Oriana Zwerdling

Pd. 4

Transatlantic Slave Trade vs. Modern Human Trafficking

History is full of injustices committed by humans, against humans. Among the earliest of

truly atrocious injustices, is the start of the Transatlantic slave trade. Despite more modern

attempts to end slavery, it has not ended since it began, now under the name of human

trafficking. The Transatlantic slave trade and human trafficking are eerily similar in motive and

individual impact, but have shown quite different societal impact.

Both Transatlantic slavery and human trafficking involve the export and sale of humans.

Transatlantic slavery and human trafficking are highly profitable industries, with human

trafficking being listed in 2016 as a $150 billion industry. The average cost of a slave as of 2014,

was only $90. Many slaves, particularly during the Transatlantic slave trade, were not taken at

any cost. Slave traders and traffickers are then able to sell slaves for relatively low prices,

reaping in a large profit for the sale of human labor and ownership. A need for human labor was

a primary drive for both the Transatlantic slave trade and modern human trafficking. As

plantations grew into highly profitable businesses, the need for manual workers skyrocketed,

with the majority of slaves between 1701-1810 being exported to plantations in Brazil and the

Caribbean. Human trafficking often involves the sale of children to perform belaboring manual

tasks, such as mining, sweatshop labor, and cotton picking. During the earliest parts of the

Transatlantic slave trade, domestic labor was primarily sought by Arabian countries, and was

done by women. Similarly, modern human trafficking seeks out women for domestic labor but

on a larger global scale than the Transatlantic slave trade began with. While many of the reasons

for the import and export of humans are similar, there are a areas where the Transatlantic slave

trade and human trafficking differ. The Transatlantic slave trade began with the sale of prisoners
of war rather than the sale of people that were sought out only to be slaves. In modern day

human trafficking this is less true, and many people who are trafficked are unknowing victims

who believe they may be helping their children get an education, and are actively sought out.

Additionally, the Middle Passage, a particularly brutal part in the journey of a Transatlantic slave

was a major cause of death, killing huge numbers of Africans before they reached their

destinations. On the other hand, modern day slaves are more likely to die for reasons related to

their labor, such as dangerous working conditions and illnesses that can come from industries

such as mining. While Transatlantic slaves still had a high risk of dying for labor-related reasons,

they were more likely to die during the Middle Passage. The motives for Transatlantic export

slavery and modern human trafficking bear many similarities, but still maintain a number of

differences.

The impact of the Transatlantic slave trade and human trafficking on the individual and

their families are similar, but the way in which society treats both is quite different. Both the

Transatlantic slave trade and human trafficking tear apart families and stretching them across

continents. Slavery and human trafficking is traumatic for individuals and their families in both

scenarios, with one not necessarily being worse than the other. It is often said that Racism

didnt cause slavery, slavery caused racism. In the US, it is the history of slave labor and the

mistreatment of African slaves that created racism and the concept that black people are lower

than whites. Having a position of power over another person has historically created widespread

prejudice and oppression as can also be seen with the treatment of Native Americans. Native

Americans were encountered by many different countries, they were faced with hostility and

treated as simple and unsophisticated, leading to a long history of the mistreatment and

persecution of native peoples. It is because of the USs history with racism that it is looked upon
so negatively in the US and is taken very seriously. On the other hand, modern human trafficking

was not a fundamental part of building the US, and is not taken as seriously or advocated against

as much as racism is. Human trafficking however, has not had any major effect on American

society in the same way that racism spread throughout the US due to the use of slave labor.

Despite being similar in many ways, human trafficking has yet to have as drastic a societal effect

as the Transatlantic slave trade.

No matter the number of times that the exploitation of human labor has been proven to

end badly, people continue to do it. The motivations of Transatlantic slavery and modern human

trafficking are proof that the mindset of people has changed very little. There will always be

people who believe that it is okay to exploit and abuse vulnerable people for profit.