Chapter 14 (pp. 687-699)

Chapter 14 (pg. 687-699)

These pages still discuss commerce but they focus on the commerce of people, i.e. the Atlantic Slave Trade. Since the actions of the Atlantic Slave Trade are often discussed, I decided to take a strong look at the consequences the slave trade had on Africa. The first consequence of the slave trade was that population in Africa slowed at a time when other nations expanding demographically. In 16o0, Africa accounted for 18% of the world population but by 1900 this had decreased to 6% and in this time there was little economic growth as those making money from the slave trade did not invest in their country. Another consequence was moral corruption as court proceeding were often manipulated to create more victims for the slave trade. The most interesting consequence to me was an unbalanced gender ratio as the Atlantic Slave Trade preferred male slaves to female slaves. This unbalanced ratio led to at least three significant changes to Africa. The first is that the women's labor demand increased and the second was that in certain regions men were granted the right to marry multiple wives. The last change was that in some regions, women took the opportunity to exercise power and increase their wealth. This was sometimes done by marrying European fur traders.