Yes, during the historical period when Europeans were going to Africa to obtain slaves, Africans did sell other AFricans into slavery. Generally speaking, the prevailing morality of the time was that only members of your own tribe or ethnic group are real people or have human rights; members of other tribes or ethnicities are the equivalent of wild animals, toward whom you have no moral obligations. They are just another resource to be exploited at will. Many people still feel that way. Just observe how the Hutus and Tutsis have been treating each other in recent years, for example.
Chat with our AI personalities
Yes, some African societies participated in the slave trade by capturing and selling individuals from rival groups. However, it is important to note that the African slave trade was complex and involved various actors, including European slave traders who exploited existing local conflicts to profit from the trade.
Africans were made to be slaves through a combination of factors such as capture during wars, raids, and expeditions; trading by African rulers and European slave traders; and the development of the transatlantic slave trade by European colonial powers. Slavery was justified through the dehumanization of Africans and the creation of racial hierarchies that portrayed them as inferior.
Africans engaged in the transatlantic slave trade for various reasons, including economic incentives, political power struggles, and exploitation by European colonizers. Some African leaders and traders saw an opportunity to acquire goods, weapons, and power through selling captives to European slave traders. It is important to note that the responsibility for the transatlantic slave trade is shared among European colonizers, African leaders, and traders who all played a role in perpetuating this inhumane practice.
Some Africans were involved in the transatlantic slave trade as intermediaries who captured and enslaved people to sell to European slave traders. Additionally, some African rulers and merchants profited from the trade by selling enslaved individuals in exchange for goods and weapons.
African slaves were seen as a cheap source of labor for European colonizers due to their physical strength and prior experience with agriculture and mining. Europeans believed that African slaves were better suited for working in harsh environments and were considered expendable due to their lack of rights and protections. This made them attractive for sustaining the economic demands of the growing colonies.
Thomas Hunt kidnapped Squanto in 1614 to sell him into slavery in Spain. He saw Squanto as a valuable commodity due to his knowledge of the English language and the New World. Hunt's actions were motivated by greed and a desire for profit.