1. Chapter 18 The Atlantic System & Africa 1550-1800

3. Plantations in the West Indies Colonization Before 1650
Spanish settlers introduced sugar-cane cultivation into the West Indies shortly after 1500
French and English developed colonies based on tobacco cultivation
West Indian economies moved from tobacco to sugar production
Portuguese introduced sugar-cane cultivation to Brazil
Dutch West India Company, took control of 1,000 miles of sugar-producing Brazilian coast
Dutch improved efficiency of Brazilian sugar industry and brought slaves to Brazil and the West Indies

4. Sugar & Slaves ’s)
colonies transitioned from tobacco to sugar economy
demand for labor caused increase in volume of Atlantic slave trade
Shift from European indentured servants to enslaved African labor was caused by:
Europeans unwilling to indenture themselves to the West Indies
life expectancy of enslaved longer than the term of indenture
rise in sugar prices allowed planters to invest in slaves

5. Slave Trade from Africa 1551-1850

6. The Caribbean Colonies, 1660
By 1660 slave labor predominated

7. Plantation Life in the Eighteenth Century
Sugar was the most important and most profitable plantation crop in the New World and was dependent on African labor

8. Sugar Processing

9. Technology and Environment
Sugar plantations grew sugar cane and processed it into sugar crystals, molasses, rum
Growing/harvesting cane was simple
machinery was complicated/expensive
economies of scale
caused soil exhaustion/deforestation
led to invasive species
the Arawak & Carib people became extinct

10. Slaves Lives
West Indian society consisted of a wealthy land-owning plantocracy, their many slaves, and a few people in between
Gang labor vs. task labor
Rewards and punishments, very little rest and relaxation, no education, and little time or opportunity for family life
Disease, harsh working conditions, and dangerous mill machinery all contributed to the short life expectancy
High mortality rate = majority of slaves on West Indian plantations were born in Africa
Slaves ran away; occasionally staged violent revolts
Rebellions were curtailed by suppressing African cultural traditions, religions, and languages

13. Free Whites & Free Blacks
Three groups of free people:
wealthy “great whites”
less-well-off, “little whites”
free blacks
Only wealthy could afford land, machinery, slaves needed for sugar plantation
Became politically influential,
Controlled colonial assemblies
gained seats in Parliament
Manumission produced a significant free black population
Self purchase
Runaway slaves (maroons)

14. Cudjoe, Leader of the Jamaican Maroons
After decades of successful resistance to the British, a peace treaty was negotiated that recognized the freedom of his runaway followers. The British also granted land and effective self-government to the maroons in exchange for ending raids on plantations and the promise to return future runaways.

15. Capitalism and Mercantilism
Royal monopolies inefficient & expensive
Banks, joint-stock companies, stock exchanges, insurance emerged
Mercantilism promoted private investment in overseas trade and accumulation of capital in the form of precious metals
Chartered companies; Dutch West India Company, French Royal African Company used military force to pursue commercial dominance
Atlantic became the major trading area for the British, French, & Portuguese in the eighteenth century

16. The Atlantic Circuit
Maritime exchanges included consumer products, slave labor, precious metals, & other goods
clockwise network of trade routes going from Europe to Africa, from Africa to the plantation colonies of the Americas (the Middle Passage), and then from the colonies to Europe
Could make profit on each leg
Supplemented by other trade routes: Europe to the Indian Ocean; Europe to the West Indies; New England to the West Indies; and the “Triangular Trade” among New England, Africa, and the West Indies.

17. The Atlantic Economy
By 1700 the volume of maritime exchanges among the Atlantic continents began to rival the trade of the Indian Ocean basin
Notice the trade in consumer products, slave labor, precious metals, and other goods
A silver trade to East Asia laid the basis for a Pacific Ocean economy

18. The African Slave Trade
Before discovery of America, Greek, Russian, Bulgarian, Armenian, and then black slaves worked the plantations of southern Italy, Sicily, Portugal, & Mediterranean, Spain
models for American slavery
became highly specialized
run by chartered companies (in the 17thcentury) and then private traders (in the 18th century)
Disease, maltreatment, suicide, and psychological depression
Disease killed Europeans on slave ships at about same rate as it killed slaves
Atlantic slave trade cheapened life in Africa as well as in the Americas

19. Model of the English vessel Brookes shows the specially built section of the hold where enslaved Africans were packed together during the Middle Passage.

20. African Slave Trade
Some kings based their power on slave raiding and trade with Europeans
The Dahomean royal family, and European observers, await the sacrifice of slaves about to be thrown from the heights in honor of the king. The umbrella is a symbol of monarchy in parts of West Africa.

21. Queen Njiga (Nzinga) of Ndongo 1624-1629
most important female political figure in the history of early modern Angola
Used military to enforce expansionist policies
participated fully in the slave trade
fiercely resisted Portuguese attempts to control that trade
Here she sits enthroned, wearing her crown (the cross a sign of her Christian baptism) and bracelets, giving an order. She has become a symbol of African resistance to colonial rule.

22. City of Luanda, 1575 center of the huge slave trade to Brazil
Droughts forced refugees to flee to kingdoms in better-watered areas
kings traded male refugees to slave dealers
partnership between European traders and African elites
Offices and warehouses line the streets, and slaves are dragged to the ships for transportation to America. kidnapping was the main source of people to sell into slavery.

23. African and European Partnerships
Portuguese present before the Manikongo
initially fostered good relationship with the Kingdom of Kongo
Civil War within Kongo led to many enslavement by Portuguese and other Europeans

24. Middle Passage & Slave Ships
Europe/Africa trade grew after 1650
Trade in other goods continued; did not lead to any significant European colonization of Africa
African merchants exploited the demand for slaves:
raised the price
Forced Europeans to observe African trading customs
Competition prevented unified bargaining position
Exchange of slaves for firearms contributed to state formation in the Gold and Slave Coasts

25. Africa and Islamic Slave Trade
Between , Europeans built a growing trade with Africa but did not acquire territory
Only significant colonies were on islands; Portuguese in Angola; Dutch Cape Colony, which was tied to the Indian Ocean trade rather than to the Atlantic trade.
Muslim territorial dominance was significant
Trans-Saharan slave trade was smaller in volume than the Atlantic slave trade
Supplied slaves for the personal slave army of the Moroccan rulers and for sugar plantation labor, servants, and artisans
Most slaves were women destined to be concubines or servants and children, including eunuchs, meant for service as harem guards

26. Traders approaching Timbuktu

27. Muslims and Slavery

28. Spread of Islam in Africa
Muslim cultural influences south of the Sahara much stronger than European cultural influences
Islam & Arabic spread more rapidly than Christianity & English, which were largely confined to the coastal trading centers
European & Islamic slave trade did not have a significant effect on the overall population of Africa
acute effect on certain areas

29. Impact on African States and Trade
Songhai, Kanem-Bornu, Benin, Lunda, Buganda, and Ethiopia, remained powerful in this era
West African coastal societies increasingly drawn into world trade
East African coastal cities remained tied to Indian Ocean trade
Volume of trade goods imported into sub-Saharan Africa did not have significant effect on livelihood of traditional African artisans
Both African & European merchants benefited, but Europeans saw greater benefit because they directed it

30. West African States and Trade 1500-1800
Atlantic & trans-Saharan trade brought new goods & promoted rise of powerful states and trading communities
Moroccan invasion of Songhai and Portuguese colonization of the Angolan ports of Luanda and Benguela showed the political dangers of such relations