 |
|
|
Change and Trade in Africa Revolution also visited Africa, but primarily as a result of rising wealth and the demise of the slave trade, rather than Enlightenment views.
In the late eighteenth century, abolitionists condemned slave trading as immoral and organized themselves to ensure its end. One by one, European powers banned the trade. Britain then sent naval forces to enforce the ban off the coast of West Africa and to pressure the Brazilians to cease importing slaves. Some illegal slaving continued, but slave ships were harassed by British squadrons. Rescued Africans were repatriated to Sierre Leone or Liberia.
European traders then turned their interests to Africa’s natural resources and agricultural products, like vegetable oils. European interest came partly in the hope that trade would stimulate Africa’s economy and better enable Africans to afford European manufactures. In some cases, African merchants became extremely wealthy and produced a body of educated and wealthy elites able to engage in politics. Others, more closely aligned to the old slaving networks, found their income compromised, and either adapted or fell apart. The rise of plantations in Africa, however, did not mean the collapse of slavery as an institution. Slaves were now owned by Africans, who employed their labor on agricultural plantations owned by Arabs or Swahili big men. Slaves were also used in military forces to the point that in some areas slaves comprised 80 percent of the total population. >> Continue to the next part of the Summary: Economic Reordering
|
