English slave ships would arrive on the West coast of Africa with a cargo of guns, alcohol, goods, beads and trinkets. These they would trade with the Africans in exchange for slaves. To assure a steady supply of slaves for the colonies, African tribes were encouraged by the Europeans to raid other tribes and capture their people. These captives would be bound in iron neck rings and linked together with chains and forced to march to the coast, where they would be housed in barracoons holding pens in unhealthy conditions, until a slave ship arrived.
The captain of the slave ship would then choose the slaves he wanted and exchange them for the goods he had brought. Usually young, strong, healthy slaves were selected, and usually more men than women were chosen. The slave captain would then sail with his human cargo across the Atlantic to the colonies in North America and the Caribbean.
This three-step process in the slave trade — slave ships sailing from Europe to Africa and then to the Caribbean — was called the Triangular Trade.
The trip from Europe to Africa was called the Outward Passage, the trip from Africa to the Americas was called the Middle Passage, and the trip from the Americas to Europe, in which cargoes of rum, sugar, tobacco and other produce bought with the proceeds of slave sales were shipped, was called the Inward Passage.
Men were crammed below decks in handcuffs and leg irons. Women and children were not chained and were housed in separate quarters from the men. All, however, were treated with brutality. Slave captains packed the ships to capacity with human cargo.
The journey lasted anywhere from six weeks to three months depending on the weather and the distance to be covered. In good weather slaves were allowed on deck twice a day for exercise. Below deck living conditions were appalling. There were no washroom facilities and slaves had to relieve themselves where they were.
Many suffered from seasickness, dysentery and small pox. By the time they reached their destination many were ill and weak, and some died on board. In addition to the appalling physical conditions, there was also the mental stress. Many Africans became despondent and threw themselves overboard.
Those who were rescued were beaten for trying to escape. THE NEW WORLD Slave traders paid little or no attention to the welfare of the slaves during the Middle Passage, but once the ship approached its final destination the slaves were bathed, shaved and oiled, in an effort to get a higher price for them. Once on land the slaves were put on the auction block and planters bid on them. The African slaves were treated as animals. Before they were put on the auction block they had to endure body inspections.
Their lips were pulled back and their teeth examined, and their stomach, back and genitals were prodded and poked.
The slaves were sold to different masters and hence were separated from their relatives and friends. There was a deliberate strategy by the whites to separate Africans of the same tribe because it was believed that if the slaves could not communicate with each other, then they could not plot against their masters. The slaves were branded with the mark of their owners and assigned Christian names.
They were then transported to the plantations where they endured a life of exhausting work and unending cruelty. Most of these slaves were field labourers and their tasks involved planting, harvesting and grinding the cane. The slaves worked year round. Those slaves not employed in the fields worked as domestic servants in the Great House. A few fortunate ones worked in the towns as artisans, and thus had a little more freedom of movement. Rules and laws governed every aspect of their lives.
Along with these laws came harsh punishments for breaking them. Slaves were whipped for the slightest misdemeanor and sometimes a limb was cut off as punishment. Some planters believed that if they dealt harshly with them, the slaves would not have either the time or the inclination to rebel against their masters.
In the British islands, those slaves that participated in rebellions were hanged or burnt. Whatever free time the slaves had usually on Sundays they spent it with family and friends, and tending their small provision plots.
This helped to supplement the basic food provided by the planters. They tried to hold on to their religious practices and cultural beliefs and continued to express themselves through song and dance. The common view is that the slaves in the Caribbean were discouraged from marrying and having children. However, this changed when the slave trade came to an end. The planters, realizing that their source of labour would dry up with the end of the slave trade, decided that having their slaves reproduce offspring would ensure a continuous supply of labour.
For this reason they made an about face and encouraged slaves to marry and have children. Their religious beliefs helped the slaves endure the cruelty and hardship of slavery. Even though they came from different regions of West Africa, the various religions had common features.
They believed that the world was inhabited by good and evil spirits, and that their ancestors watched over them. In fact they had such a high regard for their ancestors that they worshiped them. Hence the expression Ancestor Worship. For more than three hundred years, beginning in the 15th century, the slave trade grew into a huge and successful business.
It transformed the lives of the Africans and Europeans forever. It brought untold misery to the Africans, and unprecedented wealth for the Europeans. It was particularly successful for the British who dominated the slave trade. Merchants, bankers, ship owners and planters all benefited considerably from slavery and the slave trade.
The British West Indian planters enjoyed a monopoly in the British market for their sugar, as well as the superior status that wealth gave them. In England during the 18th century, it was customary for wealthy West Indian planters to display their wealth when visiting England.
Many of these planters were second or third sons who did not inherit their fathers' titles or wealth. Having gone to the West Indies to seek their fortune, they returned to England as wealthy men and did not hesitate to display their new-found wealth.
This display took the form of having slaves attending to their every need. It became the fashion to have a retinue of slaves to accompany one on the streets of England. Very often the planters treated their slaves cruelly, and when the slaves became ill or infirm, they were abandoned on the streets and left to fend for themselves. It was atrocities such as these, that moved several persons to call for an end to the slave trade.
From s onward, several influential pressure groups arose in England and France for an end to the slave trade and slavery. They became known as abolitionists. These abolitionists were religious humanitarians Quakers, Methodists, Evangelical Anglicans, Baptists and Moravians , intellectuals, workers and a few former slaves.
