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African History 4: The Slave Trade 79 Views
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Description:
No jokes today, Shmoopers, slavery is a terrible thing. Notice we said is. Check out this video to learn more.
Transcript
- 00:01
Here’s your shmoop du jour, brought to you by slavery.
- 00:06
Can’t live with it. [Slaves appear in field]
- 00:08
Can’t…
- 00:09
Well, really we just shouldn’t live with it.
- 00:12
OK, time to get a glimpse at humanity's wart-ridden, ugly side.
Full Transcript
- 00:16
Slavery.
- 00:17
Everybody knows it was a big deal.
- 00:19
But, seriously…it was a really big deal, majorly shaping the world as we know it today. [Man shaping the earth]
- 00:26
Some highlights on the Atlantic slave trade…
- 00:30
It enslaved millions…yes, millions…of Africans and shipped them off to the Americas
- 00:35
and other places to work on plantations.
- 00:37
It gave rise to nations in North and South America and made a ton of money for Europe [Man covered in money laughing]
- 00:42
in the process.
- 00:43
It forever altered the balance of world power, helping Europe and the US to stay in the forefront [Europe and US balancing on slaves shoulders]
- 00:48
even to this day.
- 00:49
Yeah, we’d say that qualifies as a Grade A really big deal. [Grade A ship appears]
- 00:52
Of course, slavery didn't just spring out of nowhere.
- 00:55
A bunch of sleazy Europeans didn't get together and think…
- 00:58
Hey, you know what’d be fun?
- 01:00
Making loads of cash by horrifically exploiting people! [Europeans eyes turn to dollar symbols]
- 01:04
Slavery has been around for a seriously long time.
- 01:07
Not only did slavery thrive in many ancient societies, but also many religions were totally
- 01:11
cool with it.
- 01:12
And we’re talkin’ major religions, not cults lead by some dude named Earl. [Earl holding poisonous lemonade]
- 01:16
Back in the day, people accepted slavery as a fact of life…
- 01:19
Like socks that disappear from the dryer… [Dryer eats a sock]
- 01:21
Or the coke machine that always eats your quarters.
- 01:23
Annoying, but what can you really do about it? [People chasing a coke vending machine]
- 01:26
However, for a long time, owning human beings was not all that profitable.
- 01:29
You had to clothe 'em, feed 'em, pay for their cable, and you really didn't get that much
- 01:33
labor in return.
- 01:37
But that changed in the 15th century, when slavery suddenly became as profitable as iPhones.
- 01:41
What happened?
- 01:42
Well, there was a major labor shortage in the Americas since the indigenous peoples
- 01:46
weren’t too keen about working on European plantations. [Man appears on plantation]
- 01:50
So European colonizers were willing to shell out the big bucks for workers. [Man carrying giant dollar bill]
- 01:54
What does that spell?
- 01:55
Everybody’s favorite blemish on the soul of humanity: the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.
- 02:02
Slaves were shipped across the Atlantic on a Hell-like voyage called the Middle Passage. [Ship sailing across sea]
- 02:06
Usually, slaves were barely fed and were chained closely together in the hulls of ships that [Slaves chained on the ships hull]
- 02:12
made the NYC sewer system look sanitary.
- 02:15
When a slave died, which was pretty darn likely, his or her body was simply tossed over the [Men throw slaves body overboard]
- 02:18
side of the ship.
- 02:20
On the other side of the Atlantic, slaves were welcomed with a life of hard labor, rape,
- 02:25
and all the other joys that come with forced servitude.
- 02:28
Besides being awful for the slaves, themselves, the slave trade also wreaked havoc on African
- 02:32
politics.
- 02:34
How?
- 02:35
By giving power and wealth to the most aggressive rulers. [African President carrying pot of gold]
- 02:39
You know the ones who thought it was totally fine to betray their fellow countrymen to
- 02:44
get some gold.
- 02:45
Of course, some African states weren’t totally on the slavery bandwagon. [Slavery bandwagon drives by]
- 02:48
Which is good because it’s a pretty gross bandwagon.
- 02:49
Some rulers tried to restrict or regulate the slave trade.
- 02:52
And some took a stand against it all together. [Man slaps slavery bandwagon]
- 02:55
But all in all, the slave trade was so powerful, most states allowed slave traders to do their
- 03:03
thing.
- 03:04
After years of awful suffering and sometimes-bloody struggle, the abolitionist movement did finally
- 03:07
get slavery outlawed in the Western World.
- 03:09
So that’s good.
- 03:10
But don’t start singing It’s a Wonderful World just yet. [Man singing in the park]
- 03:13
Sure, the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade has gone to its grave.
- 03:17
But despite laws against it, slavery still exists today on a depressingly large scale. [Woman slave sweeping]
- 03:23
If all the world's current slaves were a country, then that country would have roughly as many
- 03:30
people as Canada.....yeah, lot of maple syrup.
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