The continent of Africa was ripped apart
with the arrival of Europeans and the enslavement of its peoples,
and the harm done both to people and to their communities by
the trade runs so deep that it is impossible to calculate. The
trade in Africans was about plunder and brutality and a complete
lack of respect for the human rights of Africans who were enslaved.
The trade was a 'reign of terror' that was imposed first on
West and Central Africa, and then on the continent's south-eastern
coasts at the end of the 18th century. The slave trade forced
people to move away from their homes, their communities, their
farmlands and from any kind of economic stability they had.
It affected whole populations and political systems. It impacted
massively upon agricultural production and severely disrupted
the social and psychological well being of inhabitants. Reactions
across the continent of Africa were different, but it is clear
that the slave trade altered the way these societies 'developed'.
The effects of African enslavement were deep and long lasting
and its legacies can be seen and felt in countries and societies
across the continent today.
