1. Atlantic Slave Trade

2. Spanish Colonies Spanish land was divided into four provinces Spain wanted to maintain strict control over provinces Controlling trade  Silver and gold  Sugar Grown on plantations Required a lot of workers

3. Spanish Colonies Encomienda System  The right to demand labor or tribute from Native Americans  Forced labor  Brutal conditions  Native American population drastically declined

4. Spanish Colonies Because Native Americans were dying, there was a labor shortage Bartolome Las Casas urged King to go to Africa for new labor  Immune to disease  Had skills in farming, mining, and metalworking Las Casas later regretted this suggestion

5. Spanish Colonies Spain went to Africa to get workers  Imported millions of Africans  Worked various jobs New social class system  Peninsulares- top of class, born in Spain  Creoles- middle class, Spanish born in America  Mestizos- Native American and European descent  Mulattoes- African and European descent  Lowest class consisted of Native Americans and Africans

6. Atlantic Slave Trade One part of Triangular Trade  Linked Europe, Africa, and America Europe to Africa  Goods- guns, cloth, cash Africa  Traded goods for slaves Africa to America  Slaves  Middle Passage America  Slaves traded for sugar and molasses  Sugar and molasses traded for furs, fish, and rum  Went back to Europe

7. Atlantic Slave Trade Very profitable for everyone involved  Profit worth risk of traveling Successful port cities

8. Atlantic Slave Trade Middle Passage  Enslaved Africans shackled and sent to coastal ports European traders then purchased slaves  Shipped to America Chained and cramped in single vessel  Three weeks to three months long

9. Atlantic Slave Trade Many Africans died along the way  Disease, brutal mistreatment, suicide Estimated 11 million Africans shipped to Americas Another 2 million died along the way