Spanish and Portuguese Imperialism attracted explorers to the continent of Africa. These Europeans were in search of land, gold, silver, ivory, glory, and above all slaves. Subsequently, other European countries followed suit, colonizing the African coast and trading in human lives and altering the natural course of Africa and her people.
Europeans were in search of a shorter route to Asia. Little did the Europeans know, but an entire continent lay in the way of Asia. In 1442, Pope Eugenius gave Portugal exclusive rights over any African discoveries[1]. Beginning with Henry the Navigator of Portugal, the coast of Africa was explored and exploited. Henry negotiated a deal with African leaders: Portugal would not steal slaves or anything else, but would barter for them.[2] (However, on this same mission, 650 slaves were taken while they were sleeping.)[3] With the discovery of Madeira and the subsequent cultivating of sugar, the Portuguese appetite for slaves only grew.[4]Thus began the link between African slaves and sugar. To cultivate the sugar, African slaves were needed to work not only on Madeira, but also Elmina and the Canary Islands. Later, King Philip began a monopoly system of trade in slaves with the express purpose of making money.[5] For these reasons Spain and Portugal were attracted to Africa.
Thomas lists two reasons why the Portuguese were the first Europeans to embark on slave-seeking journeys to Africa. First, Portugal was the closest country to Africa and not embroiled by war at the time.[6] Secondly, the Portuguese had become extremely proficient at maritime expeditions.[7] Not only could the Portuguese explore in a southern direction down the coast of West Africa, but they were able to turn around and sail against ocean currents and wind (citation needed here from slavery to freedom).[8]
Portugal incidentally produced the most important slave merchant of the 16th century, Fernando Jimenez. His descendants were among the largest contractors in Africa, and eventually in Angola, where the majority of African American slaves descended. Not to be left out, Spain also had many merchants of significance.[9] These Europeans were interested in trading for gold, silver, pearls, mercury, olive oil, wine, saffron, and above all slaves.[10] Accordingly, the Spanish Crown encouraged the slave trade by a decree in 1531 making loans on easy terms to settlers in Castile who wanted to found sugar mills.[11] By the late 16th century, taking part in the African slave trade was the new fashion.[12]
Nearing the end of the 15th century, France was determined to conduct trade on the African continent. France began by pirating Portuguese ships on the high seas. Despite Portuguese complaints, France secured royal permission to plunder Portuguese ships in 1530.[13] The first to carry out a triangular trade, the French went to Africa for gold. Later on France became interested in slaving.[14] France also traded with Africans for ivory and gum.[15]
The Dutch went to Africa in search of gold and ivory. Like the French, it wasn’t until later that the Dutch were concerned with slaves. African traders coveted goods brought by the Dutch. Dutch goods were cheaper, and of a better quality than the Africans were able to trade with other Europeans.[16] Soon, the Dutch purchased Gorée, near Senegambia, as a deposit site for goods and slaves.[17] The Dutch seem to have been better organizers than either the French of English. As Thomas puts it, the conversion of the Caribbean islands into an archipelago of sugar was a Dutch idea, although it was carried out by French and English merchants.[18]
England saw the economic possibilities of Africa as well. In the beginning, the English entered African waters to trade in gold.[19] On several occasions the English went to Africa to trade for goods. Instead of taking African slaves, they would bring Africans back as showpieces. After testing the waters, John Hawkins went to Africa in search of slaves. Thomas quotes him as saying, “a store of Negroes might easily be had upon the coast of Guinea.”[20] After securing the Africans, Hawkins sailed to Hispaniola to peddle his loot. Hawkins made several trips to Africa with the express intent to obtain African slaves. Unlike the Portuguese, Hawkins stole the Africans, often burning their towns.[21]
Africans were said to have “a natural love of novelty” and took part in the exploitation of their own people.[22] For instance, in 1518, Gorrevod, the emperor of Songhai, offered a gift of 1,700 slaves to another chief.[23] A Portuguese captain, Fernão de Oliveira, who could be called one of the first abolitionists, writes of how slaves were given by African monarchs. These African monarchs would obtain their slaves by robbery or by waging unjust wars.[24] The kings of Congo and Ndongo bickered as to whom should be the main supplier of slaves to the Portuguese.[25] More submissive, Diogo I of Congo had an agreement with Portugal that the settlers on the island of São Tomé would only trade in the realm of Congo, thus ensuring profits for himself.[26] Clearly, Africans were not bystanders in the slave trade, but took an active and enterprising role.
With the exploration of the African coast, several islands were discovered in the process. Madeira, Santiago, Sao Tome, and the Canary Islands all became depots for slaves in the African slave trade. As well, these islands began producing sugar. For instance, in 1484, slaves were used on a large scale in the Canary Islands to produce sugar.[27] In the late 1590s Luanda became the headquarters for Portuguese operations, especially in the slave trade to Brazil. This colony provided more Africans for the Americans than any other point of assembly in the 17th century.[28]
In addition to a major sugar supplier[29], the prized Portuguese colony of Sao Tome, in the Gulf of Guinea, served as an essential entry point for African slaves in the 17th century.[30] São Tomé was the first to employ a “seasoning” of African slaves. If slaves were found to be sick, they would be kept on royal plantations until they could be shipped abroad at a later time.[31]Although not a central player in the transatlantic slave trade, German captains sold slaves on São Tomé.[32]
I agree with Douglas Johnson and his attention to Timothy I chapter 6, verse 10: money is the root of all evil. Europeans sought wealth and glory. The shortest route to accomplish this was the African slave trade. Internationalizing the slave trade only exploded European profits. As well, Africans wanted wealth, as is evidenced by their participation in slaving.
[1] Hugh Thomas, The Slave Trade: The Story of the Atlantic Slave Trade: 1440-1870, (New York: Simon and Schuster), 2013, p. 64.
[2] Ibid., 68.
[3] Ibid., 69.
[4] Ibid., 70.
[5] Ibid., 139.
[6] Ibid., 56.
[7] Ibid., 57
[8] John Hope Franklin and Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham. From Freedom to Slavery: A History of African Americans. The McGraw Hill Companies, Inc., 2011, p. 23.
[9] Hugh Thomas, The Slave Trade: The Story of the Atlantic Slave Trade: 1440-1870, (New York: Simon and Schuster), 2013, p. 117.
[10] Ibid., 118.
[11] Ibid., 115.
[12] Ibid., 119.
[13] Ibid., 153.
[14] Ibid., 154.
[15] Ibid., 173.
[16] Ibid., 160.
[17] Ibid., 161.
[18] Ibid., 188.
[19] Ibid., 154.
[20] Ibid., 155.
[21] Ibid., 157.
[22] Ibid., 159.
[23] Ibid., 114.
[24] Ibid., 126.
[25] Ibid., 131.
[26] Ibid., 128.
[27] Ibid., 77.
[28] Ibid., 140.
[29] Ibid., 135.
[30] Ibid., 169.
[31] Vogt, John L. “The Early Sao Tome-Principe Slave Trade With Mina, 1500-1540.” The International Journal of African Historical Studies. 6, no. 3, (1973): 452, accessed February 16, 2014, doi: 10.2307/216611.
[32] Hugh Thomas, The Slave Trade: The Story of the Atlantic Slave Trade: 1440-1870, (New York: Simon and Schuster), 2013, p. 224.
No comments:
Post a Comment