Impact of Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade on Ghana

Running head: SOCIOLOGY
SOCIOLOGY
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1SOCIOLOGY
Introduction
By the concluding phase of the 16th Century, majority of ethnic groupings representing
the contemporary the current Ghanaian populace had developed in their current locations.
Vossen found certain archaeological remnants found in the coastal region illustrated that the area
has been occupied since the early on Bronze Age i.e. ca. 4000 BC although chiefly cultures
based on fishing in the wide range of waterways which left instances. According to Barner et al.
Ghana eventually succumbed to attacks but its neighbours in the 11th century however had
significantly sustained its identity and recognition. As the studies of Vossen, in late 1950’s when
chiefs of the past British colony belonging to the Gold coast wanted a suitable name for the
lately developed self-governing state, the first black African homeland in order to acquire
autonomy from the colonial law they named the newly emerged nation after ancient
Ghana(Boddy-Evans). The following paper will analyse the way preference was immensely
symbolic as contemporary Ghana similar to its namesake had been equally famed because of its
economic affluence and business in gold. Additionally, the paper will focus on the extent to
which depopulation and fractured familial relations inherited in the slave trade affected Ghana.
Discussion
Studies of Vossen revealed that during the peak of the early European rivalry, slavery
was perceived as a form of social foundation in addition to the slave trade eventually surpassed
all other marketable actions carried out on the West African coastline. Austin, Gareth and
Broadberry at this juncture, claimed that in order to gain certainty, slave along with slave trading
had been previously deep-rooted in several African societies with women confined in local
warfare turned into slaves. Pruitt, through a generalized understanding stated that though slaves
in the African communities had been typically treated as subordinate or low-ranking members of

2SOCIOLOGY
the society with certain authorities and rights and several had been in due course absorbed into
families of their chiefs as full members. However, Pierce, Lamar and Snyder claimed that
considering conventional methods of agricultural production in Africa, the process of slave trade
in African had reflected divergences from the processes which had its significance in the
marketable agricultural estate environments of the New World.
Moreover, a different crucial facet of the affect of the trans-Atlantic slave traffic on
Africa had greatly created certain areas of concerns related to the responsibility and function of
African chiefs, Muslim merchants along with merchant princes in the trade. According to
Boddy-Evans, the volume of the slave trade existed in regions of West African emerged at a
rapid pace from its origin around 1500 to its high point during the eighteenth century. Austin,
Gareth and Broadberry estimated that an approximate 6.4 million slaves had been transported
from regions of West Africa to North America as well as South America, around 4.6 million of
that figure between 1701 and 1810. Significantly, the demographic force of the slave traffic on
West Africa had considerably observed to be more significant in comparison to the number
which had been essentially enslaved due to the significant number of Africans which perished
during slaving raids or during in captivation which awaited transhipment (Pruitt). According to
Pierce, Lamar and Snyder, all countries exhibiting greater degree of inclination in West Africa
got involved in the process of slave trade. Furthermore, linkages between the Europeans and the
local inhabitants typically encountered high level of tensions and suspect which resulted to the
frequent conflicts. Further to this, certain forms of illnesses had eventually caused high level of
losses among the Europeans who had been engaged in the process of slave trade however the
incomes received from the operation of slave trade successfully continued to magnetize those
individuals.