Thursday, March 3, 2016

SLO 5: Unbelievable Impact

So my mission was to "Analyze ways in which human groups have interacted with one another, including trade, migration, warfare, cultural exchange and biological exchange, from 1500 C.E. to present". Boy, did I find all that within the Slave Trade in Jamaica. 

Over a million people were forced to migrate to Jamaica. That of course had an effect on Jamaica; including the environment, native people, and what it has become today. 


Within this Slave Trade, people of course were being traded for possessions. As I mentioned "When the slave ships arrived from Europe they were laden with trade goods. Captains offered gifts to local African leaders and paid taxes for the right to trade. They then began the serious business of barter and exchange, offering a wide variety of trade goods such as textiles, firearms, alcohol, beads, manillas and cowries (The Capture and Sale of Slaves)”. 


Warfare had a definite presence  do you think that the slaves went willing? I am certain many tried to fight for their freedom and some may have succeeded but several failed in their attempts. 


Cultrual exchange, Europeans felt that it was their duty to pass on the Christian religion and that they were helping the slaves by doing so. Many slaves did adapt this new religion while others did a mixture of the native beliefs and some new. 


Biological exchange, as mentioned several African's began to mix their heritages after being brought to Jamaica. Not only were the slaves reproducing but it was also know for slave women to birth a child from her "owner" and these children are known as "Mullatos". 


There will always be the reminder of the Slave Trade in life of Jamaica because it had such an impact on it. I mean it had an impact every where but Jamaica was such a dominate figure it is just unbelievable of the amount of people that was funneled through there. 




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