The Impact of Slavery on African Society Essay Example for Free

The Impact of Slavery on African Society Essay Slavery has played a strong role in African society from as early as prehistoric times, continuing to the modern era. Early slavery within Africa was a common practice in many societies, and was very central to the country’s economy. Beginning around the 7th century, two groups of non-African slave traders significantly altered the traditional African forms of slavery that had been practiced in the past. Native Africans were now being forced to leave the country to be used as slaves. The two major slave trades, trans-Saharan and trans-Atlantic, became central to the organization of Africa and its societies until the modern era. Slavery and the slave trade strongly affected African society, and left long term impacts on the development of the entire continent due to the dehumanization of Africans and the high demand of labor causing the slow decline and dismantling of African states. From the 7th century, extending to the 20th century, Arab Muslims raided areas of West, Central, and East Africa, transporting thousands of Slaves to North Africa, the Middle East and India. The trans-Saharan slave trade increased between the 10th and 15th centuries, as Empires such as Songhai, Ghana, Mali, and Kanem-Bornu evolved south of the Sahara, guiding the slave trade. Over a period of more than a thousand years, the trans-Saharan slave trade directed the movement of over 10 million enslaved men, women, and children. The trans-Saharan slave trade led to the blossom of powerful African states in the inner parts of East Africa, and southern fringes of the Sahara. Although the trans-Saharan slave trade prompted the expansion of slavery within Africa, it was greatly outdone by the large trans-Atlantic trade that followed after the 15th century. The initial group of European slave traders in West Africa were the Portuguese, which was then followed by the British and French. During the 16th and 17th centuries, these three European Colonial Powers initiated the movement of slaves to their growing possessions in the New World. Slaves were sent across the Atlantic Ocean to North, Central, and South America, and the Caribbean Islands to establish and maintain consistent plantation and agriculture. As European desire grew for products including sugar, cotton and rice, the demand for plantation labor also increased. African slave labor was cheap among European standards, leading to the influx of such a large number of African slaves in the New World. European and American slave-traders acquired roughly 12 million slaves from West and west central Africa. People may argue that the practice did not become dehumanizing until white Europeans came along and took slaves to the Americas’. Slavery had existed in Africa as it had in other parts of the world, for centuries, but it was not based on race and it did not result in dehumanization and death, as did transatlantic slavery. This statement is claiming that because the economies of Africa did not depend on slave labor, the number of enslaved people was small until European traders arrived. I am convinced that the African slave trade led to the dehumanization of Africans because it was focused on the legal institution created by law in America, which allowed white American settlers to actually own Africans. This type of slavery was severe and brutal, and also degenerated Africans. The rise of industrialization in America brought the demand for large amounts of labor which Americans took advantage of to gain profit. The only group of Africans benefiting from the trans-Atlantic slave trade was the Elites. These were political members of the ruling class who would capture slaves and take them to markets along the coast. These wealthy slave dealers would use their riches to then identify with other wealthy families through marriage. This created a gap between the prosperous elite, and the struggling lower class. Throughout the continent, slavery had become a major element in African life. As the demand for slaves increased, slave raids became more prevalent, leaving parts of Africa dismantled and unorganized. Other practices such as enslavement as discipline and punishment for crime began to be introduced. Society was constantly changing in reaction to what was happening in slave trade. The slave trades caused political instability, led to much social fragmentation, and resulted in a decline of legal institutions. The countries from which the greatest number of slaves were taken, are the same areas that had the least developed political structures when the slave trades ended. These are the same countries that are the most ethnically fragmented in modern era Africa. These areas include states such as Angola, Chad, Tanzania, and Sierra Leone. When the slave trade came to an end, the African continent was strongly affected. Societies that for many years based their economy on slave labor, and slave trade, had trouble with creating new forms of gaining riches and organizing labor. Upon the ending of slavery and the slave trade in Africa, many governments that once had slaves, still were in desperate need of cheap labor. Due to this demand, African leaders and former slave owners created new methods of forcing Africans to work without pay or for very small amounts of compensation. Slavery has been a significant practice throughout the continent of Africa since pre-historic times. The trans-Saharan and trans-Atlantic slave trades changed the face of slavery in society throughout Africa. The impacts of slavery and the slave trade generated the disruption of the economy resulting in Africa becoming the poorest continent on earth. Slave trades have left Africa very separated, and most importantly underdeveloped and Africans dehumanized. Even though large empires such as Dahomey, Asante, and Benin expanded and prospered because of the slave trade, the successive abolition of the trade led to the fast downfall of all these states. The huge loss of population suppressed economic, social and political advancement. However, the transfer of Africans to the Americas has led to a cultural diversity unseen in world history. Today African Americans play predominant roles in the arts, sports, and music industry of society. Their contribution to and influence on world culture is incomparable.

