1. The Slave Trade and Triangle Trade

2. Background
Slavery existed in Europe during the Classical age, but was replaced by feudalism
Serfdom had mostly died out after the plague
Europeans had been used as slaves in ancient Middle Eastern empires
Africa had an internal slave trade of prisoners of war, similar to ancient Europe

3. Beginning the Trade
The Portuguese traded slaves for guns with West African leaders
As Europeans gained more colonies, their dependence on slavery increased
France, Britain, the Netherlands, and Spain all joined the slave trade

4. Differences
The African slave trade usually allowed slaves to earn their freedom
They were mostly prisoners of war or kidnapped during raids on opposing tribes
The European view of slaves were as a piece of property
Slaves were a commercial investment to trade for profit

5. Why African Slaves?
Business owners claimed paying wages would make the new industries unprofitable
The native population in the Americas was nearly wiped out by small pox
The Pope forbade taking Christians as slaves
Some held racist beliefs that non-whites were not human
The work was difficult and not enough Europeans volunteered for indentured servitude

6. Conflict Eventually, the African kingdoms ran out of slaves
European slave traders would kidnap Africans during the night and force them into slavery
Eventually, the wealthy and powerful in Africa were also forced into slavery
About 11 million people were forcibly removed from the African continent during the slave trade

7. Triangle Trade
European traders brought manufactured goods, guns, and alcohol to Africa to trade for slaves
The slaves traveled along the “middle passage” to the New World
Slave traders would sell the slaves or trade for alcohol (rum) and bring raw materials (sugar, tobacco, cotton, and iron) back to Europe to be turned into manufactured goods

8. Triangle Trade

9. Why Rum? Water spoiled on the long trips
Alcohol does not spoil
Wine, brandy, and rum were valuable and used as a currency
Rum was used to buy slaves and “pay” slaves for good behavior
Rum was made with a byproduct of the sugar industry, therefore required little effort to package and sell for extra profit

10. The Middle Passage
Slaves chained together (men chained together then entire trip), each getting a space about 4 square feet
Forced to lay down most the day with two force-fed meals and limited daily access to the upper deck
There was no access to toilets
At least 2 million died during the trip (10-15%)
Most were malnourished or diseased by the end of the trip
Suicide attempts, self-mutilation, and hunger strikes were common
Around 1 in 10 ships had slave uprisings, resulting in more deaths and mutilations