7 Ridiculous Reasons Why Our Forefathers Were Sold to the Europeans

Back in the days of our forefathers, slave trade was a popular activity.

This barbaric act involved the exchange of people to the Europeans and Arabs for money or apparently valuable property. The people traded were either salves or prisoners of war or just everyday johns unfortunately caught in the wrong place. Thankfully, this barter system involving people was stopped over 300 years ago and the world has moved on from that phase.

I was reading up on slave trade the other day and I stumbled across some incredibly ridiculous things people were being exchanged for back then. Take a look at the 7 most ridiculous things I found:

1. Alcohol

Ogogoro na bad thing sha, no be today!

Even back then, people were willing to and freely traded other people for wines, rums, whiskeys and brandy. Imagine!! To sell person just because of highness, una forefathers harsh oh.

2. Guns

The whites came into western Africa with their amazing ‘firesticks’ and our fathers were ready to do anything to get their hands on the ‘firesticks’. Anything in this context included exchanging other people for these ‘fire spitting sticks’ we know as Guns nowadays.

3. Gunpowder

To shoot the gun you need the gunpowder right? Well, getting gunpowder was equal to giving more people as slaves. And our forefathers were quite okay with that bargain. Chai!

4. Clothes

The Chiefs and High men back then wanted to wear the foreign, beautiful and sophisticated clothes the Europeans were wearing. And the Europeans made it available to them…at the small cost of human beings. Very affordable sturvs…sigh.

5. Tobacco

Yes oh. People were sold as slaves just for snuff. In fact it was a big business back then. Everybody wanted to get their hands on the pristine Portuguese grown tobacco and they could do anything to get it; including parting with some of their servants. Na wa!

6. Brass and Copper

Our forefathers were tempted into selling their brothers and sisters to the men from overseas with Copper. Copper back then was of high value and used as a form of currency. A few copper coins in your purse and you were rich. People were also exchanged for brass. The shiny brass was in turn used by our forefather to create decorative structures and jewelry.

7. Sugar

No, no it’s true. Human beings were exchanged for sugar back then. Simple sugar! Actually, sugar was a fascinating commodity back then and people were eager to get their hands on this sweet strange thing. So they exchanged people for it. Full grown matured men and women just for sugar! This one actually ‘burst my brain’.

Anyways, thankfully, slavery is now a crime in almost everywhere in the world.

Have you heard about any other strange thing people were sold for back then? Let us know by commenting on this post.