Slavery and Economics

Slavery and Economics

• European and American merchants, shipbuilders, and investors were directly involved in the transatlantic slave trade for over 350 years.
• The transatlantic slave trade treated human beings as commodities with price tags.
• By the early seventeenth century the trade was a sophisticated commercial system hinged on the availability of captives transported to the coast by African traders.
• African captives were sold multiple times and detained for months in markets before encountering European slave ships on the coast.

Risks and Dangers of Slave Voyages

• A slave voyage was a risky financial venture for the owners and investors.
• Bad weather, poor navigation, slave uprisings, and other physical dangers would cause turmoil.
• The desirability and value of particular textile designs and colors varied from month to month and region to region along the African coast.
• Exposure to tropical diseases reduced the European crewmen's numbers on the coast and at sea.
• The loss of captains, surgeons, and experienced sailors was a serious concern for investors.
• Ship captains drafted both experienced and inexperienced sailors.
• Slave ships were dangerous, violent, and disease-ridden.

Profitability and Treatment of Captives

• Despite the risks, slave voyages proved greatly profitable for investors.
• The crew aimed to have as many Africans survive as possible to be sold at the highest price.
• The objective of slavers and investors was to sell the captives for the best prices, not to kill or disable them, but the crew often resorted to violence to control the captives.

Arrival and Sale of Enslaved People

• Sighting land in the Americas provided relief but also uncertainty and fear to those who survived the Middle Passage.
• After the captain landed, survivors were inventoried, fed, scrubbed, and oiled to create a healthier appearance.
• The crew used methods to disguise the physical bruises and wounds to hide ailments and yield the highest prices possible.
• Slave traders sold enslaved people in various ways, including direct sales to merchants, auction blocks, and scramble.
• Some major ports included Port-au-Prince, Bridgetown, or Salvador de Bahia.
• Purchasers raced among the assembled captives in the scramble.

Continued Journey and Impact

• Arrival in the Americas did not end their journey.
• The Caribbean islands were the first landing point before being sent to slave markets in North, South, or Central America.
• African survivors were moved again, often marched deep into mountainous interiors to develop new properties or replace those who died.
• In North America, traders marched Africans over land to be sold in the developing backcountry of the Carolinas.
• Enslaved people experienced loss, terror, and abuse throughout their journey.
• The slave trade was driven by exchange, trade, and profits for Western Europeans and American colonists for nearly four centuries.