European (and American) slavery of Africans began in the 15 th
century and continued until the 19 th century Direct result of
Portuguese exploration by sea Slavery was the solution to the labor
shortages occurring in the Americas and in Europe The Spanish
brought the first captives to the Americas in 1503 and by 1518 the
first captives were shipped directly from Africa to America
Majority of captives were taken from West Africa
Slide 3
Estimated 11 million people were forcibly transported across
the Atlantic during this 4 century period Of those 11 million less
than 9.6 million survived the journey Slavery from the east coast
into the Arab world is estimated at 9.4-14 million people. The
entire continent of Africa saw about 25 million forcibly removed
Africa is the only continent to see such dramatic population losses
from and be affected in this way
Slide 4
Gold from the great empires of West Africa, Ghana, Mali and
Songhai that provided the means for the economic take-off of Europe
in the 13th and 14th centuries the West African empire of Mali was
larger than Western Europe and reputed to be one of the richest and
most powerful states in the world. 1324 Mansa Musa, the emperor of
Mali visited Cairo Had so much gold with him that its price fell
dramatically and had not recovered its value even 12 years
later.
Slide 5
Why did African kingdoms and merchants enter into a trade that
was so disadvantageous to Africa and its inhabitants? Africans
could become slaves as punishment for a crime, as payment for a
family debt, or most commonly of all, by being captured as
prisoners of war With the arrival of European and American ships
offering trading goods in exchange for people, Africans had an
added incentive to enslave each other, often by kidnapping. On the
African side, the slave trade was generally the business of rulers
or wealthy and powerful merchants, concerned with their own selfish
or narrow interests, rather than those of the continent. Societies
preyed on one another to gain firearms from Europeans. These
firearms helped prevent them from being sold into slavery
themselves.
Slide 6
Worked like a triangle between Africa, Europe and the Americas
Trade goods, such as guns and textiles were sent out of Europe and
traded in Africa for slaves. The slaves were crammed into ships
that crossed the Atlantic in order to provide labor for large
plantations in North and South America, which were growing cotton,
sugar cane, and tobacco Regions of North and South America were
European colonies for much of the Atlantic Slave trade and served
to provide raw materials to Europe for manufacturing
Slide 7
Slide 8
Slide 9
Slaves were kept living in abominable conditions in dungeon
fortresses along the coast of western Africa until the time that
they were sent out to the Americas Both the slave forts and slave
ships kept people in dark, dirty rooms with little to eat or drink
and no room to move. They were kept in chains and left to lie on
their backs on slave ships while crossing the Atlantic Ocean.
Historians estimate that as many as 20% died while crossing the
ocean, not to mention those who died in the slave forts while still
in Africa.
Slide 10
Narrative
Slide 11
Under the leadership of Toussaint Louverture, an ex- slave, in
1804, Haiti became the first black republic in the world and the
first country in the Western Hemisphere to abolish slavery. By the
19th century continued industrial expansion was dependent on a
flexible and mobile labor force, not slaves In 1807, Britain became
the first European nation to ban the slave trade. France, Holland,
and the United States soon thereafter passed legislation banning
the slave trade. In Spain and Portugal African slaves continued to
be sent to countries in South America until near the end of the
19th century. Tthe Atlantic Slave Trade changed the face of the
earth in many ways and presented a huge challenge to Africa in
trying to recover from this brutal period of her history.
Slide 12
Why was this called the triangular trade? Why was it said that
a profit was made on each leg of the triangle? And who was involved
in the trade at each point? Why do you think the 'human cargo' was
so squashed during the middle passage? What happened to the slaves
when they arrived in the Caribbean? Why was this, for some, one of
the worst parts of the trade?
http://old.antislavery.org/breakingthesilence/ma
in/Activities/03_TriangularTrade.pdf
Slide 13
On your own, research Thomas Clarkson Make sure you know: Who
he was What he did How he got his start What he accomplished Look
for connections to other people whose opinions we have read