11/13/2022 0 Comments Imperialism 2 forts![]() However, the demand for slaves become so great that raiding parties were organised to obtain young Africans. At first, these slaves were often the captured soldiers from tribal wars. The merchants obtained the slaves from African chiefs by giving them goods from Europe. The British built coastal forts in Africa where they kept the captured Africans until the arrival of the slave-ships. ![]() In 1672, Charles II gave the Royal African Company (RAC) the monopoly of the trade to supply slaves to the British colonies for the next 1,000 years. Some 37,000 slaving voyages cleared from ports of the Atlantic littoral between the early sixteenth and the mid-nineteenth century and, collectively, they transported an estimated eleven million individuals from Africa." (4) Royal African Company ![]() By 1540, an estimated 10,000 slaves a year were being brought from Africa to replace the diminishing local populations.Īccording to Suzanne Schwarz, the author of Slave Captain: The Career of James Irving in the Liverpool Slave Trade (1995): "This sophisticated trade in human cargo was global and international, involving all the maritime powers in Europe, from Spain and Portugal to France, England, Holland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and even Brandenburg. Eventually the Europeans came up with a solution: the importation of slaves from Africa. This created a problem for the Europeans as they needed labour to exploit the natural resources of these islands. (3)Īfter the arrival of the Europeans there was a sharp decline in the local population of most of the islands in the Caribbean Sea. Large numbers had been killed, while others died of starvation, disease, committed suicide or had died from the consequences of being forced to work long hours in the gold mines. Twenty-five years later there were only 2,000 left. It is estimated that over a million people lived in Cuba before the arrival of the Europeans. He captured Hatuey and he was executed on 2nd February, 1512. Incapable of matching us in valor, these cowards cover themselves with iron that our weapons cannot break." (2)ĭiego Velázquez eventually suppressed the rebellion. They speak to us of an immortal soul and of their eternal rewards and punishments, and yet they rob our belongings, seduce our women, violate our daughters. According to Bartolomé de Las Casas Hatuey claimed: "They tell us, these tyrants, that they adore a God of peace and equality, and yet they usurp our land and make us their slaves. ![]() One of he most important struggles took place in Cuba in 1512. The people living in the Americas resisted the attempt by the Europeans to take over their land. The most important of these was Estevanico, who led the first European expedition to New Mexico and Arizona. Some of these Africans proved to be excellent explorers. When Spanish and Portuguese sea-captains began to explore the Americas they took their African servants with them. As it was illegal for the settlers to buy from foreigners, Hawkins and Drake soon came into conflict with the Spanish authorities. ![]() The two men started capturing people in Sierra Leone and selling them as slaves to Spanish settlers in the Caribbean. However, in 1563 Francis Drake joined his cousin, John Hawkins, on a voyage to Africa. The Spanish were the first Europeans to become involved in the slave-trade. The Europeans justified the taking of slaves by arguing that they were providing an opportunity for Africans to become Christians. Initially they were mainly used as servants for the rich. At the end of the 14th century Europeans started to take people from Africa against their will. ![]()
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