Slavery+in+the+American+Colonies

Slavery has been the cause of suffering for hundreds of thousands of people for many years. The definition of slavery is the controlling of another person and giving them no benefits. Slavery was a way of getting cheap labor in many countries, but we will only be talking about slavery in America. Most slaves in America were from Africa. They were captured and brought over sea to any country that needed slaves. Slaves were first brought to the American colonies in 1607 in Virginia. Slavery was allowed in parts of the United States until after the Civil War when the 13th amendment was passed in 1865, that outlawed slavery in every state.

Triangle Trade was about the British sailing down to the Gulf of Guinea. They then would take the slaves and gold to the Caribbean area. Charles the first issued a license to a group of merchants for transporting and selling salves. The slaves, after being brought to the Caribbean, were then sent to the U.S. Finishing the triangle was the transport of U.S goods to Britain. According to Freedom Transatlantic Slave Trade, "The goods would include rum, sugar, coffee, and tobacco." Around the 1790's there were already 11 to 12 million slaves shipped over the Atlantic Ocean. The slave triangular trade lasted from 1600 to about the 1850. 482 slaves could fit in one of the boats.Here is a picture of what a slave ship looked like.

These are ships that were used to transport slaves.

Where Were the Slaves Taken from?
Most of the slaves who were captured came from West Africa, mainly the region that now made up of Benin, Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria, Senegal and Cote I'voire. Slave traders often referred to this part of Africa as "Slave Coast". Many purchased or captured slaves who's ancestry was from the Yoruba, Oyo and Ashanti people. The main slave trading countries of Europe were England, Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands. The capturing of slaves or enslavment was not unheard of in Africa. Actually enslavement was common and had occured there many years before the Europeans had arrived. In many cases some tribes enslaved their own tribes poeple and then turned and sold them, all to make a profit.

Slaves were brutally taken from their homeland and shipped off to every corner of the world. When slaves were taken from Africa they had no clue where they were heading to. There are many areas that would be the finish line of their journey. Most were sent to the south. Only some would be sent to Europe. The worst thing is that the slaves had no idea what they were being forced into. They had no clue that they were heading for a life full of pain and hardships.