Africa and the Atlantic System

Undergraduate

This course explores the nature and terms of West Africa’s interaction with the Atlantic commercial system that materialized after European colonization of the Americas. It revolves around the birth, growth and demise of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade (1600s-1800s). The major themes cover the rationale and mechanics of this slave trade, and its impact on the African side of the Atlantic system. Students will be introduced to the general parameters of academic discourses on the Transatlantic Slave Trade and its legacy. (Prerequisite: Semester 4 standing or Permission of instructor.)