Background
Slave Ship Sighting an English Cruiser – 1874 Harpers Weekly
“This sketch represents a slave ship in the Mediterranean,
near the coast of Africa,
where a large cargo of slaves has
been taken on board.
In the distance an English cruiser is
sighted,
and the officers of the slave ship are preparing to
hoist
sail and try to make their escape.”
Transatlantic slave trade
The transatlantic slave trade was the largest forced migration in history, and incontrovertibly one of the most inhumane. The extensive exodus of Africans spread to many areas of the world over a 400-year period and was unprecedented in the annals of recorded human history.
As a direct result of the transatlantic slave trade, the greatest movement of Africans was to the Americas — with 96 per cent of the captives from the African coasts arriving on cramped slave ships at ports in South America and the Caribbean Islands.
From 1501 to 1830, four Africans crossed the Atlantic for every one European, making the demographics of the Americas in that era more of an extension of the African diaspora than a European one. The legacy of this migration is still evident today, with large populations of people of African descent living throughout the Americas.
Heroism, resistance and survival
A spirited resistance by the millions of enslaved peoples began from the onset of that brutal system. Many vulnerable communities devised astute defensive strategies, including protective walls and fortresses and the abandonment of villages that were hard to defend. The victims themselves used a variety of strategies to fight back the slave trade that had brought them to the Americas and enslavement itself.
Some tried running away, sabotage and other nonviolent actions; others resorted to poisoning, murder and uprisings. Those that inspired the most fear were armed revolts. In the Middle Passage too they mounted fierce rebellions, perhaps the most notable of which was the revolt onboard the slave ship Amistad in 1839, which later became a symbol in efforts to abolish slavery.
In the various overseas destinations where they faced life as slaves, enslaved peoples continued to fight for their freedom. Every country in the Americas had an African presence, and in every country, plots were hatched and actual uprisings took place.
This year’s commemoration honours the heroes, resisters and survivors — those who, like Zumbi dos Palmares, Harriet Tubman and the anonymous slave portrayed in the poster, made noble and valiant sacrifices to bring the transatlantic slave trade to an end.
Commemorating the memory of the victims
In commemoration of the memory of the victims, the General Assembly, in its resolution 62/122 of 17 December 2007, declared 25 March the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, to be observed annually.
The resolution also called for the establishment of an outreach programme to mobilize educational institutions, civil society and other organizations to inculcate in future generations the "causes, consequences and lessons of the transatlantic slave trade, and to communicate the dangers of racism and prejudice."