Slavery in Africa changed the political and social structures of the African Kingdoms, hindering any progress of development and leaving the continent in a state of chaos and disorder. Africa has always been a part of all the Abrahamic faiths. Christianity flourished Ethiopia long before there was a Church of England and Islam spread to Africa before it reached parts of Arabia. Timbuktu and other African cities had libraries and universities that advanced in mathematics and astrology. Ancient Africa at one time was at par with other continents in religion, culturally and economically, as a matter of fact 14th century African king, Mansa Musa I of Mali, is the wealthiest person in all of history. Africa’s tribulations started at the beginning of the 15th century and throughout the mercantilist period. Slavery was especially destructive for the continent of Africa and the African people because it rapidly declined its population, making it easy to colonize, create political fragmentation, and ruined any chance it had of modernization. In the 15th century when the Europeans began exploring and establishing trading posts on the west coast of Africa, it was the beginning of the Atlantic slave trade. As the demand for products such as tobacco, cotton, and sugar grew, the need for plantation workers also increased. These colonial powers began to export these ideal African slaves who were not susceptible to tropical disease nor were they susceptible to the diseases the Europeans carried. Slavery had a wide-ranging effect on Africa and a significant impact on the New World, and as a result of the forced migration of millions of Africans slave the implications are still seen today.
The drastic impact that slavery had on the continent of Africa was immense. The number of people that were captured and exported to the New World was unfavorable for the continent of Africa. The demand for male slaves was more than that of female which resulted in a mass decline in the male...