Give the most appropriate reason for the introduction of slave trade in French colonies
Answers
Explanation:
Recently I read a piece by an American living in Europe, recounting how he had found himself in heated argument with a Frenchman who hammered him with America's rap sheet of historical faults and crimes -- it looked like the usual list, if you're familiar with that dreary experience.
Among them, of course, was slavery. The American wrote that he largely conceded the point of slavery to his foe, remarking only that it was not really an American institution, just a Southern one.
This seemed lame to me, not only because it was, in fact, a national institution, as I have been at pains to tell people for some years now, but because the American could have turned the tables nicely on the Frenchman, if he'd known a little more about French history.
So, in case this ever happens to you, be prepared. Here's a primer. Really, the essential numbers can be summed up like this:
Slaver voyages: France, 4,200; British North America/United States, 1,500.
Slaves transported: France 1,250,000, British North America/United States, 300,000.
Slaves delivered to: French West Indies: 1,600,000, British North America/United States, 500,000.*