States, Kingdoms and Atlantic Trade

Beginning in the 15th century Portuguese maritime explorers ventured down the coast of West Africa in search of ivory, animal skins, spices, gold. Fueled by accounts of Muslim explorers before them, they encountered dynamic African kingdoms that rivaled their own. In turn encounters with Europeans caused a shift in African polities causing the economies of African trade to shift from antiquated Saharan trade routes to the Atlantic Coast. As the demand for labor in the American colonies began to increase, transatlantic African trade began to include the continent's most precious commodity, captive African bodies. This course delves into the complex relationship between African and European polities and the business of transatlantic slavery in the burgeoning colonies of the Americas from 1400 to 1881, when European powers met in Berlin to discuss the division of the continent for its valuable resources.