Characteristics of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade in West Africa:

Effects on the Economy, Political Structure and Social Hierarchy.

The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade haunted African society for many years. Although only an estimation, experts have determined that around six million people1 were removed from West Africa to be enslaved in various parts of the New World. The numerous effects on West African society have been researched and documented over the years to result in our current understanding of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. Many of the negative effects of the TransAtlantic Slave Trade on the West African coast were enhanced by the cooperation between Africans and European slave traders. Due to this, there is a continued debate regarding the existence of slavery within Africa before Europeans arrived. Despite this uncertainty, the interactions with European slave traders had lasting effects on African society. The TransAtlantic Slave Trade affected the economy, political structure and social hierarchy of West African society. During the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, cooperation among the Europeans and Africans resulted in a business-like scheme involving the selling and trading of human beings. While we struggle with the idea of this today, in those times it was seen as a highly economical strategy and allowed many opportunities for those willing to partake. Similar to our dog-eat-dog world now, it was a trade or be traded society then and to some the idea of becoming a trader wasnt as bad as becoming a slave. Those willing to capture and sell people were rewarded with valuable items such as iron and weapons. This exchange of people for weapons as described by
1

Fage, J. D., Slavery and the Slave Trade in the Context of West African History (Cambridge University Press. 1969) p399.

Walter Hawthorne is called the iron-slave cycle.2 Hawthorne explains the process by which the Balanta people acquired much needed iron from the Europeans in exchange for slaves. Although some argue that this was more of a gun-slave cycle, Hawthorne displays the Balantas use of the iron for agricultural and construction purposes, in addition to weaponry. Another example of this business like relationship between the Europeans and Africans was seen in Ghana. It is believed that the Dutch, who initially occupied Elmina Castle in Cape Coast, Ghana, paid a yearly stipend to the Asantahene, the ruler of the Asante people.3 Although its significance is debated, most historians, Yarak included, speculate that it was meant as a tribute to the Asante people who rightfully owned the ground that Elmina was built on. Due to this, the Europeans threatened the payment when the Asante people failed to engage in trade, and vice versa. The establishment of this pay note encouraged a different type of relationship with the Europeans, one that is not so seemingly parasitic, but more mutual. This also provided an opportunity for developing citystates to further expand. By aiding the Europeans, they could increase their economic wealth and position in their area. One example of this was seen in Benin, where initially they had instituted a ban on the export of male slaves.4 However, as Fage explains, when nearby kingdoms began to gain power, Benin may have removed the ban to also increase their power and economic wealth. This too demonstrates the economic importance of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and relations with Europeans. Although the general consensus is that Africans benefitted economically from interactions with the Europeans, not all scholars feel this way. Bernard Siegel states that slavery

2 3

Hawthorne, Walter, Planting Rice and Harvesting Slaves (Heinemann, 2003) p97. Yarak, Larry W., The Elmina Note: Myth and Reality in Asante-Dutch Relations (African Studies Association, 1986) p364. 4 Fage, J. D., Slavery and the Slave Trade in the Context of West African History (Cambridge University Press, 1969) p397.

was not widely spread or permanent enough to effect any pronounced economic benefits.5 While Siegel had written this in 1945, it may still hold true for some and so the further exploration and research of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and its effects on West African society is necessary. Due to the increases in economic wealth, the political structures of West African society were also influenced in many ways. Small, decentralized states were given the opportunities to trade with Europeans and become more developed. Many of the already established states also had relations with the Europeans that may have increased the power and status in society. An example of this was seen in Guinea as described by Fage.4 He explains how Lower Guineas interactions with the Europeans changed their political and economic structures and made them much more developed than Upper Guinea. Another display of political change was observed in Ghana as documented by Yarak.6 The relations between the Asante people and the Dutch at Elmina Castle resulted in the Dutch support of the Asante regime in Ghana. This was beneficial to the Dutch as the Asante were one of the more developed and stronger groups in that area. Therefore by supporting them and their political ventures, the Dutch had gained a foothold in West Africa. Many scholars view this enhancement of African political structure as one of the causes of emancipation and abolition of the slave trade. Alice Bellagamba7 states that these political transformations were more important in the decline of slavery in colonial Africa than was the direct action of colonial governments. Therefore these political changes, combined with

