Tyler
Jones
September
29, 2014
Prof.
McKinney
History
205
It is an oddity that for Americans at large, the
customs and the culture of West African natives are never brought to the forefront
when discussing the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
They are generally an unknown entity when discussing American slavery. Their viewpoint can only be inferred so much
through the primary sources of the many captain logs or the diaries of slave
traders. Visualizing the cramped spaces
that these men and women had to occupy on a ship can be represented through
pictures and diagrams. But without a
sense for their culture, it is difficult to confront how they coped with their
captivity. Smallwood’s “Saltwater
Slavery” takes into account Western African’s history and culture while simultaneously
breaking down the economic influences that are the driving force of the
Transatlantic Slave Trade. These two
forces collide against one another, leading to actions and reactions between
the oppressed Africans and their oppressive captors and owners. The Transatlantic
Slave Trade economic success allowed for the European countries to expand and
grow this inhumane industry at the expense of a growing community of West African
tribes and nations.
The
shift among African’s themselves due to economic pressure can be seen in the
observations of two white men.
“During
his residence on the Gold Coast from 1614, to 1620, Samuel Brun observed that
warfare nearly always led to the taking of heads. Not only were men beheaded, but it was also a
common practice summarily to execute the women and children.” (Smallwood
21)[1]
Taking heads after the battle was over had been a customary
practice among the Gold Coast natives, yet as Johann Muller came to find that
that practice had given way towards the selling of prisoners of war. The slave trade was a profitable business
practice early on for the victors of war.
Selling off unwanted prisoners that could potentially revolt for other
goods to help expand a growing nation was a win/win. They turned a liability into a
commodity. The various nations were
growing and were starting to take shape along the Gold Coast. Trade among the Europeans
accelerated the growth of these small kingdoms.
The potential for an Empire along the Gold Coast was there. Because they controlled the gold mines, the
powerful merchants were able to protect their own citizens from capture and
enslavement, allowing for these nations to slowly grow in power. The economy along the Gold Coast was booming
for a while, yet when the gold mines ran low towards the beginning of the 18th
century the dream of an empire died. For the demand for slaves had only
increased with time, and with the lack of gold, the merchants along the Gold
Coast lacked the bargaining power to keep slavers away from their own. A
thriving culture systematically was washed away, as the commodification of African
slaves had become an incredibly booming industry for all involved. The Gold Coast became known as the hotbed for
new black bodies. The Transatlantic Slave
Trade took away not only individual freedom, but a budding world power was
snatched because of it. The downturn for
the gold coast was drastic as it became the hotbed for enslavement.
A
more individualistic struggle between the two sides can be se through the eyes
of the Slave Captain Snelgrave. The
exchange between him and his slaves whom had tried to mutiny illustrates just
how deep and strong the economic forces at play were.
“Snelgrave
asked “what had induced them to mutiny,” to which they replied that he “was a
great Rogue to buy them, in order to carry them away from their own Country;
and that they were resolved to regain their Liberty if possible.”(Smallwood
57)[2]
Snelgrave was stunned that they rebelled against him,
as they were his property. A sea captain
of experience was genuinely shocked that a group of people taken against their
will were trying to revolt, because that is how strong the slave trade industry
was. He was stunned because they were
not people but cattle to be shipped and sold.
They had already “forfeited their
freedom”2 so it was unfair for them
to try to revolt against him. The
commodification of human lives had taken complete effect. Even if they were to
escape, there were fugitives that would have been captured and sold to somebody
else for profit.
Smallwood’s “Saltwater Slavery”
illuminates just how strong the slave trade industry was. It had destroyed the balance within the Gold
Coast and crippled their bubbling nation states and had stripped slaves of
their humanity. The Gold Coast was
pillaged for their bodies to slave away in foreign lands. Leaving the only world they knew for a world
of hardship was made scarier by the cruelty of their captives. As once they
became slaves, they lost their right to be a human.
[1] Smallwood, Stephanie E. "The Gold Coast
and the Atlantic Market in People." In Saltwater Slavery a Middle Passage from Africa to American
Diaspora. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2008
[2] Smallwood, Stephanie E. "Turning African
Captives into Atlantic Commodities." In Saltwater Slavery a Middle Passage from Africa to American
Diaspora. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2008
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