The Atlantic slave trade: What too few textbooks told you - Anthony Hazard
-
0:07 - 0:12Slavery, the treatment of human beings
as property, deprived of personal rights -
0:12 - 0:14has occurred in many forms
throughout the world. -
0:14 - 0:20Bue one institution stands out for both
its global scale and its lasting legacy. -
0:20 - 0:22The Atlantic Slave Trade,
-
0:22 - 0:26occurring from the late 15th
to the mid 19th century, -
0:26 - 0:27and spanning three continents,
-
0:27 - 0:32forcibly brought more than 10 million
Africans to the Americas. -
0:32 - 0:35The impact it would leave affected
not only these slaves -
0:35 - 0:37and their descendants,
-
0:37 - 0:41but the economies and histories
of large parts of the world. -
0:41 - 0:44There had been centuries of contact
between Europe and Africa -
0:44 - 0:46via the Mediterranean.
-
0:46 - 0:49But the Atlantic Slave Trade
began in the late 1400s -
0:49 - 0:52with Portuguese colonies in West Africa,
-
0:52 - 0:55and Spanish settlement
of the Americas shortly after. -
0:55 - 1:00The crops grown in the new colonies,
sugar cane, tobacco, and cotton, -
1:00 - 1:01were labor intensive,
-
1:01 - 1:04and there were not enough settlers
or indentured servants -
1:04 - 1:06to cultivate all the new land.
-
1:06 - 1:11American Natives were enslaved,
but many died from new diseases, -
1:11 - 1:13while others effectively resisted.
-
1:13 - 1:16And so to meet the massive
demand for labor, -
1:16 - 1:18the Europeans looked to Africa.
-
1:18 - 1:22African slavery had existed
for centuries in various forms. -
1:22 - 1:24Some slaves were indentured servants,
-
1:24 - 1:27with a limited term
and the chance to buy one's freedom. -
1:27 - 1:30Others were more like European serfs.
-
1:30 - 1:33In some societies, slaves could
be part of a master's family, -
1:33 - 1:37own land, and even rise
to positions of power. -
1:37 - 1:40But when white captains came offering
manufactured goods, -
1:40 - 1:42weapons, and rum for slaves,
-
1:42 - 1:46African kings and merchants
had little reason to hesitate. -
1:46 - 1:51They viewed the people they sold
not as fellow Africans, -
1:51 - 1:56but criminals, debtors,
or prisoners of war from rival tribes. -
1:56 - 1:59By selling them, kings enriched
their own realms, -
1:59 - 2:02and strengthened them
against neighboring enemies. -
2:02 - 2:05African kingdoms prospered
from the slave trade, -
2:05 - 2:09but meeting the European's massive demand
created intense competition. -
2:09 - 2:12Slavery replaced other criminal sentences,
-
2:12 - 2:15and capturing slaves
became a motivation for war, -
2:15 - 2:17rather than its result.
-
2:17 - 2:19To defend themselves from slave raids,
-
2:19 - 2:22neighboring kingdoms
need European firearms, -
2:22 - 2:25which they also bought with slaves.
-
2:25 - 2:27The slave trade had become an arms race,
-
2:27 - 2:31altering societies and economies
across the continent. -
2:31 - 2:35As for the slaves themselves,
they faced unimaginable brutality. -
2:35 - 2:38After being marched
to slave forts on the coast, -
2:38 - 2:41shaved to prevent lice, and branded,
-
2:41 - 2:44they were loaded onto ships
bound for the Americas. -
2:44 - 2:48About 20% of them
would never see land again. -
2:48 - 2:51Most captains of the day
were tight packers, -
2:51 - 2:54cramming as many men
as possible below deck. -
2:54 - 2:58While the lack of sanitation
caused many to die of disease, -
2:58 - 3:00and others were thrown
overboard for being sick, -
3:00 - 3:02or as discipline,
-
3:02 - 3:06the captain's ensured their profits
by cutting off slave's ears -
3:06 - 3:08as proof of purchase.
