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People think about slavery I would say on a daily basis, whether that's in history class or at home or when making a connection about something in the modern world today. There is no doubt that slavery is one of the biggest parts and impacts of how history has developed today but who was responsible for the biggest slave trading network? Who was responsible for the atlantic slave trade? Someone who has only learned the primary basis of slavery would immediately say "European white men" but maybe that isn't the case and in this paper you will learn exactly why that is. Africa should be held responsible for the tragedy of the Atlantic slave trade not only because Africa had been practicing slave trade long before the Atlantic Slave trade, and got it to a point where it was able to spiral out of control but also because they had the upper hand and majority of power in the the slave trading business and without them it would have never happened in the first place. This essay will discuss both sides of the slave trade and show examples for why Africans had the overall upper hand and advantage in the slave trade, it will also show how the europeans dealt with and benefitted from the slave trade but it will explain how africans played a huge hand in giving them the benefits they gained from slavery. Not only this but how Africans may have been one of the primary reasons the slave trade started in the first place.

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Africa should be held responsible for the tragedy of the atlantic slave trade not only because Africa had been practicing slave trade long before the Atlantic Slave trade, and got it to a point where it was able to spiral out of control but also because they had the upper hand and majority of power in the the slave trading business and without them it would have never happened in the first place.

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The atlantic slave trade went longer than most people can imagine spanning from the 1500s all the way to the 1800s. over 12 million people were captured and put on ships to be used at slaves and were shipped to Europe. The triangle trade was the connection that made the atlantic slave trade possible in the first place. All the Europeans really wanted from Africa was slaves. Africa had other things to trade like ivory but honestly Europe just wanted the cheap labor that slaves provided. The only way the triangle trade was going to work for Europe is if Africa was in agreeance with trading with Europe. So In general Europe relied on Africa. The triangle trade has 3 points, Europe traded manufactured goods to Africa who sent slaves to Europe who produced goods that went around the new world. Without Africa there's no longer a triangle but now a line. Africa was providing the labor of the triangle trade and without this there is no goods to go around the world and no labor for Europe. This shows Africa was in control of the Atlantic Slave Trade because without them there's no slaves or slave labor that produces resources to the rest of the new world.

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Topic 1: Africa was kidnapping and taking their own people and citizens as slaves and using them to contribute to the Atlantic Slave trade.

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Topic 1: Africa was kidnapping and taking their own people and citizens as slaves and using them to contribute to the Atlantic Slave trade.

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Africa was kidnapping and taking their own people and citizens as slaves and using them to contribute to the Atlantic Slave trade. Africa was responsible for the atlantic slave trade and one of the biggest reasons why is because of how they were taking their own people and feeding them into the slave trade system. African citizens were being kidnapped and taking across harsh conditions and unfair treatment and they were being pushed into the slave trade system in order to benefit both Europe and Africa. Europe had a demand for slaves and so African provided the slaves so they could get things like money, silver, and resources. In document 15.1 it says "One day, when all our people were gone out to their works as usual, and only I and my dear sister were left to mind the house, two men and a women got over our walls and in a moment seized us both, and, without giving us time to cry out or make resistance, they stopped our our mouths, and ran off with us into the nearest wood. Here they tied our hands, and continued to carry us as far as they could, till night came on... The next morning we left the house, and continued travelling all the day. For a long time we had kept the woods, but at last we came into a road which I believed I knew. I had now some hopes of being delivered; for we had advanced but a little way before I discovered some people at distance, on which I began to cry out for their assistance: but my cries had no other effect than to make them tie me faster and stop my mouth, and then they put me into a large sack." This is a very large quote but every part matters. It is from the perspective of Olaudah Equiano and he was kidnapped by his own people and used as a slave. This shows exactly how much Africa was contributing to the slave trade they were willing to take their own citizens in order to benefit from trading with the Europeans, by taking their people and using them to get resources from the Europeans. Though both African and Europe was benefitting from the slave trade Africa was responsible for it. Europe has the demand for slaves and they wanted to trade with African in order to get what they needed which was a way to get cheap fast labor (slavery) Africa just wanted to gain income and resource from the slave trade and in getting this they got to decide what slaves were bought first, they brought the slaves to the boats to ship them across the ocean, and they got to choose what they wanted to get for the slaves all of this shows multiple proven points why Africa should be held responsible for the atlantic slave trade.

