Chapter 18 (pp. 518 - 534)

THE AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE

INTRODUCTION

• Africans had been involved in slave trade prior to colonization of Americas

• Most pre-industrial societies (including Africa) practiced slavery

THE AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE

• Before the Atlantic slave trade began, slavery took many forms

• Voluntary

• Debtors

• “Chattel” = viewed as property

• African slaves went to two parts of the world:

• The Western Hemisphere

• Islamic Lands (Middle East & India)

TRADE TO ISLAMIC LANDS

• Developed prior to Atlantic slave trade

• Fewer slaves than Atlantic system

• Many slaves were female

• Became household servants or part of a harem

• Could became wives for wealthy individuals

• Males used as laborers or to fight in armies

• Rarely hereditary

TRADE TO THE AMERICAS

• Slaves were needed due to loss of Native American laborers (warfare, disease, etc.)

• Process of transporting slaves could be very expensive (shipwrecks, disease, mutiny, piracy, etc.)

The Atlantic Circuit (Triangular Trade)• First leg: Manufactured goods (guns, textiles, etc.) from Europe to Africa• Second leg (the Middle Passage): African slaves to the New World• Third leg: Plantation goods (cash crops, raw materials, etc.) back to Europe• Involved the movement of goods, wealth, and free and unfree laborers,

and the mixing of African, American, and European cultures and peoples

Plantation Systems in the Americas

• Located in Brazil, the Caribbean and southern North America

• Increased the demand for slaves in the Americas– Mostly male

• Produced cash crops– Sugar cane, tobacco, etc.

• Expensive• Plantocracy

DEMOGRAPHIC AND ENVIRONMENT CHANGES (1450 – 1750)

• Major population shifts

• A rise in the population of Europe

• A decrease in the population of the Americas

• No overall population decreased in Africa

• Major environmental changes

• Soil exhaustion

• Deforestation

THE ATLANTIC ECONOMY

• 15th and 16th century Atlantic trade

• Controlled by Spanish and Portuguese governments

• American silver to Europe and Asia

• Expensive and inefficient

THE ATLANTIC ECONOMY

• In the 17th and 18th centuries

• Controlled by British, French and Dutch

• Royal governments developed privately owned charter companies

• Monopolies

• Joint-stock companies

• More efficient and profitable

• Promoted mercantilism