-
3:08 - 3:11Some captives took matters
into their own hands. -
3:11 - 3:15Many inland Africans
had never seen whites before, -
3:15 - 3:17and thought them to be cannibals,
-
3:17 - 3:20constantly taking people away
and returning for more. -
3:20 - 3:24Afraid of being eaten,
or just to avoid further suffering, -
3:24 - 3:27they committed suicide
or starved themselves, -
3:27 - 3:31believing that in death,
their souls would return home. -
3:31 - 3:34Those who survived
were completley dehumanized, -
3:34 - 3:36treated as mere cargo.
-
3:36 - 3:40Women and children were kept above deck,
and abused by the crew, -
3:40 - 3:42while the men were made to perform dances
-
3:42 - 3:47in order to keep them exercised
and curb rebellion. -
3:47 - 3:50What happened to those Africans
who reached the New World -
3:50 - 3:53and how the legacy of slavery
still affects their descendants today -
3:53 - 3:55is fairly well known.
-
3:55 - 3:56But what is not often discussed
-
3:56 - 4:01is the effect that the Atlantic
Slave Trade had on Africa's future. -
4:01 - 4:05Not only did the continent lose tens
of millions of its able-bodied population, -
4:05 - 4:09but because most of the slaves
taken were men, -
4:09 - 4:12the long-term demographic
effect was even greater. -
4:12 - 4:16When the slave trade was finally
outlawed in the Americas and Europe, -
4:16 - 4:20the African kingdoms whose economies
it had come to dominate collapsed, -
4:20 - 4:24leaving them open
to conquest and colonization. -
4:24 - 4:27And the increased competition
and influx of European weapons -
4:27 - 4:32fueled warfare and instability
that continues to this day. -
4:32 - 4:36The Atlantic Slave Trade also contributed
to the development of racist ideology. -
4:36 - 4:40Most African slavery had no deeper reason
than legal punishment -
4:40 - 4:42or intertribal warfare,
-
4:42 - 4:45but the Europeans
who preached a universal religion, -
4:45 - 4:49and who had long ago
outlawed enslaving fellow Christians, -
4:49 - 4:51needed justification for a practice
-
4:51 - 4:55so obviously at odds
with their ideals of equality. -
4:55 - 4:59So they claimed that
Africans were biologically inferior, -
4:59 - 5:01and destined to be slaves,
-
5:01 - 5:03making great efforts
to justify this theory. -
5:03 - 5:07Thus, slavery in Europe and the Americas
acquired a racial basis, -
5:07 - 5:10making it impossible for slaves
and their future descendants -
5:10 - 5:14to attain equal status in society.
-
5:14 - 5:15In all of these ways,
-
5:15 - 5:19the Atlantic Slave Trade
was an injustice on a massive scale -
5:19 - 5:22whose impact has continued
long after its abolition.
- Title:
- The Atlantic slave trade: What too few textbooks told you - Anthony Hazard
- Speaker:
- Anthony Hazard
- Description:
-
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-atlantic-slave-trade-what-your-textbook-never-told-you-anthony-hazard
Slavery has occurred in many forms throughout the world, but the Atlantic slave trade -- which forcibly brought more than 10 million Africans to the Americas -- stands out for both its global scale and its lasting legacy. Anthony Hazard discusses the historical, economic and personal impact of this massive historical injustice.
Lesson by Anthony Hazard, animation by NEIGHBOR.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
closed TED
- Project:
- TED-Ed
- Duration:
- 05:39
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Jessica Ruby edited English subtitles for The Atlantic slave trade: What too few textbooks told you | |
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Jessica Ruby edited English subtitles for The Atlantic slave trade: What too few textbooks told you | |
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Jessica Ruby edited English subtitles for The Atlantic slave trade: What too few textbooks told you | |
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Jessica Ruby approved English subtitles for The Atlantic slave trade: What too few textbooks told you | |
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Jessica Ruby edited English subtitles for The Atlantic slave trade: What too few textbooks told you | |
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Jessica Ruby edited English subtitles for The Atlantic slave trade: What too few textbooks told you | |
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Jessica Ruby accepted English subtitles for The Atlantic slave trade: What too few textbooks told you |