Transatlantic Slavery and a Capitalist Modernity

Africans were believed to have higher levels of strength and 'humour' than European workers or the Native Americans and, therefore, considered the more effective work force in this new industry. As the demand for sugar across Europe soared so did the demand for African slave labour, so much so that today Brazil contains more citizens of African descent than Native Brazilians6. The total number of slaves imported by the Portuguese is estimated at around 4.2 million- excluding those who met their fatal end during the middle passage- and their economy dramatically flourished during their time as the leader of transatlantic trade7. Their success, however, leads to a "ripple effect" across Europe and Portugal's position and power was soon threatened and diminished by Northern European countries such as the Netherlands and France. .
             As Portugal began to slip into the background of the transatlantic slave trade the more developed Western Nations began to take advantage of the huge opportunities of wealth and power that the Western coast of Africa and the "New World" provided. France was a predominant figure in the trading and exploitation of African slaves, in the ten years spanning 1720-30 French ships took over 85,0008 enslaved Africans to the plantations in the Americas. This figure only rose as the decades passed and Frances total figure stands at around 1,250,0009 Africans that were displaced and sent to work in the colonies. In scenes mirrored across Europe over this period in history the majority of the wealth generated from the slave trade was held by a capital owning elite in France, one family that prevailed in this industry was the Montaudoinsm's, a trading family that alone were responsible for the sending of 357 ships to cultivate slaves to be used in plantations across the Americas10. The Transatlantic slave trade also funded the growth of many port towns such as Bordeaux, La Rochelle, and Marseilles but none succeeded more than Nantes, on the west coast of France which saw over 1,400 slaving voyages during the 18th century alone11.