Life Of a African Slave

[Japanrocks12]

Slavery was everywhere since the migration of the Neandarthals. But no slavery could be as terrifying, as cruel as that of the Africans. Africans used to trade slaves amongst themselves for decades, but at least African slave traders had compassion...


The Portuguese were the first to trade slaves with Africans. During the late 1400's the Portuguese began to trade slaves for guns and other valuables. About 12 million slaves were taken from their villages, chained, and led to the coastal fortresses. Here, Africans were sold to European traders, and boarded ships.


This part of the journey was known as the Middle Passage. Tens of Thousands of slaves were crammed in middle sized ships with no breathing air, small amounts of food, and cruel treatment. Mutinies were not uncommon, though most failed. Women used to throw their babies across the room just to look for food.


Europeans treated slaves as property, and gave them numbers. The unhealthy were "buried"(tossed overboard). No matter what, no European wanted to change the rules.


The famous Spanish ship, The Amistad, was a large exception. It set sail in in the 19th century. However, the slaves were determined to sail back. With a single nail, a slave picked his lock and later freed others. He and 53 slaves armed themselves with sugar knives and other weapons. They won control of the ship. Unfortunately, the captain(who was spared) was still determined to make a fortune, and sailed to America.


There, the slaves of the Amistad found themselves against the U.S. Supreme court. in a breathtaking saga, John Quincy Adams won the case, and the slaves were sent back to Africa. The following year, the Union banned slavery. Spain followed suite the same year. Unfortunately, the last slave ship didn't sail until 1888, when slavery stopped worldwide.



I want this as an article please

 

[test_specimen]

Your article seems to be a bit short and lacking facts. For a start you could check out this site, though it concentrates on slavery from a North American perspective, and also only gives very short descriptions of the aspects:

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAslavery.htm

Another site that also concentrates on slave trade/escape from slavery in North America is this one:

http://www.undergroundrailroad.org/

This site gives you a link collection of general history of Africa and also slavery (though several links seem to be dead):

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/africa/africasbook.html

 

[Sims2789]

are you saying that the NEanderthals have slaves? that makes them the only non-human, non-ant to do so. you know anything about pre-hisoric slavery?

 

[Sims2789]

BTW, the last country to outlaw slavery was Maurtina in 1980.

 

[Simon Darkshade]

Originally posted by Japanrocks12
Africans used to trade slaves amongst themselves for decades, but at least African slave traders had compassion...

I would be interested with your source material for this novel assertion.

 

[pawpaw]

Originally posted by Japanrocks12
Africans used to trade slaves amongst themselves for decades, but at least African slave traders had compassion...

compassionate slavery? please

if it wasn't for those "compassionate" african slavers there wouldn't of been slavery! theres no way european ships with crews of 15-30 men ( slave ships were small and quick ) could of roamed the african countryside collecting slaves!! it worked because the slaves were already captured and collected in one spot by african slavers.

 

[test_specimen]

Please tell me that "commpassionite" means something else than "compassionate", or that you are using sarcasm!

 

[Vrylakas]

The Portuguese were the first to trade slaves with Africans.

The first Europeans to trade (black) African slaves. The Portuguese actually took over the Arab and Moghul Indian African slave trade, simply by virtue of having longer range cannon on their ships. Bernard Lewis' The Muslim Discovery of Europe is a good source for this.

 

[pawpaw]

Originally posted by test_specimen
Please tell me that "compassionate" means something else than "compassionate", or that you are using sarcasm!

i thought it was clear sarcasm-quess it wasn't as clear as i thought

 

[Evie]

To be fair I think I get what he means by compassionate slavery though -while Muslim slavery can hardly be called NICE or anything, IIRC (might be wrong, though), slaves were more of the household slave variety, at least as far as I'm aware (of course, that'S hardly an area of specialization of mine, so it'S more a general feeling I drew from what I heard than anything - anyone with more knowledge on the matter, please contradict me if I'm wrong). In fact IIRC a few slaves rose to rather proeminent station in the African and Muslims worlds - and not through rebellion.

I suppose that if one takes the view that "normal" slavery is the american plantation/mines form, one could make a (doubtful) argument than the Africans and Muslims forms of slavery were in fact "kinder" or "compassionat(er)".

Of course the point remain that the african slave traders fueled the whole thing anyway.

 

[pawpaw]

Originally posted by Oda Nobunaga


Of course the point remain that the african slave traders fueled the whole thing anyway.

my point exactly, without them at point A, this is no point B,C, ect...

 

[Bozo Erectus]

Unfortunately, the last slave ship didn't sail until 1888, when slavery stopped worldwide.

Slavery continues to this day in Africa. Its carried on by those compassionate African slave traders you mentioned. One more thing, what does this mean:

Women used to throw their babies across the room just to look for food.

When it was time to look for food they would throw their baby across the room? I dont understand.

 

[Knight-Dragon]

Originally posted by Oda Nobunaga
To be fair I think I get what he means by compassionate slavery though -while Muslim slavery can hardly be called NICE or anything, IIRC (might be wrong, though), slaves were more of the household slave variety, at least as far as I'm aware (of course, that'S hardly an area of specialization of mine, so it'S more a general feeling I drew from what I heard than anything - anyone with more knowledge on the matter, please contradict me if I'm wrong). In fact IIRC a few slaves rose to rather proeminent station in the African and Muslims worlds - and not through rebellion.

I suppose that if one takes the view that "normal" slavery is the american plantation/mines form, one could make a (doubtful) argument than the Africans and Muslims forms of slavery were in fact "kinder" or "compassionat(er)".