Hamlet’s Minor Characters :: GCSE Coursework Shakespeare Hamlet

Hamlet’s Minor Characters Hamlet It is reasonable to wonder what Shakespeare had in mind while writing Hamlet. After all, Shakespeare wasn't a philosopher or historian, or even a literary critic. He was a playwright. He didn't leave us critical essays examining his work. It is left to us to examine his work and decide for ourselves, if we care to, what Shakespeare was thinking. Did he know that he was writing a drama of deep psychological significance, a play which would eventually be viewed and read the world over, produced many times over hundreds of years, taught in schools, and thought of as one of the world's greatest plays? I, for one, imagine him crossing the "t" in the last word of the play, putting down his pen, and saying "I hope it runs a year." Yet Hamlet is an extremely complex play. To appreciate the imagination which went into the creation of this tragedy, let's first delve into what is putatively Shakespeare's most complex tragedy, King Lear. Lear has three daughters: Cordelia, who is faithful and unappreciated by Lear, and Regan and Goneril who receive everything at his hands and betray him. These themes of misplaced love and filial betrayal are mirrored in the subplot of the play, the relationship between the Earl of Gloster and his two sons, Edmund, who is supported and approved by Gloster and betrays him, and Edgar, who unjustly becomes a fugitive from his father's wrath. The mirror is whole. In it we view Cordelia's reflection and see Edgar, while Regan's and Goneril's reflections, which are of one face, show us Edmund. In the main plot of Hamlet, Hamlet's father has been murdered. Hamlet swears revenge, but feign's madness and delays. In the subplot, the chamberlain, Polonius, is murdered by Hamlet. One of Polonius's children, Laertes, swears revenge, while the other, his daughter Ophelia, goes mad. Here, the mirror is cracked. Hamlet's reflection is splintered. We see one part of him, his revenge motive, in Laertes' action, and we see his pretended madness in Ophelia's piteous condition. More than this, Hamlet's image is dimmed compared to those of his counterparts. Hamlet speaks of revenge, but procrastinates; Laertes instantly raises and army and attacks the kingdom, but he must be satisfied over his father's murder. Hamlet only acts mad; Ophelia's madness is too real. Besides production, full-house ticket sales, and royalties-the playwright's typical goals, what was Shakespeare reaching for?

Paper Planes

A striking intro together with a captivating chorus that harmoniously complements every line from the verse are some of the usual elements that make a song popular.However, while elements, such as lyrics, contribute to a song’s appeal to the mass audience, elements can also serve as tools to state a singer’s opinion on relevant social matters.   The song Paper Planes by singer M.I.A, for instance, uses the song’s lyrical content to attack the established systems that have become destructive for humankindSuperficially, the song infers to the absurdity of the unyielding problem of prejudice in the dominant western world.   The words such as if you catch me at the border, I got visas in my name, in the first two verses of the song blatantly brings forth the most unimaginable a person can have in a in a foreign land.   Particularly in the United States where immigrants are stereotypically associated to criminal activities such as terrorism, murder, violence, an d illegal substance transactions.The sound of four consecutive gunshots intertwined with a ring of a cash register and a choral of children most blatantly serves Paper Planes’ attack on the immorality of racial prejudice.   The infusion of the aforementioned sound effects with the lines all I wanna do is, and take your money, the song disparages the prevalent collective neurosis that most robberies and crimes perpetrated across the United States are done by foreigners.However, the song goes deeper than the literal meaning of the words used in its lyrics.   As much as Paper Planes blatantly hints at the prejudice within American soil, it also criticizes the violence and the exploitation of human achievements such as technology to spread chaos, two destructive acts that has become rampant in modern society.  M.I.A. has stressed on such disparagement through the words no one in the corner has swagger like us, hit me on my burner, prepaid and wireless.   We pack and deliv er like UPS trucks, already going hell just pumping that gas.Likewise, M.I.A’s Paper Planes also manifests an opposition against the alleged good qualities of capitalism and consumerist culture that ignores the actual human condition while tolerating war and violence.The interwoven sounds of gunshots, singing children, and cash register ring together with the repeated verse lines express the futility of war, the degenerative tendency of the predominant practice of private enterprise, as well as psychological effects of violence on adults and children.Unlike other songs that seek the appreciation of the general populace, the lyrical content of Paper Plains metaphorically attacks the current prevalent social norms.   The only problem is that the message it aims to disseminate becomes misconstrued by the very public it wishes to reach out to.   

