Final answer:
Historians reference the Triangular Trade when discussing the interconnection of the American, European, and African markets. The transatlantic slave trade, facilitated by trading posts on the West Coast of Africa, was unique in its race-based, hereditary system of enslavement. Successful resistance against slavery manifested in various forms, often resulting in freedom or cultural preservation.
Step-by-step explanation:
When historians describe how the American, European, and African commodity markets were all connected and dependent on one another, they're referring to the Triangular Trade. Slavery existed in Africa before European exploration of the continent began, yet the transatlantic slave trade that began with the arrival of the Europeans established new precedents in the commodification of human beings. People captured for the transatlantic slave trade predominantly came from the West Coast of Africa.
In justifying slavery, Europeans in the earlier period of the slave trade argued that Africans could be enslaved because they didn't practice the Christian religion. Before being placed on ships, enslaved individuals were held in factories, or trading posts along the West African coast. The term diaspora is often used to describe a group of people who were either forcibly removed or who fled their homeland and resettled in large populations in other places in the world.
The transatlantic slave trade was unique in its scope and the racialized nature of its system. Unlike earlier forms of slavery, which often allowed for the possibility of integration or emancipation, the new world slavery system was characterized by its permanence, brutality, and the hereditary status of enslaved individuals. Slaves were now seen as life-long property, and their children were born into slavery, creating a racial caste that was embedded in the social and legal fabric of the societies they inhabited.
Resistance to slavery and its systems took many forms, from revolts to cultural preservation. Successful resistance could mean obtaining freedom, preserving aspects of cultural identity, or even simply surviving the harsh conditions while retaining a sense of self-worth and humanity.
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