The Slave Trade's Growth: Economic Transformation
During the 17th and early 18th centuries, the slave trade gradually increased in importance relative to gold trade. Newly established European colonies in the Americas created enormous demand for enslaved labor. African merchants, including some Asante, participated in supplying this demand, which had profound consequences.
Economic Incentives
Slave trading proved highly profitable. Human beings generated more consistent and repeatable trade volume than gold, which fluctuated season to season. The potential wealth from slave trading transformed political economies across West Africa, including among the Asante.
Moral Ambiguity for Contemporaries
European merchants and African merchants of the era did not frame the trade in modern moral terms. They viewed it as commerce—profitable, legal under their respective systems, and integral to economic survival. The horrific conditions experienced by enslaved people resulted from the brutal logic of treating humans as commodities.
