5 - Africans in colonial Atlantic societies

Summary

In the first part of this book, we saw how African political and institutional structures and African economic developments made the trade in slaves possible. This internal dynamic was far more responsible for the development of the African trade with the Atlantic than any pressure that European merchants or political authorities could exert, directly or indirectly. Africa was therefore a full partner in the development of the Atlantic world, and that development cannot be understood without appreciating African history and culture.

In the second part of the book, the emphasis shifts from the dynamic, independent African societies to Africans outside Africa, residents in the new Atlantic world that began in the offshore islands of Sāo Tomé or the Cape Verdes a few miles from the African coast and extended to the vast American continents (see Map 4). Although a few Africans migrated to the Atlantic world voluntarily (mostly high-status diplomats or students and occasional settlers and sailors), the majority came as slaves. The role they played in the formation of the Atlantic world was perhaps just as profound as that of the people who remained in Africa, but it was quite different.

The impact of the African slaves was twofold. On the one hand they came into the Atlantic to work and serve, and by their efforts and numbers made a significant contribution to the economy. On the other hand, Africans brought with them a cultural heritage in language, aesthetics, and philosophy that helped to form the newly developing culture of the Atlantic world.