The Atlantic Slave Trade The Atlantic Slave Trade is one of the largest trades that occurred across the Atlantic Ocean from the 16th to the 19th centuries. The Atlantic slave traders were the Portuguese, English, French, Spanish, and the Dutch Empire. Traders were sorted by volume, with the Dutch Empire participating more than the Spanish Empire. Each of these nations had their own reasons for joining the slave trade. The Spanish and Portuguese were slave traders who purchased slaves from West Africa and sold them to other nations. The Spanish acquired slaves to work in their newly acquired colonies and in many cases did not participate in the slave selling process. In contrast, the English were heavily involved in the sale of slaves during the 18th century. The movement of these slaves across the Atlantic occurred aboard ships that remained at sea for long periods, and the slaves were subjected to atrocious conditions that put not only their health but also their psychology at risk. The experiences of participants in the Atlantic slave trade differed depending on various factors such as the country of origin of the slaves, the buyers, and their destination. Those with African identity were defined as slaves even if they were merchants, priests and farmers. Slavers from Europe had the experience of dispersing African slaves to the Americas where they led lives of degradation and brutality. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Many of the slaves were purchased from the western part of Africa and transported by sea to their destinations where they would be auctioned off. The Portuguese, English, French, and Spanish would travel to Africa where they would solicit the help of native Africans in acquiring slaves (Blaufarb & Clarke, 2014). Many Africans, especially those from West Africa such as the Yoruba and Igbo, who participated in this trade never sold their relatives, however, when African communities were at war, they captured their enemies and kept them in cells until the time came. of the war. the buyers came to choose those who would undertake the long return journey to Western countries. Coastal African chiefs, in particular, supported the trade because it was profitable and provided them with many cowrie shells which served as currency in Africa during that period. Once the slaves were sold to the Europeans, they were loaded onto ships that would be their home until the end of the journey. They were placed under bridges where living conditions were not conducive to humans. They were bound together in chains and forced to stay close to each other in the scorching heat below deck when the sun was shining and during the cold nights when the tide was high. Slaves were poorly fed as a group of more than seven men were forced to eat from the same bucket (Bosman, 1705). They were sometimes offered wooden spoons that would not be replaced if they lost them and would be forced to use their hands to eat. The slaves would have remained below decks throughout the voyage and this being the case; they were only provided with buckets, which they would use to relieve themselves. However, due to the chains on their legs and hands, it was impossible for some to reach the bucket and they preferred to relieve themselves in the areas where they slept and this led to the outbreak of diseases such as boils and cholera. Bosman's account of the conditions in which slaves lived is similar to other historical sources that record slaves suffering from.