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In document 15.1 it says "One day, when all our people were gone out to their works as usual, and only I and my dear sister were left to mind the house, two men and a women got over our walls and in a moment seized us both, and, without giving us time to cry out or make resistance, they stopped our our mouths, and ran off with us into the nearest wood. Here they tied our hands, and continued to carry us as far as they could, till night came on... The next morning we left the house, and continued travelling all the day. For a long time we had kept the woods, but at last we came into a road which I believed I knew. I had now some hopes of being delivered; for we had advanced but a little way before I discovered some people at distance, on which I began to cry out for their assistance: but my cries had no other effect than to make them tie me faster and stop my mouth, and then they put me into a large sack."

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Topic 2: Africans were controlling how they presented the slaves in order to use it to their advantage to get the goods and resources they desired from the Europeans.

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Topic 2: Africans were controlling how they presented the slaves in order to use it to their advantage to get the goods and resources they desired from the Europeans.

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Africans were controlling how they presented the slaves in order to use it to their advantage to get the goods and resources they desired from the Europeans. Africans had the upper hand and advantage in the slave trade in a lot of ways. They were able to try to alter the appearance of slaves to make them look younger, they were able to force the Europeans to pay more for weaker slaves, and they could take an inventory of what the Europeans brought to trade in order to choose what they wanted and how much of it they wanted. In document 15.2 it says "For the cappasheirs are so cunning, that they shave them all close before we see them, so that let them be never so old we can see no grey hairs in their heads or beards; and then having liquor'd them well and sleep with palm oil 'tis no easy matter to know an old one from a middle-aged one" This shows that the Africans were able to make the slaves on their ship appear different than what they were in order to make the Europeans not pick all of the strongest one without picking the weakest ones. Though the slave trader Phillips in this document knew what was going on for one he still bought the old slaves and for two not every slave trader is as experienced as Phillips and honestly actually most weren't and they would have fallen for the Africans tricks. In the document it also states "The kings slaves if he had any, were the first offerd to sale... and we must not refuse them, tho as I observed they were generally the worst slaves in the trunk and we paid more for them than any others." This quote shows how Africa could manipulate them into having to buy the worst slaves for the highest price, the Europeans had to do so in order to trade and get any other slaves. Africa had the upperhand in the slave trade and even though Europe benefitted plenty from the slave trade the Africans basicaaly got to determine how many slaves they got and for what price proving they were more in control of this process. The African king also sent his men to check in the ship to see what they had to trade and what exactly he wanted.

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In document 15.2 it says "For the cappasheirs are so cunning, that they shave them all close before we see them, so that let them be never so old we can see no grey hairs in their heads or beards; and then having liquor'd them well and sleep with palm oil 'tis no easy matter to know an old one from a middle-aged one"

"The kings slaves if he had any, were the first offed to sale... and we must not refuse them, tho as I observed they were generally the worst slaves in the trunk and we paid more for them than any others."

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Topic 3: Africa wanted to keep the Atlantic slave trade going because of their profits and power they had as a result from it.

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Topic 3: Africa wanted to keep the Atlantic slave trade going because of their profits and power they had as a result from it.

