slave trade involved the mass scale capturing, transporting, and selling of African people; slaves were mostly brought from Central and West Africa, and were then transported to the Americas and Europe. With several European countries' competing to become overseas empires, this meant that each respective economy would become dependent on mass slave labor to produce many goods and services; some of the goods that were produced were cotton, sugar, tobacco, rice, and rum. There were major societal changes in for those directly involved with the Atlantic slave trade. This large-scale depopulation would be to the detriment of many kingdoms and societies in Central and West Africa. In 1526, for instance, Nzinga Mbemba, the king of the Congo, sends a letter in an attempt to appeal to the king of Portugal: “Sir, Your Highness should know how our Kingdom is being lost in so many ways that it is convenient to provide for the necessary remedy, since this is caused by the excessive freedom given by your agents and officials to the men and merchants who are allowed to come to this Kingdom to set up shops with goods and many things which have been prohibited by us, and which they spread throughout our Kingdoms and Domains in such an abundance that many of our vassals, whom we had in obedience, do not comply because they have the things in greater abundance than we ourselves; and it was with these things that we had them content and subjected under our vassalage and jurisdiction, so it is doing a great harm not only to the service of God, but the security and peace of our Kingdoms and State as well”.
The complaint that Nzinga Mbemba has is that the presence of Portuguese merchants and the imported goods that they bring with them are desired by many of his subjects, which has led to a loss of obedience; this has led to disruption to the integrity of his kingdom. The king is referring to the trend of Portuguese factors receiving the aid of Africans in order to capture and enslave other Africans. Olaudeh Equiano’s firsthand account gives an accurate example of this; while everyone else was out working, some men and woman came and kidnapped him and his sister. In the illustration, ‘Buying Slaves in Africa’, late 1700s or early 1800s, an African man carrying a rifle is depicted to be herding a group of slaves; some of the men have been bound together with neck and hand restraints. The armed African is most likely selling the slaves to a European buyer. Along with the loss of people, the slave trade has also created a certain level of inhumanity within European and African societies. This inhumanity not only made many Africans lose their freedom and culture, but also it would frequently lead to the loss of their lives
The Atlantic slave trade led to the death of many Africans that had been enslaved; there were often slaves that didn’t survive the voyage from Africa to the Americas and/or Europe. Slave ships were unsanitary and overcrowded for slaves. It was not uncommon for a substantial percentage of slaves captured to die from health complications while being transported. For example, the French slave ship Le Rodeur sailed from the Guinea coast of Africa to the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe in April, 1819. A first-hand account is given and records the death of several Africans: “Today, word was brought to the Captain, while we were at breakfast, that two of the slaves were dead, suffocated, as was supposed, by the closeness of the hold...” (Romaigne, 593). The condition in which slaves were transported alone, was a health hazard. Later, it is recorded that ophthalmia, which caused the infected to go blind, was contracted among the slaves; it was said to be due to the cramped confinement of the slaves: “The mate picked out thirty-nine negroes who were completely blind, and with the assistance of the rest of the crew, tied a piece of ballast to the legs of each. The miserable wretches were then thrown into the sea” (Romaigne, 596). Another recollection made was that many slaves chose to essentially commit suicide over being taken away: “However, they had no sooner reached the ship’s side, than first one, then another, then a third, sprang up on the gunwale, and darted into the sea, before the astonished sailors could tell what they were about” (Romaigne, 593). For the slaves that happen to survive the journey from Africa to other lands, conditions for them were not much an improvement.
In the eyes of slave owners, the slaves were better off under them, rather than remaining in their deemed primitive homeland. There is an 1861 British newspaper illustrating an auction, taking place in New Orleans; an article following reads, “... The men and women are well clothed, in their Sunday best...”. Being a slave was harsh, with very few exceptions.
In the American society, slave labor became a common commodity. While most slaves were brought to South America and the Caribbean islands, the numerous amounts of slaves brought to America were forced to work on plantations, in order to produce the cash crops. Working and living conditions were generally harsh for slaves, some much so that slaves often sought many ways to acquire freedom. However, there were some variations to this; there were some that had been allowed more independence than others. Venture Smith, born Broteer Furro, was an example of this. In his ‘A Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Venture’, written in 1798, Smith recollects his life as a slave and how he achieved his eventual freedom. While there had been instances of slaves becoming free men and women, it was not without great challenge; this was also the case for Smith: “The amount of the money which I had paid my master towards redeeming my time, was seventy-one pounds two shillings. The reason of my master for asking such an unreasonable price, was he said, to secure himself in case I should ever come to want. Being thirty-six years old, I left Col. Smith once for all. I had already been sold three different times, made considerable money with seemingly nothing to derive it from, been cheated out of a large sum of money, lost much by misfortunes, and paid an enormous sum for my freedom”.
The effect that the Atlantic slave trade had was so substantial that it had an influence on three different continents. For Africa, many kingdoms suffered the loss of power, population, and stability, while Europeans benefited substantially. However, while Europeans were the catalyst in the mass deportation of native Africans, they did not do so without aid. In exchange for some of their imports, Europeans received the assistance other Africans towards the effort of capturing, transporting, and selling of African people. This not only caused massive depopulation in Africa, but also led to the many deaths of Africans; it was not uncommon for slave ships to arrive to Europe and the Americas with less slaves than they had originally acquired. Living conditions on a slave ship were harsh and would often lead to death from diseases or other health complications. The global economies in Europe and the Americas would become dependent on mass slave labor; this led to slavery becoming a perpetual way of life, for slaves and slave owners, and would last for 400 years.