The Slave Trade

First Contact By the early 1400s, European had begun exploring the African coast They were searching for: –The rumored gold rich empires in the west –A route to India and the spice-rich islands Small trading villages were established along the coasts of Africa

Prince Henry: Not a navigator but a nobleman that sent expeditions to the coast of Africa to find gold Believed that at the equator the waters boiled and skin turned black

The Slave Trade The beginning –Europeans took a few slaves to Europe to work on plantations Later –Labor intensive sugar, tobacco and cotton plantations in the Americas Caribbean and South American primarily At first Native Americans but died –European diseases –Familiar with land=Escape –Could communicate with each other Note: Slavery has always existed and still does exist. Usually had a position in society Often gained freedom

Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Europeans saw $$$$ Became a trading commodity Jammed aboard ships bound for the Americas Treated like livestock Primary goal = $$$$$$$$$ Africans saw $$ too Captured and traded to Europeans at coastal ports Often traded for guns which helped Africans capture more slaves

Trans-Atlantic imports by region Region Number of slaves accounted for % Brazil4,000, Spanish Empire2,500, British West Indies2,000, French West Indies1,600, British North America and United States 500, Dutch West Indies500, Danish West Indies28, Europe (and Islands)200, Total11,328, Data derived from table II as presented in: The Slave Trade by Hugh Thomas Simon and Schuster, 1997, ISBN

Trans-Atlantic exports by region Region Number of slaves accounted for % Senegambia479, Upper Guinea411, Windward Coast183, Gold Coast1,035, Blight of Benin2,016, Blight of Biafra1,463, West Central4,179, South East470, Total10,240, Data derived from tables 1.1, 3.2, 3.4, 4.1 and 7.4 as presented in: Transformations in Slavery by Paul E. Lovejoy Cambridge University Press, 2000, ISBN

The Middle Passage

Slave Resistance Throughout their captivity, slaves often resisted by: –Rebelling against the Europeans taking them hostage –Mutiny on the ships –Jumping overboard –Hunger strikes –Non-cooperation –Running Millions died resisting enslavement and forced labor

Abolition Movement Some African leaders began seeing the destruction caused by the slave trade and spoke out against it. Some Europeans also began speaking out against the slave trade. Human rights activists and freed slaves began speaking out against it. Eventually, in 1807, Britain outlawed the slave trade. –WHY???

Impact of the Slave Trade million Africans (exact #s unknown) –(what population specifically? How did that impact Africa?) Due to the economic incentives offered to the African leaders who partook, tremendous friction between African societies erupted. Racism today African Diaspora led to cultural diffusion