Free PDF Chemistry Worksheets To Download or Print

This is a collection of chemistry worksheets in pdf format. The answers to the questions are available on separate worksheets so you can fill them out and then check your work. Please feel free to download these to your computer, print them, and use them as hand-outs. Metals, Nonmetals, and Metalloids WorksheetMetric to English Conversions WorksheetMetric to English Conversions AnswersMetric to Metric Conversions WorksheetMetric to Metric Conversions AnswersTemperature Conversions WorksheetTemperature Conversions AnswersTemperature Conversions Worksheet #2Temperature Conversions Answers #2Moles to Grams Conversions WorksheetMoles to Grams Conversions AnswersFormula or Molar Mass WorksheetFormula or Molar Mass Worksheet AnswersPracticing Balancing Chemical Equations - WorksheetBalancing Chemical Equations - AnswersPracticing Balancing Chemical Equations - Worksheet #2Balancing Chemical Equations - Answers #2Practicing Balancing Chemical Equations - Worksheet #3Balancing Chemical Equations - Answers #3Balancing Equations - Worksheet #4Balancing Equations - Answer Key #4Common Acid Names Formulas - WorksheetAcid Names and Formulas - AnswersPractice Calculations with Moles - WorksheetMole Calculations - AnswersAcid Base pH - WorksheetAcid Base pH - AnswersGas LawsGas Laws AnswersGas Laws Answers - Shown WorkLimiting Reagent - WorksheetLimiting Reagent - AnswersCalculating Molarity - WorksheetCalculating Molarity - AnswersBalancing Redox Reactions - WorksheetBalancing Redox Reactions - AnswersPrintable Element CrosswordPrintable Element Crossword - AnswersChemical Names to Chemical Formulas - WorksheetChemical Names to Chemical Formulas - Answer KeyChemical Formulas to Chemical Names - WorksheetChemical Formulas to Chemical Names - Answer KeyChemistry Element Word Search Printable Periodic Tables Here are some printable periodic tables to help you out, also in pdf format. Color Printable Periodic Table - Pretty much everything you need that can fit on a page and still be readable. Color table with atomic numbers, element symbols, element names, atomic weights, periods, and groups. [2013 Edition] [2012 Edition]Black/white Printable Periodic Table - Black/white table with atomic numbers, element symbols, element names, atomic weights, periods. [2013 Edition] [2012 Edition]Blank Printable Periodic Table - Fill in the boxes yourself.Electron Configuration Periodic Table - Periodic table that lists the electron configurations for each element.Color Printable Periodic Table - Color table with atomic numbers, element symbols, atomic weights, periods, and groups. (no names)Basic Printable Periodic Table - Black/white table with atomic numbers, element symbols, atomic weights, periods. (no names)Basic Periodic Table with Element Names - Black/white table with element symbols, names, atomic numbers, and periods. (no weights)Basic Periodic Table with Element Nam es (color) - Color periodic table with element symbols, names, atomic numbers, periods, and groups. (no weights) The atomic weights given on these tables are the most recent (2007) values as accepted by the IUPAC. Printable Scientific Method Flow Chart This is a flow chart of the steps of the scientific method, available as a PDF file: Scientific Method PDF Also available is a PDF of a pie chart of the elemental composition of the human body.