Extended Essay Draft in History

Slave Trade and the Economies of West Africa

Amanda Batts

The Effect of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade of the Economic

Stagnation of West Africa
Amanda
Extended Essay in History

To what extent did the Trans-Atlantic slave trade damage the economies of West
Africa in the centuries following?

Word count: 2,805

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 Extended Essay Draft in History
Slave Trade and the Economies of West Africa
Amanda Batts

Table of Contents:

Table of
Contents………………………………………………………………………………………….…
……………………..2

Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………
….……….………….……..……..3

1. Origins of
Slavery…………………………………………………………………………….………………
…….….………..4

1.1 Pre-European
Slavery………………………………………………………………………………….….…….4

1.2 Trans-Atlantic
Slavery…………………………………………………………………….………….….………6

2. Fear in
Africa………………………………………………………………………………………………
………..………..…..7

3. African Kingdoms and Division of Regional

Control…..……………………….………………………….…..9

4.
Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………10

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 Extended Essay Draft in History
Slave Trade and the Economies of West Africa
Amanda Batts

Introduction

The mid-1400’s marked the beginning of the largest long-distance forced movement of
people in the history of man (Eltis). The people being moved were West Africans, and they were
forced into slavery and shipped across the Atlantic Ocean to work in the Americas. The people
forcing them were Europeans. This enslavement drastically changed the economies of West
African countries.

Slavery dates back to the establishment of civilization (Gascoigne). It was even being
practiced inside Africa before the European’s arrival, but not nearly to the extent. In the
Trans-Atlantic slave trade’s peak in the mid-1700’s, about 60,000 slaves were being exported to
the New World each year (Simkin). With these numbers, the rapid depopulation of West African
regions completely changed their societies, politics, and economies.

The new institution of slavery established a new concentration for the economy. This
completely changed the goals of the common man in Africa. He was threatened by the
possibility of becoming a slave, and getting shipped to America. People’s insecurities grew and

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Slave Trade and the Economies of West Africa
Amanda Batts

massive panic spread throughout the region. This disrupted the development of economies
since people were emigrating from cities and waging wars on their former neighbors.

The history of the African slave trade is one of extreme horror, but it is still a historical
event and can therefore be analyzed and explained. In order to study this, one must go to the
origins of slavery in Africa and also analyze the economies of West Africa before, during, and
after the establishment of slavery. An investigation of this topic is interesting and useful. One
can search for the causes behind the slavery and investigate its implications for the later failure
of the local economies in order to find solutions to the problem economies as well as help other
nations struggling with the same economic situation.

Even though slavery existed in Africa before the Europeans established the Trans-Atlantic
slave trade, there is no doubt that the new European institution of slavery changed the
economies of West Africa for the worst. Even after slavery was made illegal, its legacy still
existed, so it was difficult for Africa to transcend its detrimental effects on its economies.
Therefore the research in this paper will prove that the legacy of slavery, to a great extent,
caused the broad economic stagnation in West Africa.

1. Origins of Slavery in Africa

To establish the importance of slavery in Africa as a main factor to the decadence of the
West African economies, the investigation will first examine the origins of slavery in Africa. It is
important that when one researches how slavery affected West African economies, he or she
investigates why it started in the first place.
There exist multiple theories that explain the origin of African slavery, so the
investigation will analyze all reports that will potentially help find an answer to the question
posed.

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Slave Trade and the Economies of West Africa
Amanda Batts

1.1 Pre-European Slavery

It is disputed whether slavery existed or not in Africa before the Europeans established
it in its west coast, although there is a countless amount of evidence which supports the
argument for its existence before the Europeans landed in Africa (Dodson).

The evidence shows that before the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, there existed the
Trans-Saharan slave trade, which was the first external one established in Africa. The Arabs
established this trade route and it became prominent in northern Africa from around 650 AD to
1900 AD. The slaves who went through this trade route were assimilated into North Africa and
frequently intermarried with the people above them in class (autoww.colorado.edu). This shows
how this institution was much more benign than the European version, because they were used
more as laborers instead of servants like in the Americas.

The Trans-Saharan slave trade did not revolutionize the economies of northern and
western Africa because its trade of mainly gold, salt, and spices already existed (Robert). The
addition of slavery to the list of goods bartered in that region did not have nearly as profound
an effect on African economies as did the Trans-Atlantic slave trade did.
Before the Arabs, Europeans, or any other foreign power established a slave trade in
Africa, Africans already practiced slavery (Eltis). In early Africa, some peoples practiced a version
of slavery called pawnship, which was a form of debt bondage in which a debtor would work to
pay off his creditor. It had strong social ties and was a common practice before the Europeans
came (Eltis). It did not significantly impact the economy since it was considered to be a social
contract rather than an economic one. Another type of slavery was serfdom, which was
practiced by the Zulu in the early 1800’s (About.com). In serfdom, the tenant farmers were
bound to a section of land and were thus under control of a landlord (Britannica). The farmers
had to follow the rules that the landlord sets, much like the medieval serfs in Europe. This form
was not widely practiced and therefore the economy did not see much change because of it.
The pre-European forms of slavery did not significantly impact the economies of western
Africa. The different forms were practiced in small localities, and so did not affect the entire

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Slave Trade and the Economies of West Africa
Amanda Batts

quarter of the continent as did the European establishment of slavery.

