why, when and how did black slavery start?

Question

WHEN---
WHY--
WHOM--
HOW--

Answer 1

Hi there.
It goes so far back, nobody can know - and sadly it still goes on.
If you mean the American/European side, they just joined in on a trade that was very old among Africans and Arabs already, older than the Roman empire even (most Arabic languages use the same word for "black" and "slave", so old is their trade in this misery).
When white traders came down the African coasts looking for trade opportunities in gold, ivory, gems, spices etc. they were offered slaves. Initially they turned this down as pointless (Britain for instance has never had slavery of this type since the Romans left, any African who got out onto the streets of Britain was legally free), but once there were colonies and plantations to service the offer was too good to refuse - free workers from whom top profits could be made. They had already tried (and failed) with the native peoples of America and the caribbean. These new slaves were rounded up within Africa by Africans and sold on, it could never have worked as a business otherwise.
So WHEN - a old as civilisation
WHY - for money and power
WHOM - everybody who could get away with it
HOW - by the collusion of African rulers that viewed the lives of ordinary Africans as disposeable with profiteers keen to agree with them if the money was right.

The guy who quotes Christianity as the factor that ended white involvement in this is perfectly correct, economically it always made sense and from a Darwinian point of view it is "winner takes all".

Cheers, Steve.

Answer 2

The existence of slavery is synonymous with the existence of humans.

After Christopher Columbus discovered the New World, the original settlers were in the the Southern Hemisphere - conquistadors from Spain attacked and plundered the Aztec and Mayan cultures, claiming the land as their own. Meanwhile, in the countries in Africa, and in particular, the western countries such as Ghana, slavery was a booming business among the people there.

As more settlers from Europe came to the New World and traveled further north into modern day Florida, Louisiana and Georgia, the Indian slaves (from the southern regions) were exploited, starved and died. They were deemed too weak to be used to the "white man's" benefit.

Up to this point, the concept of race had not developed as a social construct. There was no "black" or "white" yet.

Europe recognized the profitable business of slavery in Africa south of them and began discussing business deals with the wealthy African kings and queens who sold their people to eachother and the Arabs. This sparked the beginning of the world's first international slave trade as many leaders of many countries were involved. The African leaders made money while doing business with the European leaders and in the young soon to be United States, the fresh white settlers there made money with each other through increased bartering and communication.

Portugal was the first European nation to sell African slaves to the New World, beginning in the late 1500s. As soon as their arrival, the concept of black and white was born - white good, black bad. Black meant nothing more than submission and slavery.

The mulattoes were a combination of Indian and Black. Today, there are still thousands of black Mexicans populating Mexico as African slavery spread. The one drop rule was created, which meant all the offspring of plantation owners who slept with the black women in their ownership were not the responsibility of the owner, because of the black in them. Today, over 90% of blacks in the United States have some white descent.

This is important to remember when discussing issues of race - there really is no race. Any geneticist or biologist will tell you that because the human genome actually varies only by 1/1000 of a gene. Therefore, the concept of race is arbitrary. It is culture and thought processes stemming from that culture which influences man in its journey through history and the present.

Answer 3

This question was asked about a month ago. You should look up those answers.

To repeat: Blacks in Africa were enslaving each other for a thousand years before the Americas slave trade started. They also sold each other to Arabs.

Sometime in the 17th century Arabs began selling black slaves to European traders who transported them to North and South America and the Caribbean, but the Arabs were just the middlemen. It was the Africans themselves who delivered rival tribesmen into slavery, just as it had always been.

Answer 4

Black on black slavery has existed since the beginning of recorded history ( and before probably) and continues up to present times. Arab on black slavery has existed for almost as long. The European/ American involvement with the already existing African slave trade lasted about 200 years 16th to 18th century, and then they made it illegal. Black and Arab slavery on whites existed sporadically throughout 16th to 18th century when the Barbary pirates raided the western coasts of Europe to kidnap people for slavery.
The idea that slavery was invented by white people against black people is simply racist propaganda

Answer 5

Slavery in America was started in 1619 when Dutch slavers sold about 20 blacks to the English settlers. However, slavery in one form or another has been rife throughout history, even Africans enslaving other Africans following victory in battle. It was tribal then, and only later (much later) found to be profitable and exploited by the white man.
Interestingly, America banned the importation of slaves in 1808, but did nothing then to outlaw the trading of slaves already in the country! By 1860 1 in every 7 Americans belonged to another!!

Answer 6

Black Africans have been enslaving each other for centuries (probably due to the lack of pack animals in tropical climes due to the tsetse fly). The first mass slave trade of Black Africans happened in East AFrica where Arabs bought slaves and took them to Southern Iraq to reap Sugar cane. THese slaves were called the Zanj.

Answer 7

Economic realities of the time, just as in ancient Greece, Rome, Egypt, everywhere. Oh, check out The Bible if you want to know about slavery....

Answer 8

About the same time as white slavery,

Answer 9

the enslavement of blacks began in Africa, by Africans
the practice of slavery has been around since man first made war on his fellow man, and decided not to kill the women and children

Answer 10

SLAVERY HAS CONTINUED THROUGHOUT MANKINDS HISTORY AND BEFORE.ONE VILLAGE RAIDS ANOTHER AND CARRIES OFF THE WOMEN AND KIDS.BLACK SLAVERY IS JUST A TERM THOUGHT UP BY RACIST INTERESTS.THE BLACK TRIBES USED TO ENSLAVE EACH OTHER THE SAME AS THE WHITE TRIBES,ANCIENT BLACK TRIBES HAD WHITE SLAVES.MANS INHUMANITY TO MAN KNOWS NO COLOUR BAR.STOP TRYING TO STIR THINGS UP.