ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE

(Mbamara , 2006

Africans on the other hand were into this thriving trade whereby they sold their own . They however made it hard for the Europeans to penetrate their land as they had erected a military power . The Europeans on the other hand feared penetrating Africa as they feared the tropical diseases . There existed African merchants who were contracted by the Europeans to get them slaves from the interior . The coast had few slaves and Europeans had to spend months trying to get enough slaves for their shiploads (Klein , 2010 . The Africans put

barriers and this left the Europeans with no choice but peaceful trade . The Africans went ahead to hike their demands on the Europeans . They introduced local taxes for anyone who wished to purchase slaves . This way , they were in full control of their market . This forced the Europeans to cough up to ?375 per ship and only then would they be permitted to trade . This amount covered a royal tax , pay for royal officials and interpreters . They then had to pay an exportation tax . These taxes were subject to fluctuations in demand and supply . Africans capitalized on this trade by selling water and other supplies to the Europeans who would spend months at the coast negotiating for the slaves . The largest numbers of slaves were provided by the Whydah and the Dahomey (Klein , 2010

In 1807 , a law to abolish slave trade in Britain and other powers involved in the trade was passed . By 1833 , all slaves had been emancipated and sent back to their homelands . In 1815 , France withdrew from slave trade and other powers followed suit . Around the 19th century , the Atlantic slave trade had diminished . Historians speculate that the economic factors that led to the decline of the slave trade are that the plantations they...