Origins of European African Slave Trade

This article explores the origins of the European African slave trade, discussing its motivations and impact on European colonies and plantations. It examines factors such as economic profitability, military dominance, and the growth of plantations that contributed to the rise of the transatlantic slave trade. Find study material and solved assignments on Desklib.

Origins of European African Slave Trade
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Introduction
The European Africa trade started in the 16th century1. There were several motivations
behind the starting and thriving of the trade. It is important to note that slavery existed even
before the start of the European African slave trade. The European African slave trade has is
usually referred to as the transatlantic slave trade. The Portuguese could be attributed to the
start of slave trade. In the late 15th century, Portuguese went to Africa in search for a sea route
to India. It was during their voyage that they came to Northern Africa. Here, the trade was
dominated by the Muslims. The Muslims practiced slavery. They would capture people and
use them as slaves while carrying out their trade. Due to this, the Portuguese soon started
trading for slaves. They would buy slaves from the Muslims and transport them to Portugal to
provide cheap labour. Later, in the 17th century Britain joined and dominated the slave trade2.
Britain had acquired a new colony in America. The colony had plenty of land for farming.
Due to this, the British required a source labour in their plantations. The British could not
efficiently provide labour to the plantations because they demanded high pay. Therefore,
there was need to source for a cheaper source of labour. The indigenous people were not a
good option because they were often prone to diseases3. In addition, Indentured servants from
Britain were too low to meet the labour demand. Therefore, the best option for sourcing
labour remained to be the transatlantic slave trade. The main reason for the start and thriving
of the transatlantic slave trade was the need for cheap labour in European plantations
1. Thomas, Helen. "20 The Slave Narrative." Handbook of Transatlantic North
American Studies 3 (2016): 373.
2. Horne, Gerald. "The United States and The Transatlantic Slave Trade to The
Americas, 1776-1867." Civil War Book Review 19, no. 1 (2017): 27.
3. Marques, Leonardo. The United States and the transatlantic slave trade to the
Americas, 1776-1867. Yale University Press, 2016. 14

A Brief History of the Trade
Slavery is as old as the first large civilizations. Although this is the case, there is a
sense in which the European African slave trade is unique. This trade is referred to as the
transatlantic slave trade. There are several characteristics of the transatlantic slave trade that
make it quite unique from other forms of slave trade practised elsewhere. The first unique
characteristic relates to the magnitude of the trade. Extensive historical research reveals that
about 12.5 Africans were transported from Africa towards the Americas to work as slaves4.
This trade happened between the beginning of the 16th century to 1866. Extensive evidence
reveals that at this time, slave trade was more common in Africa than at any other part of the
world5. The other unique feature of the transatlantic slave trade is that it has a system in place
to capture and supply slaves. In most cases through the historical times, slaves were usually a
by product of wars. Rarely were there armed conflicts with the sole aim of acquiring slaves.
The two aspects illustrated above show that the transatlantic trade was unique when
compared to other forms of slave trade practised throughout history. The main question that
one may ask themselves is what were the origins of this trade. What motivated the Europeans
to carry out slave trade for about four centuries? This is going to be the focus of the following
sections. There must have been certain motivations behind the transatlantic slave trade.
One of the main motivations of the slave trade was its profitability6. It benefited the
Europeans since it provided a cheap source of labour. It also benefited the Muslim sellers for
they could obtain some money from the Europeans as a compensation for providing the
slaves. This explains why the exchange of slaves is referred to as a trade. Africa did not have
great agricultural produce since there was no use of agricultural technology. Europeans on the
4. Davidson, Julia O'Connell. "Rights talk, wrong comparison: trafficking and
transatlantic slavery." Social and Economic Studies 65, no. 4 (2016). 132
5. Kelley, Sean M. "American Rum, African Consumers, and the Transatlantic Slave
Trade." African Economic History 46, no. 2 (2018). 7.
6. Swaminathan, Srividhya. Debating the slave trade: Rhetoric of British national
identity, 1759–1815. Routledge, 2016. 28

