Age of Exploration and Trade 1400 to 1700

The Atlantic Slave Trade

Things to Consider Describe how the Atlantic Slave trade changed the economies in the colonies. Why did some Africans engage in the slave trade? What factors led to the Atlantic Slave trade being so profitable?

Section Terms Colony- a settlement of people living in a new territory, linked with the parent country by trade and direct government control Mercantilism- a set of principles that dominated economic thought in the 17th century. Balance of Trade- the difference in value between what a nation imports and what it exports over time Subsidies-payments Plantations- large agricultural estates Triangular trade-trade routes that connected Europe, Africa, and the Americans continents.

Trade, Colonies, and Mercantilism As European countries began developing colonies in the Americas, it was crucial for them to bring in capital. Colonies were considered important both as sources of raw materials and as markets for finished goods.

The Slave Trade In the early 1400s the primary market for enslaved Africans was Southwest Asia where they would serve as domestic servants. Europeans were introduced to sugarcanes during the Crusades and wanted to plant them in the Americas. By the 1500s, they developed sugarcane Plantations on the coast of Brazil and Caribbean islands The Native American population mostly died out of European diseases, so Africans were shipped to the Americas to relieve the scarcity.

Slave Trade Expansion Over the next two centuries, trade in enslaved people grew dramatically. 275,000 enslaved Africans were exported during the 1500s 1600s, the number climbed to over 1 million 1700s, the number jumped to 6 million Between 1500s and late 1800s, 10 million enslaved Africans were brought to Americas.

Middle Passage The main reason there was a high death rate was the journey for the slaves from Africa to the Americas. Many people died during this journey where their bodies were tossed over the ship. So many enslaved Africans died that there are stories that sharks would follow the ships.

Source of Enslaved Africans Before the Europeans came in the 1400s, most of the enslaved persons in Africa were prisoners of war. Europeans bought enslaved people from African merchants in exchange for gold, guns, and other European goods. Local rulers were concerned with what slavery would do to their societies.

Source of Enslaved Africans King Afonso of Bakongo (Congo) said, “so great is the corruption that our country is being completely depopulated. Other local leaders saw this as a source of income. Only a few Europeans felt any grief about what they were doing to traditional African societies.

Effects of the Slave Trade Benin was one of the African states dramatically devastated by the slave trade. Benin was a brilliant and creative society before being pulled into the slave trade. After years of population decline and warfare, the people of Benin would lose faith in their gods, stop creating art, and became a brutal nation.