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Africa had a lot going for them in the Atlantic Slave trade and there is no doubt that Europe did as well. So why did Africa want to keep it going, did they even want it to keep going? The answer is yes, Africa was profiting tons from the atlantic slave trade. Kings were getting great power and profits and there is documented proof of this in 15.4. The document shows an African king named Osei Bonsu who was ultra wealthy and politically powerful. The document was taking place in the 1800s when the slave trade was all starting to come to end. The king had an argument to keep the slave trade and continue the trading relationship with Europe, it was clear this was only wanted to keep him in safety and control in Africa. The slave trade was what was giving africa such purpose for Europe at the time and now that Europe was trying to put an end to this Africa wasn't so okay with it. Over the course of the slave trade Africa exerted all power possible to make sure they benefited from what was being traded to what they were receiving. Africa had the power and Osei Bonsu is a great example of this. He was one of if not the most powerful african king at the time and his control over the slave trade and the profits he was receiving was an exponential value. Africa had the advantage in the slave trade because of the power they had over Europe when it came to it which is why Africa should be held responsible for the tragedy of the atlantic slave trade.

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I did not use any direct quotes, just tried to disect the document and perspective of Osei Bonsu.

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There is a debate all over the world over reparations when it comes to the atlantic slave trade. Some say Europe needs to pay Africa for the victimized slaves. I say nobody needs to pay anybody at all. No reparations are not required for the atlantic slave trade and there are many reasons why. In the article it talks about how the Africans have been trying to erase their role in the Atlantic Slave Trade. This ties more into ethical reparations than monetary the things is trying to deal with monetary reparations is way too complicated and impossible. The reason for this is because families in africa today are still benefiting from their great grandparents involvement in the slave trade, this is talked about alot in the "When the Slave Traders were African" Article. It speaks about how the authors great grandfather was involved in the slave trade and that is still part of how they are successful today. The author of this article Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani believed that by talking about the African involvement in the slave trade will help get good closure for everyone involved and I agree with this. African involvement should be talked about openly in school curriculum, community events, and more. So ethical reparations are plenty doable but when it comes to money it's not so easy. It isn't in the view of Europe vs Africa because there is such a fine line in the middle of it all. Some african families and communities are more affected than others and some families past relatives were involved while others weren't. So the thing is if Europe were to just write a check to Africa and try to fix all of the issues then those people in Africa who are still benefiting from the slave work or their great grandparents would be getting money they didn't deserve. All this would do is make the gap of injustice larger. Africa should be held responsible for the tragedy of the atlantic slave trade not only because Africa had been practicing slave trade long before the Atlantic Slave trade, and got it to a point where it was able to spiral out of control but also because they had the upper hand and majority of power in the the slave trading business and without them it would have never happened in the first place. So with this the only way to have reparations is in an ethical way.

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source 2 "When the slave traders were African" 

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source 2 "When the slave traders were African" 

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Used article to get into way ethical reparations can happen but too complicated for monetary reparations

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Some would say that the Europeans are responsible for the Atlantic slave trade because they were the ones with a demand for slaves and the ones buying the slaves because of a need for cheap plantation labor. This is true Europe was benefitting plenty from the slave trade and were getting exactly what they needed in order to succeed. They were getting cheap labor and a supply of slaves that they wouldn't be able get anywhere else.

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But the thing is the Europeans would have never even had access to slaves without african supply of them. Europeans could not even go onto the ships with the slaves because they were at risk of diseases that would spread through their population and ruin their countries population among other things. Another point to consider is Europe was already trying to rebuild themselves so to do that again in Africa would be almost impossible. So it's obvious that the Africans had the strategic control and without that the slave trade wouldn't have even been able to happen or continue in the first place.

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This paper has talked about all the ways that Africa has contributed to the slave trade and why exactly they are responsible for the atlantic slave trade. Africa and Europe contributed and benefited from the slave trade but Africa had the power to stop it at any moment and they were the ones providing what was asked for. Africa should be held responsible for the tragedy of the atlantic slave trade not only because Africa had been practicing slave trade long before the Atlantic Slave trade, and got it to a point where it was able to spiral out of control but also because they had the upper hand and majority of power in the the slave trading business and without them it would have never happened in the first place. The atlantic slave trade was a tragedy to say the least people were treated cruelly and unfairly and both sides are to blame without doubt and answering the question who is responsible for the atlantic slave trade is complicated but the one true answer is Africa.