Siegel, Bernard, Some Methodological Considerations for a Comparative Study of Slavery (American Anthropological Association, 1945) p384. 6 Yarak, Larry W., Elmina and Greater Asante in the Nineteenth Century (Africa: Journal of the International African Institute, 1986) p34. 7 Bellagamba, Alice, Slavery and Emancipation in the Colonial Archives: British Officials, Slave-Owners, and Slaves in the Protectorate of the Gambia (1890-1936) (Canadian Association of African Studies, 2005) p6.

an increased economic wealth and enhanced social structure, may have directly resulted in the elimination of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. In addition to the changes in both the economy and political structure, the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade significantly affected the social hierarchy of West Africa. As stated above, the trade or be traded mentality allowed some to rise up in society and become slave traders or capturers while others were those that became enslaved. Examples of these groups include the grumetes, and the ceddo. All of these groups developed different roles in society due to the slave trade. The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade also resulted in a greater division between the elite and the poor. Grumetes were ship or cabin boys who were allowed to work on the slave ships but were technically not slaves themselves.8 They were usually the descendants of a Portuguese father and African mother and so identified with both cultures and reaped the benefits of being European. Their knowledge of rivers and aid in navigating ships was essential to the European slave traders therefore they had much more freedoms than others. The ceddo were slave soldiers who enslaved Wolof citizens to attain things like horses, liquor and firearms.9 They had much influence and power in society due to their brute force and maniacal actions. Their status made them part of the aristocracy and so continued to separate them from those of a lower class and the enslaved. The continued dealings with European slave traders allowed for numerous new social classes to develop and aid in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. These new social groups also helped to keep the slave trade alive and therefore had quite an effect on West African society. While the Trans- Atlantic Slave Trade and the subsequent relationships with Europeans were by no means good for West African societies, it did allow for some improvement. The trade

Hawthorne, Walter, Planting Rice and Harvesting Slaves (Heinemann, 2003) p97. Searing, James F., Aristocrats, Slaves, and Peasants: Power and Dependency in the Wolof States, 1700-1850 (Boston University African Studies Center, 1988) p482.
9

increased the economic wealth of the area and changed the political structures of many of the states there. The effects the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade had on the social hierarchy of West Africa were not for the better as they widened the gap between the social elite or ruling classes and their subjects or those less fortunate than them. Continued research into the effects of slavery in West Africa needs to be done, yet sources are becoming hard to find. With oral history and tradition from that time almost completely lost, historians have a difficult task ahead of them. Hopefully new discoveries and research will give us more clues about this horrific time in human history allowing us to complete this puzzle. Until then, our knowledge of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade is limited to various assumptions and inferences by those who research it most and while these are generally good views, debates persist. Regardless of the debate and lack of complete understanding, it is evident that the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade forever changed the economy, political structure, and social hierarchy of West Africa.

Bibliography Bellagamba, Alice. "Slavery and Emancipation in the Colonial Archives: British Officials, Slave-Owners, and Slaves in the Protectorate of the Gambia (1890-1936)." Canadian Journal of African Studies 39.1 (2005): 5-41. Fage, J D. "Slavery and the Slave Trade in the Context of West African History." The Journal of African History 10.3 (1969): 393-404. Hawthorne, Walter. Planting Rice and Harvesting Slaves. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2003. Lovejoy, Paul E., and David Richardson. "The Business of Slaving: Pawnship in Western Africa, c. 1600-1810." The Journal of African History 42.1 (2001): 67-89. Rodney, Walter. "African Slavery and Other Forms of Social Oppression on the Upper Guinea Coast in the Context of the Atlantic Slave-Trade." The Journal of African History 7.3 (1966): 431-43. Searing, James F. "Aristocrats, Slaves, and Peasants: Power and Dependency in the Wolof States, 1700-1850." The International Journal of African Historical Studies 21.3 (1988): 475503. Searing, James F. West African Slavery and Atlantic Commerce. Cambridge University Press, 1993. Siegel, Bernard J. "Some Methodological Considerations for a Comparative Study of Slavery." American Anthropologist 47.3 (1945): 357-92. Print. Yarak, Larry W. "Elmina and the Greater Asante in the Nineteenth Century." Africa: Journal of the International African Institute 56.1 (1986): 33-52. Yarak, Larry W. "The "Elmina Note:" Myth and Reality in Asante-Dutch Relations." History in Africa 13 (1986): 363-82.