The slave Trade By Fabian Stennett The slave trade was no vacation in Jamaica and was by no means a voluntary travel to Jamaica by the Africans who faced this great Holocaust called the slave trade. Slavery as indeed discomfited the black populace from that time until now and is the single most deadly tool resulting in the degradation of the dark skin people pyscologically , spiritually, financially and in every wise. To recapture these dark dull moments of the Slave trade a time in Jamaica and the wider diaspora we will revisit the implementation of the slave trade.Slavery exists in the world from the earliest period of civilization. This existed as an economic system which carries out the practices of selling human beings as goods and services or as they would say chateled property of society. Slavery from way back existed in places like Rome, Greece and ancient Egypt. Slavery was a practice of not only some very popular universities but also the early Christian churches which did not frown at it nor repudiated its unmerciful ,babaric, unlawful, swindle filled transactions. Between the fifth and the eight century, (500-800 AD), priests and church officials retained slaves and and it was not until the period of 900 to 1300 AD before we saw some form of declination in this form of violation: And if we want to accept it or not its historical progression resulted in it revival as neo colonialism. The 16th century colonizing enterprise and dogma of European King pin such as Spain and Portugal early invasion of the people of the so-called New World resulted in all out warfare with there European partners in crime, namely the Dutch, French And the English. With people liked John Hawkins, Francis Drake and Sir Walter Raleigh who decided to rage an unceasing warfare against Spain for three main reasons. Spain founded and established colonies in the New World first, so in order for the English to gained geographical knowledge and control of the New World and suppressed Catholicism in this new region they declared all out war against Spain. Sir Walter Raleigh Raided the North American Mainland and returned to England with a bounty of potatoes which becomes an agricultural Novelties to the English Country Side. Francis Drake the English seadog circumnavigate the world and founded new sea routes but according to historian Don Carter Henry it was John Hawkin and His Son William Hawkins who established a lucrative commercial monopoly of the Negro Slave trade. They strike a deal call the asiento with the Spaniards then proceeded to buy,barter and catch slaves as a licensed commercial business to catch black African people and sell them in the Spanish colonies and part and parcel of their so called new world.The defeat of the then feared Spanish Armada In 1588 by England,destroyed the hopes and shattered the dreams of Spain naval commercial supremacy and foot hold in New World. By 1670 the viable second peace treaty of Madrid opened the New World, interlinked with Africa and the colonial Europeans hence unlocking the lucrative middle passage human cargo trading route. Spreading from Africa and the Eastern seaboard of North America down throughout Mexico ,into the Caribbean and even Brazil, where tobacco, sugar cane,coffee and cotton become large scale slave grown cash crops to be delivered to meet the supply and demand of the European Market .There was a time during the days of slavery between 1670 to 1750. The socio economic life of Jamaica was in a state of langour according to historian Don Carter Henry And Shalman Scott . The inception of the industrial revolution in Europe even with its applications of machines did not stop the indespensibility of slave as it was most relevant and is the bloodline of colonial manipulation under the guise of slavery. From as far as sengal to Angola on the West coast of Africa ,Several Indigenous African tribes were herded into slaves ships designated by the name 'SLAVERS' and almost all circumstances birthed at port karomantee (Coromantee) to recieved the Africans who where herded into captivity. The tribes included Mandingoes, Fantas, Ashanties, Iboes (Eboes),Whydahs, Yorubas, and Krus . Each tribes having there own cultural identity and behavioral patterns. The English utilized various methods to capture slave but there main methods was to kidnap,maim ,rape and torture during late night raids on sleeping ,harmless, indigenous African people. The system of barter was the most alluring and bewitching method used on Africans in his homeland. Slavery at a time in Jamaica an it ill will resulted in Jamaica's heritage to the past with heroic sacrifices to replete with the fact:'there is no race of man who has not undergone sacrifices to make us posititively what we are for we were bought with a price as Don Carter Henry quoted once upon a time in Jamaica.
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Lecture: “A Time in Jamaica — The Slave Trade and the Soul of a Nation”
By Fabian Stennett
Ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters of heritage and truth, let us gather our minds and spirits to revisit a time—a dark, bitter, and blood-soaked time—in the history of our beloved Jamaica. A time not etched in fairy tales, not told in soft tones, but roared from the bellies of ancestors who endured the unthinkable. This time was The Transatlantic Slave Trade—a global crime cloaked in economics, justified by empire, and enforced with brutality.
