The Slave Trade: A Look at Triangular Trade and Slave Experiences

This essay delves into the historical context of the slave trade, specifically examining the triangular trade route and the experiences of enslaved Africans in the New World. The essay begins by introducing slavery as a system of exploitation, tracing its evolution from the emergence of private property to the transatlantic slave trade. It then focuses on the triangular trade, detailing the routes that connected Europe, West Africa, and the Americas, and the exchange of goods and people that characterized this system. The essay further explores the lives of slaves in the New World, highlighting their treatment as commodities, the denial of their rights, and the inhumane conditions they were subjected to. The conclusion underscores the deplorable situation of slaves, emphasizing their involuntary servitude and the roles played by both colonizers and fellow Africans in perpetuating the slave trade.

Running head: THE SLAVE TRADE
THE SLAVE TRADE
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Author Note

1THE SLAVE TRADE
Introduction
Slavery as a system of exploitation has existed ever since the concept of private property
had emerged ever since the discovery of private property and the emergence of the concept of
profit and loss. During the days of communal ownership as per the views of Marx, the system of
slavery was unknown to the human beings. Over time with the development of the trade and
commerce and the discovery of the newer trade routes and nations, than the system of slavery
had taken a paradigmatic shift and had been manifested in form of the enslavement of the
African negroes in the New World (Wolf 2010). In this particular essay the discussion shall be
focusing on the Triangular Trade and the life of a slave in the New World.
Body
Triangular Trade
The white imperialists of Europe and America had first ventured as traders and then had
risen to the position of being colonizers or slave masters. Situational analysis of the nations to be
colonized in the African continent from where maximum amount of slaves were traded into the
North American continent through Europe, was first undertaken before colonizing them. The
Triangular Trade Route had been discovered in the 16th century consisting of the port of Europe,
West Africa and the Eastern part of the North American continent which was the New World.
The European products were traded into Africa against slaves and the slaves were then
transported into the New World. This was how the trade of slaves had take place through the
three continents (Wolf 2010).
Life of a slave in the New World
The American continent was colonized by the Europeans and the native Indians and
consequentially they were marginalized. The Europeans who settled in the American continent
had faced the need of a supply of man power at a cheap rate for the purpose of carrying out
extensive farming and also for serving the lordly white people who had wealth at their behest.
For slaves the African negroes were more preferred compared to the Red Indians as they were
responsible and reliable. The Africans could be turned into slaves by three means, by means of

2THE SLAVE TRADE
settling debts, as a penalty for the crimes committed and as a result of being defeated in the war
or battles. These three conditions made the Africans the pawns to the slave trade and both the
Europeans and the Africans were involved in turning the negroes to slaves. The slaves in the new
World had no autonomy and were treated as commodities rather than human beings whose
offsprings too were considered to be slaves by the American masters. The slaves were deprived
of all their rights and were made to work under inhumane conditions without rest and even
payment (Wolf 2010).
Conclusion
Thus the situation of the slaves in the New World were indeed quite deplorable and they
were slaves against their will who had fallen prey to the vicious circle of colonization and also
betrayal from people belonging to their own kind.

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Reference
Wolf, E.R., 2010. Europe and the People without History. Univ of California Press.