Nina Boggan

AP WORLD HISTORY
Mogge
14 March 2018

Comparison of Transatlantic Slave Trade and Modern Human Trafficking

What is known as Transatlantic slave trade began in the 1480’s with the Portuguese
importing slaves from Africa, and ending in the 19th century with the success of abolitionist
movements access the globe. In modern society, the idea of slavery has transformed into the
human trafficking, which takes many different forms in more developed societies, versus less
developed societies. Both slave trade and modern human trafficking can be described as large,
complex industries dependent on exporting and selling human beings as goods. These industries
were similar in structure, but the location and sheer impact of the two are vastly different.
Although Transatlantic slave trade and human trafficking business are both dependent on the
widespread exploitation of men and women, the scale of the industries, areas in which they are
prominent, and the people they affect vary significantly.
The motives of slave trade and human trafficking both boil down to one goal: making
money without personally providing the service in demand. This is accomplished through
exploitation and involuntary servitude. One of the turning points in the takeoff of transatlantic
slavery was European migration to the Americas. The development of the plantation system
required lots of people so instead of paying workers to harvest crops, the Portuguese began to
capture people as slaves. At first, this included native Amerindians, but harsh treatment resulted
in a sudden wave of deaths. The Portuguese combatted this obstacle by important black slaves
from Africa. According to Reparations for Slavery and the Slave Trade, “Gradually, large
plantations of over 200 acres and comprising of over 100 slaves became typical.” This was the
beginning of the backbone of most economies in the western hemisphere for the next three
centuries. The motives for slave trade in the beginning of this era were usually tied to agriculture
in some way.
Human trafficking, which some refer to as “the modern slave trade,” is similar in that it
is based on the same immoral principle of forcing someone to provide a service with no pay. The
United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) defines human trafficking as “the
recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or
use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of
power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to
achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of
exploitation.” This essentially means taking advantage over others and forcing them into
providing a service for financial compensation. The UNODC states that the purpose of human
trafficking is most commonly “the prostitution of others, sexual exploitation, forced labour,
slavery or similar practices and the removal of organs.” This is illegal in most countries,
however, human trafficking is often ignored by law enforcement in poorer countries because it is
such a wealthy industry. This shifts the motives away from agriculture like in Transatlantic slave
trade to the human being as the resource or product being sold. This evolution of involuntary
servitude can be credited to industrialization, which requires less physical labor.
The most obvious example of the impact Transatlantic slavery is the marginalization of
blacks in Europe and the Americas. Black people were forced into an environment in which they
had to serve whites without political power, many not even gaining the right until the 1960s. This
is due to the pre-existing prejudices held by many southern whites, whose desire to be superior to
blacks was more powerful than their responsibility to treat all equally. According to a Rolling
Out article, “Gang violence, teenage pregnancy, high school dropout rates, drug abuse, black-on-
black crime, and domestic violence within the black community are all by-products of slavery.”
Because many western civilizations were “founded upon these 300 plus years of free labor that
[they] received from its former black slaves,” black citizens are and have been disadvantaged
economically and through inadequate political representation. Similarly, human trafficking,
specifically in less developed areas, is especially harmful to the female population of these
nations. Women and girls are more at risk for trafficking involving prostitution and forced labor,
even in developed nations. According to the U.S. State Department, “600,000 to 800,000 people
are trafficked across international borders every year, of which 80% are female…” This puts
women, like those of African descent, in a many different marginalized groups that still have not
gained equal access to education, jobs, and domestic rights. Both Transatlantic slave trade and
human trafficking negatively impact large demographics. Both were detrimental to the political,
social, and economic standings of a large percentage of the Earth’s population.
Through the exploitation of specific groups, countless powerful business people have
made a living off of other people’s forced labor. The motives behind this exploitation have
always been the need to keep up with the development of a new type of society, whether that
plantations or industrialization. Transatlantic slave trade and human trafficking differ in the
populations that they effect, and reasoning for their implementation into society, but they both
have had a lasting oppressive and immoral result on modern civilization.