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The African slave trade is a complex issue in American history, largely responsible for the millions African-American descendants of slaves comprising the modern American society.

Introduction of the African Slave Trade

It is important for the understanding of African-Americans in terms of the race concept, which is a social construct that has no scientific backing, but is imminent in the functioning of society, dividing people by the characteristics of their skin color as well as their ethnic heritage. Race evaluates people at two opposite poles of black and white, fitting the others in between with moderate or negligible significance. It was a contributing factor in the African slave trade, as the expansion and progress of Europe saw black people inferior or less human as compared to their lighter-skinned and white counterparts. The trade sought to provide the new world, Europe and its colonies, with cheap labor for their agricultural and industrial advancements. The African slave trade is a stain of human history that had significant contributions to the world in terms of culture, economy, and societal conflicts.

The Cultural Impact of the African Slave Trade

The slave trade has impacted the world through the spread of cultures across continents through the vast interaction between people from different regions. According to Michael Gomez (32), the slave trade in Africa began way before the prominent one in the new world, from the ancient world through to the seventeenth century to Arabia. The interaction of the Arabs with Africans, during their conquests and slave trade dealings, led to the spread of Islam beyond North Africa. Gomez (62) further argues that the African slave trade involving the Europeans led to the interaction between Africans and the Bible. The early European visitors to Africa, such as Vasco da Gama in 1548 in East Africa, were in attempts to eliminate the Arab middlemen in the slave trade, opening Africa to Christianity and the Bible concept. Although the slave merchants did not intend to spread Christianity, their endeavors in Africa opened the continent for the cultural practices Africans borrowed from (Gomez 25), giving birth to some of today’s African culture composition.

Furthermore, the slave trade saw the spread of the African culture in African diaspora in America, especially in the Caribbean. Before they were whisked and enslaved in the new world, Africans had history and cultural practices that influenced the American art, poetry, and music. Gomez notes that Africa, through Egypt, Nubia, and Ethiopia, was a leader in ancient civilization (12). For instance, it is evident through the borrowed Egyptian worship of Isis in southern Europe (Gomez 16). Even more examples of cultural influence are evident in the current and past American cultural practices, as in the fact that during enslavement, Africans in the Caribbean were allowed individual small land, to farm for food and in case of surplus (Gomez 93). Women would sell in local markets, which was a borrowed practice from Africa where women dominate farm produce markets, as a source of livelihood. Another example entails different from American unique religions in the Caribbean. In the current world, the Caribbean witnesses religious practices that are not purely European, Native-American or African. Instead, they are hybrids giving rise to religions that acknowledge monotheism, spirits, and supernatural or psychic powers. Therefore, deriving the slaves from their land and cultural ancestry did not ruin their cultural linkages. Instead, new practices made an impact on them, giving birth to hybrid cultures that are neither African nor European.

The African Slave Trade Contribution to the Economy

Africans made undeniable contributions to the world economic development resulting from the slave trade. Its reason was to provide Europe, its colonies, and the new world with cheap labor for the plantations, as well as manufacturing facilities. When the Europeans came across sugar and sugarcane plantations through their interactions with the Arabs, they made their colonies in Cyprus, Sicily, and Crete, and solicited slaves to provide labor to the plantations and sugar factories (Gomez 61). The sugar plantations were introduced to the West Indies colonies, demanding similar labor conditions, necessitating the expansion of enslavement into the Caribbean. The colonies exported sugar to their colonizers, Britain, France, and Spain, to the point where France was exporting sixty-five percent of the world sugar, produced from its West Indies colonies (Gomez 92). In addition, the slave trade expanded into North America for cotton farming and ports construction. Gomez argues that seventy percent of cotton grown in South American was for the British textile industry (105). What is more, Britain financed its empire through that same industry. This cotton was grown through the suffering of the enslaved Africans, making economic contributions, not just in America where they were enslaved, but across the continent in Britain.

He further contends that the resources resulting from African slave trade benefited the American economy directly, by providing labor for the constructions of ports, and indirectly, through resultant money. It is also the case with the construction and facilitation of three academic giants, Brown University, Harvard and Yale, whose founders, constructors or funders were slave trade merchants (Gomez 105). Hence, America, and by a large extent Europe, experienced drastic economic benefits from the African slave trade, although the Africans paid for them with their blood.

Consequences of the Slave Trade in Contemporary Society

The African slave trade left lingering social conflict evident in today’s society through discrimination. In the ancient world, society did not consider the black skin color as an indication of inferiority, but considered human beings as equals (Gomez 10). It is during the slave trade that Europeans deemed Africans as less human that has become an everlasting plague society has been unable to overcome. Despite Code Noir for French colonies and Siete Partidas for Spanish colonies aiming at protecting slaves, enslaved Africans were mistreated in the Caribbean as well as in North America (Gomez 98). While, enslavement saw better treatment for persons of mixed ancestry (African mother and white slaveholder father), as they had higher chances of being freed, they were still mistreated by the whites (Gomez 91). From the slave trade, America witnessed the birth of three human race-based classes, blacks as the lowest, mixed ancestry in the middle and whites as the highest. The blacks were not entitled to human rights while mixed ancestry had some but still could not vote or own property or money beyond certain measures. These classifications still affect the society today, as black discrimination, although considerably less is still to witness. Some whites, regardless of financial status have not eliminated the concept of color superiority and inferiority in society, making co-existence and equality difficult.

Conclusion

In conclusion, while the African slave trade surely stains human history owing to the inhumane treatment of the enslaved individuals and consequential social conflict, it undoubtedly remarkably contributed to the world’s cultural diversity and economic development. The question of ace is still a sensitive issue in the current world, where racial discrimination continues to plague multi-ethnic societies. Through the slave trade, America and Europe experienced agricultural and economic growth due to the highly available cheap labor. The trade also saw the spread and further unique development of cultures. Despite the visible advantages of it, the stain that the African slave trade has left on human history is impossible to eradicate, and it will continue to color and discolor the present and the future of humanity.