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Shackles of Memory: The Atlantic Slave Trade
| Length: | 52 min |
| Released: | 1996 |
| Ages: |
High School College Adult |
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From the port of Nantes, located on the French Atlantic coast, more than 1800 slave ships plied their human cargo during the 18th and 19th centuries. These French ships circled the coast of Africa, exchanging trade merchandise for black captives whom they later sold to the colonies being established in the New World. Africans were deported by the millions, not only by the French, but by the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch and English, starting as early as the 15th century.
In this important historical film, the grim details of the slave trade are made real for a modern audience. Paintings, documents and artifacts recount the immensely profitable trade that enriched the great port cities of Europe as it decimated the African people. None of the tropical colonies would have prospered had it not been for merciless use of slave labor. Without resorting to polemics, Shackles of Memory evokes a chilling reality that reverberates today.
In this important historical film, the grim details of the slave trade are made real for a modern audience. Paintings, documents and artifacts recount the immensely profitable trade that enriched the great port cities of Europe as it decimated the African people. None of the tropical colonies would have prospered had it not been for merciless use of slave labor. Without resorting to polemics, Shackles of Memory evokes a chilling reality that reverberates today.
"Gives a clear idea of how ...much of Europe benefited from the trade in human souls." International Herald Tribune
"There is much variety in the well-edited visual elements. Lively music and appropriate sound effects animate this clear-eyed look at primitive capitalism shown of moral consideration." Booklist
"There is much variety in the well-edited visual elements. Lively music and appropriate sound effects animate this clear-eyed look at primitive capitalism shown of moral consideration." Booklist