other hand, had the ability of producing more yields since they had more advanced
agricultural technology. Due to this, the Europeans always had adequate resources to pay for
the slaves. The economic aspect of the trade seems to be the main motivation behind
participation of both Muslims (sellers) and Europeans (buyers) in transatlantic slave trade.
Therefore, the technological differences between European and African farmers contributed
to the trade.
Military factors played a role in influencing the beginnings of the Europeans African
slave trade7. In the beginnings of the European African slave trade, Spain and Portugal had
the greatest milliarc powers in Europe. This gave them an upper hand when it came to
starting and controlling the slave trade. It is important to note that when the Portuguese first
went to Africa, they were not searching for slaves. Instead, they were searching for gold.
Their interaction with the Muslims inculcated the idea of slave trade. The Muslims dominated
trading in the region and used slaves to accomplish most of their transport endeavours. The
slave trade started between 1600 and 17008. At this time, the slave trade was completely
controlled by Spain and Portugal. As noted above, this is because they had military
dominance. During the 17th century, the military dominance of these two countries was
challenged by European powers from the north9. Due to this, Britain and France had become
significant players in the slave trade. Although this is the case, most of the slaves went to
wither Britain or Portugal. There exists evidence to show that more than 70% of slaves at this
time went to either Portugal or Britain. The military strength of the two countries was
7. Gøbel, Erik. "Transatlantic Slave Trade Shipping." In the Danish Slave Trade and Its
Abolition. BRILL, 2016. 28
8. Drescher, Seymour. "The Atlantic slave trade and the Holocaust: A comparative analysis."
In Is the Holocaust Unique? Routledge, 2018. 105
9. Fenske, James, and Namrata Kala. "1807: Economic shocks, conflict and the slave trade."
Journal of Development Economics 126 (2017): 70.

relatively similar. At this time, various European powers would restrict trade within their
borders in such a way that protected their own traders. When the Europeans conquered the
Americas, there was an increased area for farming. This increased the demand for slaves. In
fact, this expansion only meant that the slave trade would boom even more than before.
European Colonies in West Indies
European colonies in the West Indies also contributed to the beginning of the slave
trade. In the year 1518, the Spanish introduced a licence that was known as Asiento10. This
licence was aimed at regulating the number of slaves that that would be supplied to their
region. Spain would then trade the slaves received to the highest bidder. For instance, Spain
could have ordered for 200 slaves. After these arrived, they would be sold to the highest
bidder. The money that was obtained from the sale would go to the king and queen of Spain.
At this time, the Portuguese were the most dominant group involved in the slave trade. They
were later joined by the Dutch people. In the year 1713, there was a turn around in the slave
trade business. There was a contract that was signed that gave Britain a monopoly over the
slave trade activities11. Therefore, from that time onwards, the British became the main
suppliers of slave in the Spanish colonies. There are certain factors that enabled the British to
dominate in the slave trade. One of these factors was the increasing military strength. The
other main factor was a great increase in the commercial strength of the British.
Growth of Plantations
The European colonies of the new world also contributes to the starting and
increasing of the European Africa slave trade. As the European conquered the Americas,
10. Fenske, James, and Namrata Kala. "Climate and the slave trade." Journal of Development
Economics 112 (2015): 21.
11. Pierce, Lamar, and Jason A. Snyder. "The historical slave trade and firm access to finance
in Africa." The Review of Financial Studies 31, no. 1 (2017). 170.

there was plenty of land for plantations12. This is because the Americas had great land with
fertile soils and tropical climates. At that time, plantation had become a very common way of
advancing economically and socially. In addition to farming, there was also establishment of
factories. Unlike the land estates back in Britain, most land in the Americas was put under the
cultivation of one main crop. The crops that were cultivated mainly included sugarcane,
cotton and tobacco13. The main intention of most farmers was to export the produce to Britain
where there were established factories and industries. In addition to the plants mentioned
above, there was also tobacco. At those times, the large-scale farmers were considered to be
more efficient than the small-scale farmers. The large-scale farmers usually had plantation of
about 80 to 100 hectares14. These plantations were mainly manned by managers who were
employed by the owners. Due to the large-scale nature of the production, there was need for
more labour supply. Due to this, owners of plantations, especially the larger ones turned to
slave trade as their main source of labour. Farming and establishment of plantations greatly
increased in the following years. This provided a great avenue for intensification of the slave
trade. With increased farming and plantations, there would be need for more slaves to supply
the labour required.
The rush to Produce Sugar
When the British settled in the Americas, sugar was one crop that has a very high demand
back in Europe. Due to this, some farmers established large sugarcane plantations in the
Americas. Sugar was considered to be the best sweetener of the time. It was one of the
cheapest and could greatly transform the American diet. The result of the increased sugarcane
production was increased affordability of sugar. In 1600, it is only the rich people who would
12 Teso, Edoardo. "The long-term effect of demographic shocks on the evolution of gender
roles: Evidence from the transatlantic slave trade." Journal of the European Economic
Association 17, no. 2 (2018): 497.
13. Rodney, Walter. How Europe underdeveloped Africa. Verso Trade, 2018. 49
14. Coupland, Reginald. The exploitation of East Africa, 1856-1890: The slave trade and the
scramble. Pickle Partners Publishing, 2017. 24