There are two main competing views of the causes of the failure of the economies of
western Africa. One is Afro-centric and the other Euro-centric (about.com). The Afro-centric
theory tries to look at history through the “black man’s” perspective by viewing slavery in Africa
as something that happened not because Africans were inferior but because they were
conquered and oppressed by foreigners. Some radical Afrocentrists completely reject the
Euro-centric theory and ascribes Africa’s failed economies completely to the white man’s greed
and oppression over the black man and their belief that Europeans are black’s superiors. The
Euro-centric view on African slavery is that Africans are inferior to Europeans and so they are
meant to be slaves. Over the past century, the majority of the world’s view has switched from
Euro-centric to Afro-centric (About.com).

1.2 Trans-Atlantic Slavery

The Trans-Atlantic slave trade was the European shipment of millions of slaves from West
Africa to the New World. It began in the early 14th century when Portuguese sailors were
searching for fabled gold in West Africa. After their unsuccessful mission, they resorted to use
slaves instead. They believed that the native Africans were inferior to them, and thus proceeded
to enslave the ones inhabiting the western coast of Africa, where they landed
(www.ghanaweb.com).
Many European nations were expanding their empires to all corners of the globe, but
they lacked one major resource: laborers. They first tried to solve their problem locally, but
Europeans found it difficult to conquer other European nations. Some argue that they also
didn’t want to use other Europeans as slaves because they believed they were equal to them
(Dodson).
When Europe discovered the New World and established its colonies, it needed even
more workers. This created an even larger discrepancy between the amount of workers needed
and the amount of workers available. Europe tried to fill the void as much as possible by
shipping convicts to the New World, but like the other European nations, they suffered an

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extreme decline in population from the Black Plague (Eltis).

The Europeans then tried to use the Native Americans as laborers, and did for a long
period of time, but directly preceding their arrival to the New World, they started dying.
Ninety-five percent of the Native Americans died from diseases brought by the Europeans
(Cook). The decline in population of the natives and Europeans put the Europeans in an even
more extreme need of workers.
The arrival of the Portuguese on the shores of Africa was perfect timing to solve the
problem of the worker shortage. It was the most economic solution to use Africans as slaves
and it fit the racial prejudice of the time as well. The dire need for laborers and the timely
introduction of Africans to Europe proved most fatal to West Africans and their economies, and
is the reason the slave trade lasted for such a long time.
The Trans-Atlantic slave trade route was also known as the Middle Passage, which
completed the second leg of the Triangular Trade. The Triangular Trade started with the
Europeans trading goods such as cloth, cowrie shells, and guns to Africa. Then the slaves would
be transported from Africa to the Americas, and from there, the cotton, sugar, tobacco and rum
from the plantations that the slaves worked on would be shipped back to Europe (Gascoigne).
The form of slavery practice most often in the Trans-Atlantic slave trade was chattel
slavery. In this form, the slave is property and can therefore be traded as such (Gascoigne). It
gives the slave no legal rights, and lets the owners treat their slaves in whatever manner they
choose. The other form practiced was forced labor, which was common in King Leopold’s Congo
Free State and the Portuguese plantations of Cape Verde and San Tome. This was, to an extent,
an even worst practice because it was outside of the law, and the slaves were threatened with
violence to them and their family if they didn’t work. This was very damaging to the African
economies because it created fear. Fear forced the Africans to stop trusting one another, and
pulled them apart and into smaller communities, thus ruining the economies
(autoww.colorado.edu).

2. Fear in Africa

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 Extended Essay Draft in History
Slave Trade and the Economies of West Africa
Amanda Batts

One of the biggest contributing factors to the cause of the downfall of the economies of
West Africa was the fear brought on by the threat of slavery. Africans grew paranoid that their
neighbors were trying to sell them to the Europeans, and wide-spread panic occurred since the
-Europeans didn’t just kidnap Africans, they also bought them from other Africans that were
selling them. All Africans, particularly those living directly on the western coast, were insecure
about their safety (Nunn).
When Africans started to question their safety in their own homes, they were forced to
move. At incredibly alarming rates, West Africans evacuated major cities to seek refuge from
the slave trade. Each peoples secluded themselves from others they did not trust by migrating
to the desert, swamps, or deep in the jungles (Genovese). With the amount of people moving
away added to the amount of people taken away to the Americas, powerful cities were reduced
to ghost towns almost overnight (Simkin).
Cities are great “melting pots” all around the world, because they mix different cultures
from different regions into one place. When cities started to crumble, West Africa lost the
mixing of cultures, goods and ideas. These factors make cities important to the development of
societies and economies. Once they were gone, the economies started to wane down. The
reformation of society into smaller communities also created extreme ethnic fractionalization
(Nunn). This division of peoples created higher tensions and different languages, thus making it
even more difficult for the peoples to mend their relations and join together under one city
again.
When the Europeans established slave trade bases in West Africa, they did not just trade
goods with Africans; they traded ideas and culture as well. There was a fear of European
culture, and a hesitation to accept it at first, but it was slowly introduced to Africa, if not forced
upon the continent by the Europeans. West Africans gradually learned traditions of Europe; one
of the most impacting was Christianity (Wirth). Religion was used as a tool to oppress the
Africans and to justify their actions.
Europeans converted Africans to Christianity in hopes that they would cooperate with

