Transatlantic Slave Trade: Why Africans were Enslaved and not the Europeans

Transatlantic Slave Trade Research Proposal
Student’s First Name, Middle Initial (s), Last Name
Institutional Affiliation
Course Number and Name
Instructor’s Name and Title
Assignment Due Date
Transatlantic Slave Trade Research Proposal
Introduction and Thesis Statement
Before modernity, the slave trade was a common phenomenon globally. Various forms of slave trade emerged and were conducted in different slave routes. The transatlantic slave trade was a phenomenon where many enslaved Africans were transported to America across the Atlantic Ocean. The trade forms part of the triangular trade where Africans received arms and textile from Europe in exchange for enslaved people from Africa to America. At the same time, Americans transported sugar and coffee to Europe to complete the triangle. In the Atlantic slave trade, the Africans played a vital role as commodities. The research evaluates why Africans were enslaved and not the Europeans. The American settlers turned to the slavery of Africans due to the inadequate number of enslaved Europeans deployed to work in mines and plantations.
Historical significance
The Atlantic slave trade and plantation slavery were both founded by Europeans at a period when they had already abandoned slavery in their own countries. In the early European commercial missions, enslaved Africans were encountered, but the lack of labor in the Americas sealed the Africans' destiny (Williams, 1944). The main issue the research evaluates entails the turning of Europeans to enslave Africans. Why were Africans enslaved? How did the European rights relate and apply to Africans? When sickness decimated the American Indian population and European labor became scarce, American settlements were doomed to failure (Eltis, 2000). It was impossible to mine or cultivate tropical crops with European or Amerindian free labor or Amerindian labor. African slavery was a viable option because it had already been tested and proven successful on sugar plantations in the Gulf of Guinea. As a result, even after the practice of enslaving Europeans had all but ceased, American colonists discovered that the allure of acquiring African slaves was too strong to resist.
Slavery in Africa evolved into a legal idea and a significant economic force. Slave ships and colonial plantation slavery were subject to various laws, all of which were based on the concept of the "slave" (Bertocchi, 2016). Africans were traded in the same way as any other commodity: as cargo on transport vessels and as plantation property. Almost all African slaves were brought to the Caribbean and South America. By 1825, the United States was home to one-quarter of the world's African diaspora (Kanu, 2013). African slaves endured a perilous and harrowing journey through the Middle Passage. Both men and women were segregated, and toddlers and infants were imprisoned in filthy conditions with no access to food or water (Da Silva, 2017). Approximately 12% of the slaves died on the journey.
Location of primary sources
The major primary sources for the research include museums, history archives, and digital libraries. For the research, the National Museum of American History provides reliable information about the slave trade and collections of the trade cycle. Other vital information and data for our research are found in the National Museum of African American History & Culture, located in Washington, DC. The museum has numerous exhibitions that explore many slavery themes, including the transatlantic slave trade. The UNT digital library also has the transatlantic slave trade database voyages, providing primary information about our research's trade-in. The Smithsonian magazine digital archive gives primary sources to slave voyages and historical forced migrations, where the transatlantic slave trade data is availed. These locations will enable us to obtain primary and first-hand information concerning the Atlantic slave trade and the reasons for enslaving Africans.
Annotated Bibliography
Williams, E. (1944). Capitalism and Slavery (Chapel Hill: U of North Carolina Press).
The book makes a concrete argument on the role of slavery in enhancing the greatness of British economies. The author, Eric Williams, gives a relevant connection between his thesis and arguments on enslaved Africans. The source stipulates how the transatlantic slave trade was conducted and the reasons for opting to find slaves in Africa. The significance of the slave trade in the industrial revolution is also discussed in the book. The book is thus integral to our research as it contains relevant information about the topic.
Eltis, D. (2000). The rise of African slavery in the Americas. Cambridge University Press.
The author evaluates the establishment of the slave trade and the capitalists’ economic interests in slavery. Eltis analyzes the rise of slavery and why Africans were not a viable option. He makes a connection between slavery and abolitionist movements. The book gives information about the whole triangular trade and the significance of the slave trade. The source is essential as it lays the ground for discussing the triangular trade, particularly the transatlantic slave trade.
Law, R. (2004). Ouidah: The social history of a West African slaving'port'1727-1892. Ohio State University Press.
The source is about the context of the slavery in West Africa region. The analysis in the book relates to a port town, Ouidah, where the transatlantic slave trade was facilitated. The book stipulates the role of local African leadership in promoting slavery. The whole context of slavery during and after abolition is discussed in the book. Information about commodities exchanged and how enslaved people were obtained is also availed in the book. This makes the source significant in our research.
Morgan, E. S. (2003). ...