African Americans In The 17th Century

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Africans being used as slaves in the 17th century sparked the use of slaves in the Americas and other places around the world. African slaves during the transatlantic period have many causes and effects, but it also helped colonize the Americas. The spread of Islam into Africa during the 17th century is what increased slavery and slave trade. Muslim rulers that were in Africa legalized slavery because of the muslim belief that non-muslim prisoners of war could be bought and sold as slaves. Slavery was usually a lifelong condition, but there were some exceptions. Between the years of 650 and 1600, Muslims alone transported about 17 million Africans to the Muslim lands of Southwest Asia and North Africa. Africans were bought and sold as slaves …show more content…
African families lost family members and many cultures and societies lost their young members. The slave trade tore apart African societies. The slaves had many contributions, and one was their labor. Some societies may not have survived if slaves had not done the work for the citizens of these societies. African slavery also contributed to the development of the Americas, both economically and culturally. Africans had experience working in the fields and that was why they made good slaves. They had expertise in agriculture, but they also brought their culture along with them. Some American societies were influenced by their culture, such as their food, art, religion, and their music. Also, African-American societies formed. Today, there are mixed-race populations all the way from the United States down to …show more content…
Slaves were not usually chosen by their race. Race was not a factor used by other places around the world, but the religion and cultural differences are what slaves were chosen by and whether or not they were prisoners of war. Prisoners of war were mostly the ones that were being captured and used as slaves in China, Egypt, India, and other places. Once slavery started in the Americas, it was based mostly on race. Europeans looked at black people as being lower class, hence why they were being used as slaves. After that, slavery in the Americas was based on if you were born into an enslaved family or