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5 Ways Europe Underdeveloped Africa

Posted byBy ABS Contributor | Published on: | Updated on August 11, 2015 CommentsComments (13)

africans working

The European Slave Trade Had Major Effects On The African Labor Force 

According to some estimates, between 1445 and 1870 as many as 100 million enslaved African men, women and children left Africa during the Trans Atlantic slave trade. This loss of workers put a major dent in the African labor force.

According to Walter Rodney, author of “How Europe Underdeveloped Africa,” the massive hit to the African labor force was made more critical because it was composed of able-bodied young men and young women. Slave buyers preferred their victims ages 15 to 35, and preferably in their early 20s; the gender ratio being about two men to one woman. Europeans often accepted African children, but rarely any older people.

For four centuries, the lack of workers slowed further development of the African continent.

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