They mobilised popular opinion, using mass meetings and petitions. In addition to the abolitionists, there was the economist Adam Smith who argued that free labour was cheaper than slave labour, which he showed to be uneconomic. In France and England the ideas of the Enlightenment and the French and American Revolutions also helped to fuel the demands to end slavery.
There was of course fierce opposition to the abolitionists. British planters, ship owners, merchants and bankers were in favour of continuing slavery.
Their argument was that slavery was economically essential to Britain and her colonies. William Wilberforce made several attempts to introduce a bill in parliament outlawing the slave trade. Finally in the Abolition Act was passed abolishing the slave trade.
The law became operational on 1 January The abolitionists hoped that by ending the slave trade no more slaves would be coming from Africa and therefore slavery would gradually come to an end, but this was not the case.
The planters continued to use slave labour on their estates. When it became apparent that slavery was not going to end, the abolitionists tried another strategy, that was meant to make the life of the slaves less unbearable. It was called the Amelioration policy. Under this policy or law, female slaves were not to be flogged and slaves were not allowed to work on Sundays. Slaves were also to be allowed to give evidence in court as long as a Christian minister could vouch for the slave's understanding of what an oath meant.
The Amelioration laws met with a lot of opposition, and when it became obvious that they would not be enforced, the abolitionists decided to try for the abolition of slavery. It took another twenty seven years after the abolition of the slave trade before slavery itself was abolished. Granted, slaves were allowed to marry and have families, but this was for economic rather than humanitarian reasons.
In the s the abolitionists began to campaign actively for the abolition of slavery. Once again they campaigned on moral grounds, but this time economic and political conditions helped their cause.
It was the era of the Industrial Revolution and the economic face of Britain and Europe was changing. Adam Smith introduced the concept of Free Trade. This had a negative effect on British sugar profits. Slave plantations were inefficient, thereby making British sugar expensive. Furthermore, the only reason planters were able to sell their sugar was because Britain imposed taxes on non-British sugar. Adam Smith advocated that Britain should purchase sugar from the cheapest source available.
This would make the British economy more successful. Many industrialists agreed with him. In France, beet sugar was being sold a lot cheaper than cane sugar, and the quality of the beet sugar was quite good.
In the Reform Act was passed. This act allowed members of parliament to be elected from industrial towns such as Manchester. These men wanted to see free trade established and slavery ended. The bill was passed and came into effect on 1 August Under the Act, 20,, pounds sterling was to be paid to the planters as compensation for the loss of their slaves. However, with regard to the slaves, only slaves under six years old were free immediately.
The rationale for this was that the slaves required a period of transition so that they could get used to the responsibilities of freedom. The scheme caused such conflict that it was abandoned and on 1 August , after which all British slaves were free. The first major victory therefore, was the abolition of the trade by the British Parliament and the US Congress. In Spain accepted , pounds sterling to abolish the trade in Cuba, Puerto Rico and San Domingo after , but the slave trade continued to Cuba where the last recorded slave shipment was However all the British colonies except Antigua had a period of Apprenticeship, under which the former slaves were obliged to serve the planters from 1 August to 1 August On 1 January the Haitian Revolution ended slavery in Saint Domingue through the slaves' own efforts.
They were led by Toussaint L'Ouverture. Haiti became the first free black republic in the Caribbean. This civil unrest lasted from to , and was a result of the conflicts between white planters, free coloureds, slaves and petit blancs. Connect with us:. The first celebration of emancipation in , was a solemn one.
On the occasion, ex-enslaved Africans made their way to centres of worship in the towns and returned to the country by early afternoon.
However from the next year, , Emancipation was celebrated with pomp and ceremony. An Unofficial Holiday. Such celebrations took many forms. The most organized celebrations could go on for several days.
The day was often marked by sporting events such as cricket matches. Even in areas where they organised no formal celebrations, Africans stayed away from work on Emancipation Day and spent the day with family and friends forcing businesses to close.
The formerly enslaved took ownership of Emancipation Day despite the refusal of the colonial government to officially declare a holiday. An excellent example of an early commemoration of emancipation is provided from a description of the celebration in Carenage, through the journal of a Catholic Priest.
This celebration continued with the same intensity and exuberance for three days, after August 1 st. They collected funds, bought food and drink, issued invitations and after the customary mass was said, engaged in their festivities. Most slaves were officially freed in following the apprenticeship period. The Abolition Act immediately freed few slaves except for in the cases of Antigua and Bermuda where the colonial governments rejected apprenticeship and fully emancipated slaves in In addition to the Merikins and African-born Muslim soldiers, there was another group--the Mandingo--that was also free.
They owned land, homes, grew their own crops and saved their money to purchase the freedom of their countrymen. Jonas Mohammed Bath was one key figure in this movement. Today, Bath Street off Picadilly Street is named after him. Emancipation monuments of the Caribbean. August 1, AM. Watch: 6 easy head wrap styles for Emancipation Day and beyond. July 31, AM. June 19, AM. Griffith: No Merit in saying to scrap the Merit List. Moses is Defender of the Year in Finland's second division.
Government will go to the Parliament on Wednesday to revoke the State of Emergency. Austria orders nationwide lockdown for unvaccinated. The Austrian government ordered a nationwide lockdown for unvaccinated people starting midnight Sunday to slow the fast spread of the coronavirus in the country.
The move prohibits unvaccinated ind. The victim told police that around Young to serve as AG during Al-Rawi's absence. The Office of the Attorne. Trinidad and Tobago has recorded 22 new COVID fatalities, pushing the total number of virus-related deaths to 1, In its 4pm clinical update on Saturday, the Ministry of Health also reported.
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