| One of the most tragic parts of the history of North and South America |
| is the period of African slavery. |
| For hundreds of years, many people were taken from Africa, by force, |
| to work in the fields of many different countries in North and South America. |
| When Europeans first came to the Americas, |
| some of them realized that they might make money by growing crops and selling them in Europe. |
| However, in order to make money, |
| they would need a cheap source of labor. |
| Few Europeans would come to the Americas to work for low wages, |
| so instead, the landowners looked for slaves. |
| In the areas of great farms, or plantations, |
| there were few Indians, so they used another source of slaves: Africa. |
| The plantation owners usually obtained slaves by buying them from local kings in western Africa. |
| This led to many wars between rival kings within Africa, |
| who tried to capture each other’s people in order to sell them as slaves. |
| A few kings tried to avoid the slave trade, but this was very difficult. |
| During a period of several hundred years, from the 1500s to the 1800s, |
| about 12 million people were taken from western Africa to the Americas. |
| Many more people died as slaves before leaving Africa, |
| and many more died on the ships that took them to the Americas. |
| This was because the conditions on the ships were extremely unhealthy: |
| the ships were far too crowded, and there was little food and water. |
| When the African slaves arrived in the Americas, |
| the plantation owners made them work on farms that produced goods such as cotton and sugar. |
| In many places, they worked very hard, |
| and many of the slaves died from overwork. |
| They were then replaced by other slaves who arrived from Africa. |
| However, many slaves survived despite the brutal conditions. |
| In some places, the African slaves were able to revolt against the plantation owners. |
| However, this was difficult because the slaves who had recently arrived spoke many different languages |
| Some slaves escaped into wilderness areas |
| and were able to remain free from the plantation owners. |
| As time went by, many people in Europe and in the Americas realized that slavery was wrong. |
| By the 1830s, slavery had been ended, or abolished, |
| in islands owned by the British, and in parts of the United States. |
| In the southern United States, |
| slavery was ended in the 1860s, during the Civil War. |
| In some countries, such as Brazil and Cuba, |
| slavery only ended in the 1880s. |
| Today, many millions of people in North and South America |
| are descendants of slaves who were brought from Africa. |
| The effects of slavery have lasted for many generations, |
| and there was much racial prejudice against African people when slavery ended. |
| However, some have achieved success despite these disadvantages. |
| Today, the people of African background in North and South America |
| are a very important part of the population in many countries. |
More English listening lessons for intermediate level:
Lesson 54: The History of the English Language
