Mediatheque london

Wilfredo Javier Gonzalez

Mediatheque assignment

Since the first time that I ever studied history, I have been very much interested in the analysis of slavery all over the world for the reasonthat, although all the differences that sometimes might turn people apart at the present time, this is part of everybody’s background because it was a worldwide economic practice. In addition, thetransatlantic slave trade was so important for the economy that it can also be said that it even maintained an important part of the economy that helped and fuelled the emerging of an IndustrialRevolution.

In other hand, another issue that interests me is the racism that appeared after the slavery was abolished, because I have always thought that slavery and racism are very linked one and other.Plus, for some reason, although slavery was abolished in the 18th century, racism is still present in everyday of our lives. Therefore, for this assignment I have picked two clips that I think arevery important to analyze these matters; “The African Trade (1997) - The story of the African man who was one of the true leaders of the abolitionist movement.” Because I think it might help me tounderstand the slave trade in a better way. And “Flight of the Swan (1994) - Can a young black girl hope to become a classical ballerina?” because I hope that this clip would help me to have a clearer ideaof how the racism affects people lives in an even more modern time.

“The African Trade (1997)” is a historical documentary series that shows how the transatlantic slavery was responsible for thelargest, long-distance, forced migration in history. However, given that Europeans did not take this kind of economic risks into the interior until after abolition, how did more than 12 million Africansfall into their authority? This clip explores into history and finds that, contrary to popular conviction, most of the business was conducted by black slave merchants trading on the coast with...