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On the Causes of the A frican Slave Trade
Author(s) -
Angeles Luis
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
kyklos
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.766
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1467-6435
pISSN - 0023-5962
DOI - 10.1111/kykl.12008
Subject(s) - relevance (law) , fragmentation (computing) , period (music) , production (economics) , economic geography , economics , political science , aesthetics , law , art , ecology , microeconomics , biology
Summary This paper offers an integrated analysis of the forces shaping the emergence of the A frican slave trade over the early modern period. We focus our attention on two questions. First, why most of the increase in the demand for slaves during this period came exclusively from western E uropeans. Second, and of most relevance for present‐day development outcomes, why was the overwhelming majority of slaves of A frican origin. Technological differences in manufacturing technology, the specificities of sugar (and other crops') production, and the cultural fragmentation of the A frican continent all play a role in the analysis. Supporting evidence for each of our claims is provided from a broad corpus of relevant literature.