Of course the point remain that the african slave traders fueled the whole thing anyway.

Yup. Technically, all the Mamelukes, and the Janissaries were slaves, belonging to the state.

In the case of the Mamelukes, they were the ones in power and ruled.

 

[LouLong]

Your article seems very PC towards a certain part of the American population.

Now Blacks never had the monopoly of being slaves (just check the ethymology of slave for instance). Second, the Portuguese came late down the line of trading Black Africans though I admit they did not just take over from the Arabs and Indians.

Black slaves were known already in ancient Egypt and the Roman Empire had quite a few.

Europe stopped using them because they were too far away and the connection through the Med had been severed which the shifting of trade to the North and later the Muslim invasion.

The Arabs then ruled over that trade for a long time and carried on in some parts until the XXth century. They either went down the East coast of Africa, settling on islands such as the famous sultanate of Zanzibar, and brought islam as well, thus creating a special culture : mixture of languages, cultures, peoples and Islam : the Swahili culture. But even there (not jungles of equatorial Africa) they had pbs going inside the African hinterland. So they had to rely on natives to trade one another.

On the East, slave trade was ruled by the Touaregs or White-skinned Africans (mixture of Arabs and natives of Maghrib) who traded the slaves by caravans along the oasis routes and slaves were the second traded good after gold in value (third being salt) . This trade brought Islam there as well (Tombuctu). This trade was doubled with an ethnic difference (skin color but more importantly way of life). The traders were nomads while blacks were put to work in the oasis for the ruling nomads in the Sahel. This was stopped only by the colonization but strong feelings remain, for instance between Mauritania and Senegal along the ethnic border line.
Slaves mean differnt things in different cultures and within the same culture between the different uses for them. For instance mamluks are indeed Turkish slaves that were used for war, eventually took the power and carried on buying young Turkish slaves to continue their rule without the creation of a dinasty. The child of a white arab and a Black slave woman could become a member of the community (though the other case was officially prohibited) completely. But black slaves used en masse as farmers in the lower Euphrates (swamp areas) did not have so good conditions.

When the Portuguese came, they used a system Christians had discovered in the Muslim world during the crusades (slavery had virtually disappearead from Western Europe during the IXth century) but they brought that trade to areas that did not always know of slavery before hand (south guinea gulf). But in Senegal or other places they just expanded the market. It is quite sure this led to an increase of tribal wars but these existed before. Less people were concerned then but they were killed whereas they could later have a commercial value and were kept alive. Small African kings sold away some of their own subjects as well (political, economical reasons) because human life had a very low moral value but higher commercial one. The Portuguese took over in the East and sold these slaves to the Muslim and Indian world.
This trade was so lucrative thath the Spanish decided to forbid that trade with their colonies to foreign powers. So this became an aim in negociations with Spain for Portugal, England, ... : the right of "Asiento" or right to do that trade with the Spanish colony.

Quickly the triangle trade drained Western Africa but alltogether the European trade porbably put in slavery much less Black Africans than the Muslim one.

What was really new in the Americas was the growing concept of race. That existed in the Muslim world as well but early contacts had allowed for a certain interpenetration. Blacks in Morrocco or Algeria today are still ill-regarded though. But in the white colonies, the difference was even more striking so allowed even further intolerance. Now, just as everywhere some slaves led quite good lifes (domestic ones mostly) while others led a very tough life in plantations or some early industries (dying,...).

 

[samildanach]

Slavery continues to this day in Africa. :

Correct. Dumb Pothead. It seems to be partially funded by British charitable organisations as well. These idiots go over there and haggle with these Arab slaver scum for the release of their sub-saharan captives. Entire N.African cities still make a nice living out of the slave trade. I think the next target of the war on terror should be these slavers - Britain and America should go over there and give 'em a real pasting.

 

[Knight-Dragon]

Let's not turn this into a present-day politics thread. Pls keep on-topic to the historical issue. Thanks.

 

[samildanach]

No problem XIII Samildanach has been patched up to Samildanach v1.1 by popular demand. You'll be pleased to note that the troublesome "OT Rant" feature that dogged vanilla Samildanach has been disabled. In future we promise simultaneous deliivery of future Samildanach patchs across all CFC forums. However, we will not be addressing the Samildanach Spam interface until the release of Samildanach: Conquests which is due at the end of the year. We are working as hard as we can to bring you the best possible product. Thank You

 

[Al Zan]

Originally posted by sims2789
BTW, the last country to outlaw slavery was Maurtina in 1980.

what the hell!

 

[sabo]

Originally posted by sims2789
BTW, the last country to outlaw slavery was Maurtina in 1980.

Except it's spelled Mauritania, in fact slavery is still going on there even though it's "technically" illegal, the government turns a blind eye to it and there has been no one convicted of slave trading in that country ever, Mauritania is near Morocco.

 

[Mîtiu Ioan]

But no slavery could be as terrifying, as cruel as that of the Africans.

This is just political propaganda b****t.

For e.g. the romanian folklore is full of the description of the horrors and misery of the slavery from the Turkish or Tatars.
BTW - the popular name of the "Milky Way" stars is ... the "The way of slaves" because captives who succeded to escape from slavery use the stars to guide to return home ...

And - even if is not history - aproximately 600.000-700.000 young women for Eastern Europe are estimated to have today the status of "sexual slaves" ...
Something that in many cases, for different reasons, is a "death sentence" ...

Regards