Essay On African American Slavery
Slave Treatment
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the practice of slavery was growing throughout Europe. The Africans took part in the slave trade because they were able to trade slaves with the Europeans for money and goods. The Portuguese and the Africans had different motives as to why they wanted to follow through on their decisions to create a slave trade. The Portuguese introduced slave trade to Brazil as they had been given land in Brazil and the slaves could help with agriculture in the area to help lower food prices. Through the slave trade, the Portuguese had registered over 812,000 workers in the agricultural industry in Brazil. (Conrad) Four million slaves were imported to Brazil and 7,328,000 more were exported to other countries …show more content…
Slaves were mistreated as they had to carry 160 pound sacks of coffee, received little food, had to do whatever their masters ordered and were lashed as punishment for running away or evading their duties. The African slaves were treated terribly. After slaves were transported to Brazil, they were mostly employed in agriculture. (Conrad) The Portuguese supplied them with only one pair of clothes per year, they had to carry over 150 pounds of coffee, the slaves received little food, and pregnant women were not excused from working. Imagine having to do whatever your masters ordered. How would you feel? The slaves likely felt sad, angry, or even deceived because slave work was not as bad as this in Africa. In Africa, slaves did many different types of work such as working as personal servants or doing housework, but once they got to South America, it was a whole different story. There they mainly worked in agriculture and diamond extraction in the mines. The slaves woke up at 5 a.m. and worked until nightfall. (Biography of Mahommah G. Baquaqua) It was gruelling work and their living conditions provided little comfort. It is overwhelming how terribly the slaves were treated in South America. Since they were forced to work from the morning to the night, they received a great deal of sun exposure, which lead to illness. Evening work “almost always causes illnesses.” (David Gomes
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the practice of slavery was growing throughout Europe. The Africans took part in the slave trade because they were able to trade slaves with the Europeans for money and goods. The Portuguese and the Africans had different motives as to why they wanted to follow through on their decisions to create a slave trade. The Portuguese introduced slave trade to Brazil as they had been given land in Brazil and the slaves could help with agriculture in the area to help lower food prices. Through the slave trade, the Portuguese had registered over 812,000 workers in the agricultural industry in Brazil. (Conrad) Four million slaves were imported to Brazil and 7,328,000 more were exported to other countries …show more content…
Slaves were mistreated as they had to carry 160 pound sacks of coffee, received little food, had to do whatever their masters ordered and were lashed as punishment for running away or evading their duties. The African slaves were treated terribly. After slaves were transported to Brazil, they were mostly employed in agriculture. (Conrad) The Portuguese supplied them with only one pair of clothes per year, they had to carry over 150 pounds of coffee, the slaves received little food, and pregnant women were not excused from working. Imagine having to do whatever your masters ordered. How would you feel? The slaves likely felt sad, angry, or even deceived because slave work was not as bad as this in Africa. In Africa, slaves did many different types of work such as working as personal servants or doing housework, but once they got to South America, it was a whole different story. There they mainly worked in agriculture and diamond extraction in the mines. The slaves woke up at 5 a.m. and worked until nightfall. (Biography of Mahommah G. Baquaqua) It was gruelling work and their living conditions provided little comfort. It is overwhelming how terribly the slaves were treated in South America. Since they were forced to work from the morning to the night, they received a great deal of sun exposure, which lead to illness. Evening work “almost always causes illnesses.” (David Gomes