Part II
"The man who could go to Africa and rob her of her children, and then sell them into interminable bondage, with no other motive than that which is furnished by dollars and cents, is so much worse than the most depraved murderer that he can never receive pardon at my hand."
- Abraham Lincoln
Prince Henry was born in 1394 into Portuguese royalty. Being the third son of King John the First of Portugal and his wife Phillipa, however, meant that his chances of ascending to the throne were close to none, and so he early on set his eyes outside Portugal for his share of fame and fortune. His chance came in 1415 when Portugal set out to capture Ceuta, a trading city in Northern Africa (on the border of present-day Morocco). Ceuta was a key trading outpost in the Trans-Saharan trade routes leading out of the continent’s interior into Europe. The young Prince was only 21 during the expedition, yet the knowledge he acquired on trade within the continent would inform his life’s work. Deeply impressed, Henry returned to Portugal and in three years established a Navigational school in Sagres from where he funded expeditions primarily along the West African coast. These voyages led to the discovery of sea routes to the West of the African continent and earned him the moniker, 'Prince Henry the Navigator.'
While Henry the Navigator is best known for ushering in the Age of Exploration, his exploits along the West coast laid the groundwork for growth to the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. Human trafficking had been an acceptable trade since the time of the Roman Empire. Slaves were being bartered in the markets of North Africa and carted off to Europe. By the time of his death, Prince Henry had transported more than 18,000 African from the continent. What began as the capture and enslavement of a few African men and women morphed into an organized industry. It featured companies, trade routes and seashore forts to hold slaves hostage before being transported.
Demand and Supply
What precipitated the growth of this trade? Economic theory asserts that when there is an increase in demand, the producer increases capacity and produces more to plug the shortage. At the turn of the 15th Century, Europe (which was the then known world) began to explore beyond its borders. The expeditions were initiated and financed by individuals on behalf of their countries. It led to the discovery and colonization of the Americas and West Indies. Portugal and Spain led the fray, and would later be joined by France, Denmark, Germany and, most notably, Britain. These campaigns led to the securing and annexation of large swathes of this new territory. They turned the land into plantations. For maximum profit, cheap labour was required, hence demand was created.
New trading routes were developed by European seafarers as more of the African continent was explored. Ships laden with manufactured goods such as guns, ammunition and textiles docked along the West Africa coast, to be traded for slaves. These slaves would be obtained through expeditions organized by the traders into the African interior. Others would be taken as prisoners during conflicts between kingdoms. They would then be gathered together and tied to one another in a human chain and taken to seaside forts, which featured large dungeons as holding cells, awaiting the long, arduous journey across the dreaded middle passage.
Effects of Slavery
What were the effects of this trade? While the lack of reliable data (especially regarding numbers and demographics) presents a stumbling block to the analysis of this period, several reasonable conclusions can be made. The existence of this trade, coupled with its lucrativeness, led to a diversion of economic activity away from the agriculture and industrial sector. The strong, the young and the healthy were the most prized. These people also provided labour and know-how in their farms and local industries back home. Moreover, the slave trade presented a balance of trade skewed heavily in favour of the Europeans. Here’s how: while slaves were treated as commodities, they were producers. They went to work on the sugarcane and cotton fields of the Americas and created wealth for their owners. This made slave-buying an investment (as bad as it sounds) rather than an expense. African slave traders, on the other hand, were receiving consumable goods in exchange. The textiles and guns they bought could not create wealth for the owners. The gunpowder needed to maintain the gun was, in fact, a recurring expense!
The effects of slavery have gone on to transcend both time and the geographical boundaries of the African continent. The forceful exiling of millions of slaves to the United States led to the creation of the Black American community, who were their direct descendants. Despite the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, this ethnic group has continued to suffer oppression and discrimination from their fellow countrymen. A more recent example is the allegations of police brutality towards members of the black community. Events such as the death of George Floyd all are a legacy of the country’s role in the Slave Trade almost 150 years before.
Yet the most revolting effects of this trade was the physical, emotional and mental anguish that the victims were subjected to. Parents would be torn from their children, and siblings from each other, never to see each other again. Some of the captives would have to walk for miles on end to get to the continent’s shores, after which they would be locked away in dark dungeons. The next phase of this nightmare entailed them being packed on the ship like sardines in a tin can. Any form of insurrection was crushed with almost unimaginable brutality and the sick, dying and dead were rendered useless and thrown overboard. Once the ship was ashore, the survivors were taken to the market and sold to their new owners who took them to their new workstations. It was a permanent contract, with no pay or insurance. They lived to eat, sleep and work.
The endless cycle continued for 400 years. African slaves were transported across the Atlantic to work on farms in the Americas. Their sweat and toil would be in turn transported to Europe. The stage had been set. Africa had begun to fill her place at the bottom of the ladder.
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