afford to buy and consume sugar15. A century later, sugar was a delicacy that was enjoyed in
almost every household in Europe. The sugar cane production business seemed to be very
profitable. However, it was very labour intensive. For instance, about 5 tonnes of sugar were
required to produce a single ton of sugar. It follows that the production required great labour
input. Such labour would be provided by people working in harsh conditions. The best
solution that came to such farmers was the slave trade. Therefore, sugarcane plantations were
a significant influence in the rise and thriving of the European Africa slave trade. The slaves
were usually mistreated and could work in harsh conditions.
Cheap Labour
The aim of every business or trading activity is to ensure that profits are maximized16. The
owners of plantation in the Americas wanted knew that if they used low cost on labour, then
the profits would proliferate. Therefore, this was one of the main causes of the slave trade.
The African slaves provided a solution to the question of cheap labour. As a result, the
transatlantic slave trade was developed. The planters seemed to have insatiable thirst for
profits. Due to this, the planters greatly expanded their plantations and continued asking for
more and more slaves. The slaves were harshly treated to the extent that a significant number
of them would die while working17. To replace the number, the planters would ask for more
slaves. The slaves were denied the rights to reproduce and have offspring. This meant that the
slaves could not bear children. Therefore, the only source of slaves for the cheap labour was
Africa. The peak season for sugar production happened in the year 177518. There are three
15 Ewald, Janet J. "Slavery in Africa and the Slave Trades from Africa." In the Atlantic Slave
Trade. Routledge, 2017. 121
16 Bruck, Alex, David Eltis, and David Wheat. "Atlantic history and the slave trade to
Spanish America." The American Historical Review 120, no. 2 (2015). 444.
17. Friedman, Saul. Jews and the American slave trade. Routledge, 2017. 14
18. Salvadore, Matteo. "Afro-European trade in the Atlantic World: The Western Slave Coast
c1550-c1885." African Affairs 116, no. 462 (2017). 159.

islands that were part of this peak. These were St Dominique, Cuba ad Jamaica. Due to this,
the number of slaves that were being imported from Africa greatly increased. The demands of
slaves grew so high in these areas that they even posed a challenge to Brazil
Shortage of Labour
Shortage of labour was without doubt one of the greatest drivers of the slave trade. The
British had just moved to the Americas. This meant that the population of the British in the
Americas was very low. Therefore, the only option that the planters were left with is to
enslave the indigenous people. There were several challenges that were associated with
enslaving the indigenous people. One was that the indigenous people could not meet the
number required to work in the newly established colonies. The mortality rates among the
indigenous people were also very high19. There are possible explanations for the high
mortality rate. One was lack of immunity to diseases that came with the Europeans. An
example of such a disease is the small pox. The second reason was the harsh treatment by the
British who were abducting them. Any indigenous person who refused to work in the
plantations wold most likely be killed. The harsh conditions of slavery also made slaves die
in the process of working. Due to these factors, these was great need for labour from outside
the Americas. The transatlantic slave trade came in handy to provide slaves to work in these
plantations. Therefore, shortage of labour in the colonies that the Europeans had established
in the Americas led to the start and thriving of the transatlantic slave trade. There also lacked
alternative sources of labour. There was so much land that became available with the
establishment of the New Americas colony. The British workers required a high pay in order
to work on the plantations20. Since most of the planters could not have to pay the British
workers high wages, there was a tendency for workers to leave their jobs to start
19. Getz, Trevor R. African voices of the global past: 1500 to the present. Routledge, 2018.
28
20 Imoagene, Oshomha. "Some sociological aspects of modern migration in Western Africa."
In Modern migrations in western Africa. Routledge, 2018. 344

