The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Explained

We have all heard about he Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, but how much do you actually know about

it? Where was the first slave plantation? When was the first slave sold? Why weren’t

there slave plantations in Europe? [PART 1 VERSION] In this video we

will talk about the History of Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade all

the way from the very first slave to the height of the slave trade.

Chapter 1: European Slavery To understand Trans-Atlantic slavery,

we first need to understand European slavery. Because in most of Europe slavery was considered

normal. In fact, owning slaves was a sign of prestige. Because a slave owner was either

rich enough to buy one or strong enough to capture one themselves. But these slaves

had basic human rights: you couldn’t abuse them, they could have positions of power,

and their children were born free… But if you’re born free, how does a person become a slave?

Slaves had to be captured. Raiding parties would travel by boat, land near a town or village,

and then capture everyone there to sell into slavery. They were taken from their family,

their home, their entire life… and forced to work for someone else. The best slave raiders in Europe

were the Vikings. They were so good at it that Northern Europe formed governments and armies

specifically to defend against Viking attacks. Because of these better armies and government,

by the 15th century slave raids had stopped in Northern Europe. And instead they moved

to Southern Europe. Because Southern Europe was Christian. And right next to Southern Europe were

North Africa and the Middle East. And they were Muslim. And according to both their religions,

god allowed them to enslave other people if those people have a different religion. So it was okay

for a Christian to enslave a Muslim and for a Muslim to enslave a Christian. But it was not

okay for a Christian to enslave another Christian or a Muslim to enslave another Muslim. This meant

that if either side wanted to capture a slave they would have to attack each other. And so every year

a few thousand people were enslaved on both sides. But going on a slave raid is dangerous. They might

fight back and you might die. And you can’t earn a profit if you’re dead. So instead

of capturing slaves you could trade slaves. And the most expensive slaves came from West

Africa. That is because most of Europe and Asia considered West Africans to be the “best” slaves:

they were used to working in hot weather, meaning they can work harder; they were immune to more

diseases than almost any other group of people; and their dark skin colour was considered exotic,

with many rich and lonely people buying a West African slave to uhh ‘keep them company’. And

these slaves were captured in wars or slave raids in West Africa, then transported through the

Sahara, and sold in North Africa. And from there they would be shipped off to the slave markets in

Europe, the Middle East, or sometimes as far away as China and Japan. This slave trade also included

just a couple of thousand slaves per year. The 15th century slave trade was profitable yet very

small compared to the Trans-Atlantic Slave trade. There are some reports of certain kings selling

thousands or tens of thousands of slaves all at once, but these were rare occasions.

But why was the slave trade so small? Afterall, if you buy a slave they will work for you. With more

work you earn more money. And with more money you can buy more slaves. So why didn’t this

happen? Well, the reason they didn’t need slaves was because they had serfs. A serf was a person