How El Nin~o and drought affected the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade
Weather and climate intertwined with slavery and conflict, bearing
lessons that reverberate today

Date:
February 11, 2022
Source:
University of California - Davis
Summary:
The oceanic phenomenon El Nin~o significantly affected the number
of enslaved Africans transported from West Africa to the Americas
between the mid-1600s and mid-1800s, according to a new study. The
study bridges atmospheric science with African history, carrying
lessons for a warming future. It found that, much like tree rings
and corals, El Nin~o can be used as a proxy for historical rainfall
and temperature patterns in West Africa.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
El Nin~o, an oceanic phenomenon that affects worldwide weather patterns, significantly affected the number of enslaved Africans transported
from West Africa to the Americas between the mid-1600s and mid-1800s,
according to a study from the University of California, Davis.


==========================================================================
The study, published in the American Meteorological Society journal
Weather, Climate and Society, bridges atmospheric science with African
history. It also shares lessons for today amid a warming future that
threatens to exacerbate human conflict and migrations.

The study found that El Nin~o can be used as a proxy -- much like tree
rings and corals -- for historical rainfall and temperature patterns in
West Africa.

The authors used reconstructed El Nin~o indices and the Slave
Voyages dataset to examine the relationship between El Nin~o and the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

Historians have suggested, based upon qualitative assessments of journals, documents and chronicles, that droughts affected the trans-Atlantic
slave trade. But they have not been able to quantify that relationship
or to ascribe a mechanism for the droughts.

"The trans-Atlantic slave trade began in the 1400s, but instrumental
rainfall data only goes back to around the 1800s," said lead author
William Turner IV, a Ph.D. student at UC Davis in the Department of Land,
Air and Water Resources.

"To fill this data gap, we relied on the proxy association between
El Nin~o and rainfall. We found that during El Nin~o, West Africa
experiences drier conditions." Delayed response The authors found that
El Nin~o-induced drier conditions are associated with a decrease in the
number of enslaved people brought to the Americas, and it happened at a two-year lag. The lag is important, showing that El Nin~o-induced drier conditions caused a delayed response in the slave trade.



==========================================================================
The authors suggest that agricultural stresses may have reduced the demand
for slaves during droughts, resulting in the decrease of enslaved peoples transported from Africa. They note, however, that sociological studies
are needed to fully understand how West African societies responded
to drought during the slave trade. Nonetheless, they found a clear
association between El Nin~o and the slave trade.

When 'commodities' are enslaved people "What surprised me was how detailed
the ship logs were," said co-author Terrence Nathan, a professor in the UC Davis Department of Land, Air and Water Resources. "The logs documented
the weather, as well as the number of enslaved individuals who left the
ports and survived the tortuous journey on ships that carried as many as
700 enslaved Africans with only 3 square feet allotted to each person. The enslaved individuals were simply treated as commodities for insurance
purposes, further underscoring the inhumanity of the slave trade."
"To acknowledge their humanity, we used the terminology 'enslaved'
rather than 'slave' throughout the paper," Turner said.

Learning from the past "In this study, we showed that weather was
one of several driving forces of the trans-Atlantic slave trade," said
Nathan. "Lessons learned from this study reverberate today, as evidenced
by the Syrian civil war, which studies have shown was exacerbated by
extreme drought. Given current projections of climate change, one can
only wonder what the future holds for future potential conflicts when
people are forced to move from hotter and drier areas."


==========================================================================
The authors end the study with the West African word "sankofa," which
roughly translates to "the past informs the future." "'Sankofa' means
to not dwell on the past but to learn from it and understand how we got
here today so we can have a better future for tomorrow," Turner said.

The study was funded by the National Science Foundation.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
University_of_California_-_Davis. Original written by Kat Kerlin. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. William Turner IV1 and Terrence R. Nathan1. The El Nin~o-Southern
Oscillation and the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Weather, Climate
and Society, 2022 DOI: 10.1175/WCAS-D-21-0036.1 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/02/220211102526.htm

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