Ch 14 - Part 2 and Documents

"Of all the commercial ties that linked the early modern world into a global network of exchange, none had more profound or enduring human consequences than the Atlantic slave trade." (Pg 620)

This sentence really stood out me.  Profound, enduring, and consequence are such strong words but putting them together with slavery makes the impact of those words even stronger.  As I continued to read, I found it really difficult to read about Africans selling their own people into slavery.  I imagine these African people just living their lives and then one day they're captured and sold into a life
where they are treated like they are nothing.  The freedom these people had to live freely was completely taken away, and I imagine they looked out and saw that their captors are people who look just like them; that is just sad and terrifying for me to think about.

I found it interesting to read that these slaves introduced their own elements of their culture to the Americas like religion and cuisine.  I think it is interesting because they were existent enough for their owners or traders to allow them room enough to introduce a part of who they are into their culture.  Going back to the quote above, these African traditions endured, but not as a consequence but rather a benefit that is enjoyed by many today.