Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade vs. Human Trafficking Essay

Ariel Bosselaar Professor Gabriele Gottlieb Hst. 300: Writing History December 15, 2011 Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade VS. Human Trafficking Although slavery may have legally ended in 1865 with the end of the Civil War, it continues to be a problem worldwide today. â€Å"The UN International Labor Organization (ILO) calculates the minimum number of people in forced labor at 12.3 million, while research by Free the Slaves, a non-governmental organization (NGO) based in the United Sates, puts the number at 27 million.† Even so, there are many similarities between the Trans-Atlantic slave trade and human trafficking today. All through the Trans-Atlantic slave trade slavery happened mostly in colonies in North and South America and the†¦show more content†¦In 2002 to keep control of Lyudmilla, a young single mother from the Soviet republic of Moldova traffickers used rape, beatings, and they kept her passports so that she had no way of going home even if she escaped. Mercy, a young woman from West Africa who was taken to Italy, escaped only to have trafficker s kill her sister as punishment for Mercy escaping and going to a human rights group for help. During both times of slavery violence has been used to keep slaves under control and as punishment should they to misbehave or try to run away. Like in England during the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, slavery today is out of sight. During the Trans-Atlantic slave trade slavery was accepted as the norm and many people justified slavery by saying the white man was superior to the black slaves. Today slavery is also out of sight simply because it is illegal and therefore it happens mostly behind closed doors where the public cannot see what is happening. Today though, many people are aware that slavery is taking places but they are much more complacent than their counterparts in the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. â€Å"Perhaps we simply prefer to close our eyes to it, as many law-abiding citizens buy the products and the services produced on the cheap by slaves,† Antonio Maria Costa, Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said. Today people are much too comfortable with being able to buy various items extremely cheap not caring orShow MoreRelatedOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 PagesCentury †¢ Jose C. Moya and Adam McKeown 9 †¢ 2 Twentieth-Century Urbanization: In Search of an Urban Paradigm for an Urban World †¢ Howard Spodek 53 3 Women in the Twentieth-Century World Bonnie G. Smith 83 4 The Gendering of Human Rights in the International Systems of Law in the Twentieth Century †¢ Jean H. Quataert 116 5 The Impact of the Two World Wars in a Century of Violence †¢ John H. Morrow Jr. 161 6 Locating the United States in Twentieth-Century World History Read MoreInternational Management67196 Words   |  269 PagesIran, North Korea, Iraq, and Afghanistan, especially as the U.S. role in these latter two countries evolves. On the economic front, failure to conclude important trade agreements, including the so-called â€Å"Development† Round of multilateral trade negotiations under the World Trade Organization, and the lagging support for some bilateral trade agreements pose additional challenges to global managers and multinational companies. In addition, the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has renewed calls for