WHAT IS SLAVE TRADE?
Every year on August 23, we take time to remember a very sad time in our worlds history called the slave trade.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) established this day to help us remember and honour the millions of African men, women, and children who were forcefully taken from their homes and sold as slaves across the Atlantic ocean. This day also raises awareness about the history and consequences of slavery.
What Was Slave Trade?
The slave trade was a time in history when people were forcefully taken from their homes, shipped to other parts of the world and soldas slaves.across the Atlantic ocean and sold to the Americas, including North America, South America, and the Caribbean.
Millions of Africans were taken across the ocean during the transatlantic slave trade to the Americas between the 1500s and 1800s.
It worked like a big triangle:
- Goods were sent from Europe to Africa.
- African people were taken to the Americas in ships.
- Then, things like sugar and cotton were taken from the Americas back to Europe.
African slaves were then forced to work on farms that grew sugarcane, cotton, and tobacco without pay.
The slaves were treated like they were less human. They were denied their freedom of movement, they were like prisoners in the farms they worked.
They were denied the right to own property, also they could not pay for the property because they were not paid for the work they did on the farms.
The slaves had no control of their bodies as they were subjected to physical beatings, abuse and worked for hours without rest or food.
The slaves were forcefully separated from their children and families when they were sold to different farms away from each other.
Slaves were not allowed to have an education because it was seen as a threat to the slavery system. They were also not allowed to participate as equals in the society.
Slave trade happened because some powerful countries at the time wanted to get rich. They believed they could make more money by using free labor and they wrongly thought they were better than African people.
This was very unfair and cruel. People were hurt, separated from their families, and not allowed to live freely.
Watch this video to learn more about the transatlantic slave trade.
On August 23, 1791, in a Caribbean country called Haiti, a group of brave enslaved people started a rebellion by fighting back against their captors. This rebellion helped lead to the end of slavery in that country and inspired freedom movements in other places around the world.
That is why August 23 is an important date in the end and abolition of slavery.
This international day is important because of the following ;
- It helps us remember the people who suffered and fought for freedom from slavery.
- We understand that slavery was and is still wrong.
- We learn about our rights as human beings and to stand up for justice We learn the history and strength of African people.
This year’s message from the Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay.
“It is time to abolish human exploitation once and for all, and to recognize the equal and unconditional dignity of each and every individual. Today, let us remember the victims and freedom fighters of the past so that they may inspire future generations to build just societies.”