Ship technology, slavery, repatriation and air transportation: continuity and change

Abstract

The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, which occurred between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries, displaced Africans and people of African descent into the New World. The trade affected and influenced several aspects of the world economy, boosting the economies of participating countries and creating what would become the African diaspora. While several elements of the trade have gained recognition in scholarship, ships, as the single most important medium of transportation for African slaves, have received little attention. We contribute to the discourse by placing ships at the center of discussion by highlighting the relevance and importance of this human and cargo carriage as a vehicle of slavery. We also paid attention to air transportation in the era of voluntary repatriation of people of African descent back to Africa for tourism, business and to pay homage to the motherland. We achieved these objectives through the use of written sources. These included books, journal articles and relevant sites and databases relating to the history of science, technology and slavery among others. The research highlights, among others, the following: the invention of ships has changed the course of world history. It has been the single most tremendous medium of transportation responsible for transporting millions of Africans into Europe and the New World creating the African Diaspora. The era of sailing and the cruise period have offered man the opportunity to navigate oceans and seas that were hitherto uncharted. It also ensured that trade relations between and among countries were solidified. Beginning in the XIV century when ships used rudders that ran on shallow waters, trade was organized on as small scale between countries. The fifteenth century became a significant date in the history of ship building as there was an improvement in sea faring and oceanic navigation. The double-ended ship gave way for full-rigged ships. An even greater milestone was achieved in the eighteenth century when the steam was invented. This period produced fast sailing ships which were less costly and it greatly influenced the triangular trade which had begun some two centuries earlier.