Something that I found interesting was in chapter four of the textbook. On page 140 it discusses the slave trade from the perspective of the West African traders. Upon further research, I realized that for many of these traders, the slave trade was not simply an economic endeavor. Militarized states such as Ashanti, Dahomey, and Oyo were constantly warring with one another. Conflicts over land, mining rights, and resources made areas in the Kongo, Benin, and Angola highly contested. Many warlords in these states relied on foreign weapons and provisions that could be cheaply imported from Europe and the Caribbean to wage these wars. The European merchants were primarily interested in exporting slaves from central and west Africa. Rulers of these African states, determined to gain an upper hand over their rivals competed for trade with European merchants. Many warlords captured and traded young men and women from rival nations and taxed European slave traders to support their fight for control of the region. While this worked out for many of the west African traders this system ultimately caused significant damage to the economy. Many rulers, such as those from Ashanti and Dahomey became extremely powerful and wealthy. With healthy support from European firearms these rulers facilitated the export of tens of thousands of young workers. This destroyed the working class in west Africa for generations, caused widespread conflict, and made poverty levels skyrocket. Ultimately, while short term success was seen by a few tribes, in the long run, the only beneficiaries of this trade were the European traders.
Sources:
GML pg.140
http://www.fsmitha.com/h3/h28af3-4.htm
You bring up an interesting point that when these warlords helped the Europeans with the slave trade, it eventually had negative long term impacts on these states. While these powerful African rulers benefited from the slave trade, I found it ironic, and pretty funny, that their decision to help with the trade ended up weakening their African societies.
ReplyDeleteWhat I find interesting about your blog is that it makes me consider the slave trade from the perspective of the African traders. I feel like normally we consider it from the perspective of a slave or of a slaver owner, but it is interesting to think about why African traders allowed slavery.
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