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Slave Trade and the Economies of West Africa
Amanda Batts

them for fear of going to hell. They also thought it their duty to spread Christianity to
“uncivilized” people, but their main goal was to control the slaves. A famous advocate of
slavery, Jacobus Elias Johannes Capetein, was a former Ghanaian slave who converted to
Christianity and wrote his dissertation defending the rights of Christians to own slaves (Wirth).
He exemplifies exactly how the European’s efforts were working, and how some slaves did
accept their place in the world as inferior to the white Europeans for fear of going to hell if they
did not do what they were told. This affected the economies of West Africa tremendously since
the Africans that did believe this did not try to work to benefit Africa; their priority was now to
serve the Europeans. The spirits of Africans were broken and so they lost the motivation to do
work. Fear was a powerful weapon commonly used by people to control others. The Nazis used
it in WWII, terrorists use it today, and the Europeans used it in Africa.

3. African Kingdoms and Division of Regional Control

Contrasting with the mostly negative effects of slavery, the kingdoms that sprouted from
the fruits of this profitable trade grew immensely rich and powerful. Other kingdoms, however,
were divided into smaller communities of peoples and in result, lost their power
(www.ghanaweb.com). The kingdoms that flourished derived from the people who were willing
to sell their fellow Africans.
The kingdom of the Aro Confederacy, established in 1690, was born out of the slave
trade. It was an alliance of several bordering kingdoms located directly on the western coast of
Africa and was one of the first regions to trade with Europe (Genovese). It did not take long for
them to participate in the African slave trade. The union was constantly at war with its
neighbors and needed European guns to defeat them. The leaders started the slave trade in
order to obtain guns and wealth so they could get more powerful.
Once the slave trade started in these kingdoms, the African kings had a taste of
European culture, and would not easily surrender it. In order to feed their new lifestyle, they

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Amanda Batts

had to keep trading slaves for European guns, metal goods, tobacco, and cowrie shells (used as
money). Their greed ensured the resilience of the trade. This affected the economies of West
Africa astonishingly. The economies previously based on the barter of goods such as palm oil
were now based almost solely on slavery. The African kings thought they were helping their
kingdom acquire wealth and power, but they were actually making themselves reliant upon the
Europeans as well as depleting their own population (Dodson).
If one investigates the relationship between the kingdoms of West Africa which
participated in the Trans-Atlantic slave trade and their economies afterwards, a strong positive
correlation can be found supporting the fact that slavery depressed the economies.

(Nunn)

This graph shows that the nations that sold higher amounts of slaves in the
Trans-Atlantic slave trade have lower modern day per capita GDP rates than their lower
slave-exporting counterparts.

Conclusion

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 Extended Essay Draft in History
Slave Trade and the Economies of West Africa
Amanda Batts

The Trans-Atlantic slave trade that spanned from the 14th to 17th century was the main
factor in the collapse of the economies of West Africa. Starting from the first Portuguese that
landed on the western shores of Africa to present day, the economies and cultures will never
recover from the damage endured from slavery.
The African countries that were involved in the Trans-Atlantic slave trade were not
affected as heavily by the Trans-Saharan slave trade or any other major ones as it was by this
one. The Trans-Atlantic slave trade practiced chattel slavery and forced labor. This scared the
indigenous Africans and also affected the economy by causing panic to an even higher degree.
The Africans were growing insecure about their safety, and fled to the countryside,
making the cities and kingdoms that controlled them powerless without its people to rule. The
slave trade also built up cities and became a reason to trade with the Europeans so the African
kings could get rich and obtain precious European goods. Despite what they all thought, they
were actually harming their empires and economies by making them dependant on the slave
trade.
It also heavily depopulated the region of the country up to a point where places that
were once lush and bustling cities were reduced to ghost towns and deserted villages. The
extreme decrease in population also depleted the work force, and unbalanced the gender ratio.
The small communities that people converted to divided up the once united population, which
created internal African racism and higher tensions between the new cultures.
Overall, the effects of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade were extremely negative and
debilitating to the continent. Africa never fully recovered from the legacy of slavery, as shown
from the graph above. It is clear that the conditions created were so horrible that they
influenced today’s economies in Africa. Although it is a very interesting topic, it is the cause of
much grief today, and it remains unclear how one group of people can enslave another, and
perhaps that can serve as another topic for investigation.

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