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Slave Trade

Definition

The Slave Trade refers to the historical practice of capturing, transporting, and selling people as slaves, particularly from Africa to the Americas from the 16th to 19th centuries.

Analogy

Think of it like a very dark version of a modern-day international business transaction. Instead of goods or services being exchanged across borders, human beings were traded as commodities.

Related terms

Middle Passage: This term refers to the second leg of the triangular trade route where enslaved Africans were transported across the Atlantic Ocean to North America and West Indies in horrific conditions.

Indentured Servitude: A system where an individual is bound by contract (indenture) for a fixed period to work for someone else. It was often used as a way for poor Europeans to get passage to the American colonies.

Abolitionism: This is a movement that sought to end slavery and slave trade. Abolitionists believed in universal human rights and fought against these practices on moral grounds.