The Business of Slave Trading

Running head: THE BUSINESS OF SLAVE TRADING 1
The business of slave trading
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THE BUSINESS OF SLAVE TRADING 2
Critical response
What is the main problem the author addresses?
From reading the article, I think it is termed as the business of slave trading; the author
addresses slavery and trade conducted in some parts of Africa by the French, English, and Dutch.
Based on what I have understood about the article, the author expounds more on how slaves
were captured from African countries and shipped to assist in the building of new world
settlements. The author further states how European countries signed treaties that allowed the
trading of the captured slaves (Swaminathan, pp.19). An example of such treaties is the "Treaty
of Tordesillas, which was an agreement between Portugal and Spain."
What is the author's purpose in writing this article?
According my understanding of the article, the principal author's aim in writing this
article is to try to explain how the slave trade was carried out by different European countries,
which included the French, Portuguese and Dutch among author. Besides that, the author tries to
explain how some Africans, and the Europeans, benefitted from this kind of trade. The author
attempts to bring the idea of slavery and how it impacted the life of Africans and some European
countries.
What is author's thesis?
In this article, the author is trying to prove why different European nations participated in
the slave trade. The author is also trying to bring out why European powers such as the English,
Dutch and French rushed to claim territories in America as well in joining their predecessors,
both the Spanish and the Portuguese, in the slave trade (Swaminathan, pp.17). This is the main
point and thematic concern of the author of this article. It is focused on various mechanisms used
by the European countries in carrying out their slave trade. The interaction between the powerful