The actions made towards slaves were notably less harsh and provided more freedom than that of the Atlantic slave trade. Slavery traditions existed within Africa prior to the arrival of the Europeans in 1440. However, Europeans exploited these traditions for their personal benefit and removed slaves from the continent to work in the New World. In Africa, slavery began when opposing groups detain the others people, considering the large variety of countries and cultures within Africa, treatment of these slaves differed widely. Ottabah Cuguano, a previous slave, describe their treatment as being ‘well fed, and good care taken of them’. Slaves in Africa were incorporated into society as if they were kin.. However, Atlantic slave trade began to evolve following the arrival of Europeans to the West Coast of Africa in the 15th Century. It was inhumane and disastrous enterprise which fueled the New Worlds economy. The Portuguese, were the earliest European merchants to arrive on the west coast, followed shortly after by the French and the British. Chattel slavery was established and it incorporated the idea of slaves being viewed as property and treated as commodities. The Portuguese detained and purchased African slaves and transported them back to Portugal and various …show more content…
When talking about slavery today, most identify slavery with Africans and their involvement in the United states, however, the traditions of slavery have been around in Africa far earlier than this. Like many different regions of the world, slavery originated from the capturing and exploitations of prisoners of war. The procurement of slaves in Africa allowed villages or families to obtain more land. The size and distribution of land was fixed on the amount of labourers a household was in possession of, this motivated more people to buy and sell slaves. Further, the Islamic had a huge impact on slavery traditions in Africa. Muslims used Islam as a grounds of conquest and enslavement. With regard to the Atlantic slave trade, it arose after Europeans began created trading posts along the African coastline and continued on the basis of acquiring labour for the New World and wealth for the Europeans. The genesis of slavery in Africa and the Atlantic have no similarities, the Europeans did not begin slavery, rather they utilized it in a method that effected African people