their own farms. Therefore, this led to a situation where other sources of labour became
extremely necessary. The transatlantic slave trade was the best solution to this problem.
Paying British workers high wages could have resulted in low profits or even loses.
Therefore, the most effective way of dealing with the situation was to obtain slaves from
Africa. There were also British indentured servants. This referred to the poor people in the
British colonies. These poor people would go the Americas from Britain to work in the
plantations in return for food. Masters would pay the air ticket for the indentured servants. On
arrival, these servants would work for the masters for a certain period of time to pay the
master for the air ticket. It is the master who would decide the period of time that the servant
could work. The only compensation for the servants would be food. The number of
indentured servants too few. This added to the problem of labour. The planters therefore
resulted to slave trade as the main source of cheap labour.
Conclusion
There were many factors that influenced the rise and the thriving of the European Africa
slave trade. The origins of this trade were motivated by several factors, the main one being
the establishment of a new colony by the British in America. Slave trade had existed in
Africa long before, the Portuguese visited Africa. This was mainly operated by the Muslims
in West Africa. Although, the main motivation of the visit of the Portuguese to Africa was
not slaves but gold, they found out that slave trade would be a great way to supply their home
countries with cheap labour. Military strength influenced who dominated the trade.
Therefore, Portugal and Spain were the main players when the trade started. Later in the 18th
century, the British dominated the trade and outweighed most of the other players. There
were certain reasons why the British wanted to have as many slaves as possible. One of these
was that they were a source cheap of labour. This would help in maximization of profits.

Another reason for proliferating of the slave trade was that the immense increase in sugar
production. Shortage of British labour also contributed to the need for labour from elsewhere.
An attempt to make the indigenous people terribly failed. This was because to the high death
rate that was observed among the indigenous populations. Therefore, the only other option
that remained for the British farmers was to obtained slaves from Africa to work in the
plantations.

References
Bruck, Alex, David Eltis, and David Wheat. "Atlantic history and the slave trade to Spanish
America." The American Historical Review 120, no. 2 (2015): 433-461.
Coupland, Reginald. The exploitation of East Africa, 1856-1890: The slave trade and the
scramble. Pickle Partners Publishing, 2017.
Davidson, Julia O'Connell. "Rights talk, wrong comparison: trafficking and transatlantic
slavery." Social and Economic Studies 65, no. 4 (2016): 109-152.
Drescher, Seymour. "The Atlantic slave trade and the Holocaust: A comparative analysis." In
Is the Holocaust Unique? pp. 103-123. Routledge, 2018.
Ewald, Janet J. "Slavery in Africa and the Slave Trades from Africa." In the Atlantic Slave
Trade, pp. 119-139. Routledge, 2017.
Fenske, James, and Namrata Kala. "1807: Economic shocks, conflict and the slave trade."
Journal of Development Economics 126 (2017): 66-76.
Fenske, James, and Namrata Kala. "Climate and the slave trade." Journal of Development
Economics 112 (2015): 19-32.
Friedman, Saul. Jews and the American slave trade. Routledge, 2017.
Getz, Trevor R. African voices of the global past: 1500 to the present. Routledge, 2018.
Gøbel, Erik. "Transatlantic Slave Trade Shipping." In the Danish Slave Trade and Its
Abolition, pp. 24-50. BRILL, 2016.
Horne, Gerald. "The United States and The Transatlantic Slave Trade to The Americas, 1776-
1867." Civil War Book Review 19, no. 1 (2017): 27.

Imoagene, Oshomha. "Some sociological aspects of modern migration in Western Africa." In
Modern migrations in western Africa, pp. 343-357. Routledge, 2018.
Kelley, Sean M. "American Rum, African Consumers, and the Transatlantic Slave Trade."
African Economic History 46, no. 2 (2018): 1-29.
Marques, Leonardo. The United States and the transatlantic slave trade to the Americas,
1776-1867. Yale University Press, 2016.
Pierce, Lamar, and Jason A. Snyder. "The historical slave trade and firm access to finance in
Africa." The Review of Financial Studies 31, no. 1 (2017): 142-174.
Rodney, Walter. How Europe underdeveloped Africa. Verso Trade, 2018.
Salvadore, Matteo. "Afro-European trade in the Atlantic World: The Western Slave Coast
c1550-c1885." African Affairs 116, no. 462 (2017): 158-160.
Swaminathan, Srividhya. Debating the slave trade: Rhetoric of British national identity,
1759–1815. Routledge, 2016.
Teso, Edoardo. "The long-term effect of demographic shocks on the evolution of gender
roles: Evidence from the transatlantic slave trade." Journal of the European Economic
Association 17, no. 2 (2018): 497-534.
Thomas, Helen. "20 The Slave Narrative." Handbook of Transatlantic North American
Studies 3 (2016): 373.