Let me be clear: the African presence in Jamaica was not a voyage of leisure. It was no luxury cruise across blue Caribbean waters. It was a forced migration, a Holocaust of the black body, a system that disfigured the African psyche, bled the spirit dry, and hijacked generations of cultural legacy.
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Slavery: A Global Crime Rebranded as Commerce
Slavery, let us not forget, predates even Columbus’s fateful voyage. From the Roman Empire to ancient Egypt, to the ivory towers of early European universities and even the pulpits of Christian churches—slavery was normalized, endorsed, and woven into the fabric of society.
Between 500 and 800 A.D., priests owned slaves. Church authorities stood silent as human lives were traded like coins. It wasn’t until centuries later, around 900 to 1300 A.D., that the grip of this barbarism began to loosen—but only temporarily. With the so-called “Age of Discovery,” the old crime returned in new clothes, under new names—colonialism and empire.
The 16th century saw new actors enter this grim theater: Spain, Portugal, the Dutch, the French, and England. Each wanted a piece of the New World’s riches. Gold, sugar, land—and human cargo.
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John Hawkins & England’s Bloody Entry
England’s John Hawkins, along with his son William, forged a profitable devil’s deal with Spain called the asiento, giving them rights to trade in black flesh. And thus, the slave ship—known without shame as the "slaver"—began its journeys from the coast of Africa to the sugar plantations of the West Indies. The defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 cleared England’s path to dominance, and by 1670, the Treaty of Madrid turned Jamaica into a commercial hub for this inhumane economy.
The Middle Passage became a watery grave for millions. From Senegal to Angola, from the Gold Coast to the Bight of Benin, Africans were rounded up—Ashantis, Mandingoes, Whydahs, Ibos, Fantes, Krus—each tribe with its language, traditions, and gods, all thrown into iron chains and darkness.
They arrived in Jamaica not as people but as property, as “chattel,” branded and sold like cattle. Port Koromantee (now known as Port Royal and surrounds) became a symbol of their trauma and dislocation.
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The Machinery of Human Misery
Slavery was not simply a tool of production. It was a machine of dehumanization. Africans were captured through midnight raids, tricked through barter systems, and tortured into submission. Women were violated, men were mutilated, and children were separated from their mothers—all to satisfy the European hunger for sugar, cotton, tobacco, and coffee.
Jamaica, during the height of slavery (1670–1750), became a plantation economy soaked in blood and sweat. As Don Carter Henry rightly noted, the society was in a state of "langour"—weighed down by injustice but simmering with resistance.
Even the dawn of the Industrial Revolution in Europe—despite its new machines and steam engines—did not replace the black back. Slavery remained the lifeline of European affluence. Their comfort was built upon our chaos.
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Jamaica's Resistance: The Embers of Hope
Yet, even in darkness, a flame persisted. The spirit of the African was never fully broken. From the Maroon rebellions to the silent resistance in the cane fields, Jamaica's enslaved people kept the fire alive. Every drumbeat, every whispered Anansi story, every secret gathering in the night bush was a reclamation of identity. We were warriors, healers, griots, and kings before chains touched our wrists—and some never forgot that.
We must never forget that we were bought with a price. But we also paid one—in blood, in sacrifice, in time stolen. Jamaica's heritage is not built on myths, but on heroism born from horror.
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Legacy and Truth: A Message for the Present
So what does this mean for us today?
It means that the psychological, financial, and spiritual wounds of slavery still linger. It means that we must teach the truth—in our schools, our homes, and our cultural institutions. We must tell our youth that we were not born inferior—we were made to feel that way by design.
We must reconnect with Africa, not just by DNA, but through knowledge. We must restore the names of our ancestors, reclaim our herbal wisdom, our language roots in Twi, Yoruba, and Ibo, and reestablish our cultural sovereignty.
Neo-colonialism is alive—in our economies, in our minds, in our fractured identities. But so too is the spirit of the warrior, the healer, the Maroon, the rebel.
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Final Word: Rebirth Through Remembrance
Jamaica, and by extension the entire African diaspora, stands on the bones of the brave. Let us not dishonor their sacrifice by burying the truth. The slave trade was not just a historical event—it was a trauma that still echoes. But in understanding it, in telling it, we take the first step toward healing.
Let us write our story in fire and memory. Let us speak our truth in every tongue. For as long as we remember, we remain undefeated.
There was a time in Jamaica… but now is the time to rise.
Thank you.
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