There are considerable differences between the European slave trade and the type of servitude that occurred in African culture, of course they both consisted of a man deprived of his freedom, but the degree to which this liberty was taken is the main difference. Europeans ran the slave trade and turned it into a well-oiled machine to fuel their discovery of new lands and demand for trade, whereas in African culture, slaves were not actually the "slaves" to whom we think but rather indentured servants who had basic human rights. . The details of the differences and similarities will be discussed in more detail. Slavery in Africa existed long before the influx of Europeans, but they practiced it in a much more ethical and civilized way. They were compared to the same status as serfs in Europe, which makes me wonder why Europeans allowed people of the same "class" to be treated so differently. Many of the texts I analyzed, most specifically mentioned in the USI article "Atlantic Crossing," explain: "Within the continent, ethical conventions have governed for centuries the taking of people for use as slaves, whose status, in most cases, more closely resembled that of the serfs of Europe than the chattels of the Americas. African slaves should be more correctly called indentured servants, or someone who signs and is bound by contracts to work for another for a fixed period of time, especially in exchange for payment of travel expenses, maintenance, etc. (Merriam Webster). They were not objects. to be bought, sold and worked to death like a mule, but human beings who should be treated with respect. African servants were allowed to own land, earn wages, marry, have children, purchase their own freedom, and even advance in society...... middle of newspaper..... . in Thomas Tobin likened the conditions aboard his ship to a "nursery in any private family" where the crew took care to "make everything as comfortable as possible for the slaves" (Atlantic Crossing). We obviously know that this is very far from the truth. The Europeans' reasoning for the slave trade had many motivations but the main one was growth, and they did not necessarily think about the future when they embarked on this magnificent trade in human beings across the world. This left devastating effects on the African continent and changed the culture forever. The differences between the two types of slavery are greater than the similarities. We can deduce that African servitude was much less disruptive than the European slave trade, because its effects are still felt in our culture, our politics, our economy and our society..