The Atlantic Slave Trade

Chapter 20 Section 3

p. 495-499

The Evolution of African Slavery

English colonists began enslaving Africans in the Americas around 1500.

The large demand for cheap labor was the motivation.

Cowrie shells were used as money in the slave trade.

Slavery in Africa

The spread of Islam into Africa led to an increase in the slave trade.

Between 650 and 1600 4.8 million Africans (mostly criminals and prisoners of war) were transported to Muslim lands of Southwest Asia.

Emir Faisal I at Versailles in 1919. His slave (unnamed) is pictured at top right. Faisal served as King of Iraq from 1921 to 1933.

Slavery in Africa Slaves had some legal rights. In Muslim nations, many had positions of

influence and power, some served as generals in the army.

Slaves could own land and slaves of their own.

Slaves could escape bondage by marriage into the family they served.

Sons and daughters of slaves were considered free.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/Ruslavery.jpg

The Desire for Africans Portuguese traders are the first to deal slaves to

the Americas. High death rates among native Americans spur the

desire for slave labor. African slaves had been exposed to many

European diseases and had built up immunities to them.

Africans had experience in large-scale agriculture and could be taught plantation work.

Africans had little knowledge of the land and were less likely to escape.

Slavery in Zanzibar. 'An Arab master's punishment for a slight offence. The log weighed 32 pounds, and the boy could only move by carrying it on his head.' Unknown photographer, c. 1890

Spain and Portugal Lead the Way

By 1650, Spain had 300,000 African slaves working on plantations and in gold and silver mines in the Americas and the Caribbean.

During the 17th century, 40% of all Africans brought to the Americas went to Brazil.

The Portuguese brought ten times as many slaves to Brazil than there were slaves in North America.

13th century slave market in the Yemen

Three Abyssinian slaves in chains

Slavery Spreads Throughout the Americas

From 1690 to 1807, England dominated the slave trade.

England transported 1.7 million slaves to their colonies and the West Indies.

400,000 African slaves were imported to England’s American colonies The slave population had grown to 2 million

there by 1830.

Distribution of slaves (1450-1900)

Brazil 35.4% Spanish Empire 22.1% British West Indies 17.7% French West Indies 14.1% British North America and future United

States 4.4% Dutch West Indies 4.4% Danish West Indies 0.2%

African Cooperation and Resistance

Many African rulers and merchants played a role in the slave trade. They sold other Africans to European traders in exchange for gold, guns, or other goods.

Many African leaders voiced opposition to the slave trade.

Bishop Samuel Adjai Crowther of Nigeria (c. 1807 - 1891). He was captured by Islamic Fulani slave raiders at the age of 14 and emancipated by the intervention of the British Navy. He converted to Christianity and was later ordained as the first African bishop of the Anglican Church.

Hamoud bin Mohammed, Sultan of Zanzibar from 1896 to 1902. He complied with British demands that slavery be banned in Zanzibar and that all the slaves be freed. For this he was decorated by Queen Victoria and his son and heir, Ali bin Hamud, was brought to England to be educated.

A Forced Journey

After capture, many Africans were shipped to the Americas along a profitable trading network.

Many died along the way.

Triangular Trade

The middle passage was the middle leg of the transatlantic trade triangle.

Timber from America, sugar and rum from the Caribbean.

Slaves from Africa. Manufactured goods from England and

Europe.

The Middle Passage

As many slaves as possible were crammed into slave ships. Conditions were terrible.

Suicide among slaves was common. 20% of the slaves died before making it to

the Americas.

“The closeness of the place, and the heat of the climate, added to the number in the ship, which was so crowded that each had scarcely room to turn himself, almost suffocated us. This produced copious perspirations, so that the air soon became unfit for respiration, from a variety of loathsome smells, and brought on a sickness among the slaves, of which many died, thus falling victims to the improvident avarice, as I may call it, of their purchasers.”

Slavery in the Americas

Slaves who survived faced a difficult life in the Americas.

Some embraced their African culture. Some rebelled against their enslavers.

A Harsh Life

Slaves were usually auctioned off to the highest bidder.

In the Americas, slavery was a lifelong and hereditary condition. The children of slaves were enslaved as well.

Many were subject to beatings and poor treatment.

Whipped slave, Baton Rouge, La., April 2, 1863

Resistance and Rebellion

Africans coped by developing a way of life based on their cultural heritage.

To resist bondage, slaves often tried to make themselves less productive.

Some openly revolted. In 1522, 20 slaves on Hispaniola killed several Spanish colonists.

In 1739 slaves in South Carolina led the Stono Rebellion. Several colonists were killed, the militia was called in. Slaves who were captured were executed.

Consequences of the Atlantic Slave Trade (for Africa)

Africa lost some of its fittest and most capable citizens.

Countless African families were torn apart. The introduction of guns changed African

society and politics.

Map showing European claimants to the African continent at the beginning of World War I

Consequences of the Atlantic Slave Trade (for the Americas)

Economic development of the American colonies was accelerated.

African from Upper Guinea brought rice-growing techniques to South Carolina.

North and South America have substantial African-American populations.

African culture has influenced American art, music, and food.