Transcript (Section IV): Africa and the Atlantic Slave Trade

Ch. 16: Section IV: Africa and the Atlantic Slave Trade
(Pages 377-381)
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This section is about:
How European explorers of
Africa encouraged the use of
slave labor and eventually led to
the Atlantic slave trade.
Triangular trade and its impact
on enslaved Africans in the
Americas as well as on West
African culture and population.
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There were a lot of peoples
involved in the slave trade –
more than just Africans and
Americans.
One of the vocabulary word
definitions on page 377 shows
that (triangular trade).
Also look at the “Main Ideas”
on page 377.
European Exploration in Africa
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Slavery had been in the
world since ancient times.
What’s different about
this time is the levels that
it reached by the 1500’s.
This mostly goes back to
Europeans exploring
Africa and a way around
it in the 1400’s (Henry
the Navigator, Vasco da
Gama…..).
Slavery in Africa
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African slavery was around
even in 1000 AD.
Often it was as punishment for
criminals and prisoners of war.
Sometimes they were more
servants than slaves, some
could even “earn” their
freedom, and it was not
hereditary.
These forms of slavery
changed when the Europeans
showed up – they considered
these people possessions they
could buy and sell and use for
all kinds of labor.
The Portuguese in Africa
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Remember the Portuguese
exploring and building forts?
Some Africans were sold to
these Portuguese as early as
1440 (sometimes by African
rulers).
After they built some colonies
(in/near Africa), the
Portuguese needed more
workers, and they now knew
where to get them.
They did not treat them well –
making them work long hours
(looking for gold) under harsh
conditions.
The Atlantic Slave Trade
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In Europe, slavery was
just about gone by the
1400’s.
But the Portuguese got it
going again.
By 1600, 275,000
Africans had been
shipped across the
Atlantic.
In the 1700’s, there were
about 6 million more.
Plantation Laborers
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By the 1520’s Spain and
Portugal were sending slaves to
the Caribbean (where they grew
sugar cane).
Sugar Plantations needed a lot of
(cheap) labor to work the fields
and make a profit (no machines
then).
They had tried to use Native
Americans, but many of them
had died from diseases.
Remember Bartolome de las
Casas? (He was a big defender
of Native Americans).
He also convinced everyone
Africans could fight the diseases
better than Native Americans.
Competing for Trade
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The Portuguese were the first
big slave trading country.
Then, the Dutch (and the
Dutch West India Company)
took control of the West
African Coast – and by 1640
were the main slave suppliers
to the Spanish in the
Caribbean.
They eventually even took
over all the Portuguese forts
along the coast.
England and France also were
starting to build some colonies
at this time.
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The French and English didn’t
want the Dutch getting all the
money from this trade, so they
started to form their own
trading companies.
And, some wars developed over
this and power in general –
between the English, the
French, and the Dutch.
The Dutch lost some power
during this – leaving England
and France to compete for
dominance (with England a
little stronger).
Triangular Trade Routes
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This slave trade was
just one part of a
“triangular trade.”
Again – let’s look at
U.S. History class
information.
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The Middle Passage
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If 6-7 million Africans were slaves
– more than that were actually
taken from Africa. We don’t know
how many, but X % didn’t survive
the trip (disease, harsh treatment,
disasters at sea).
There was great suffering on the trip.
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People chained together.
Cramped closed in places.
Rarely allowed above deck.
Food one/twice a day.
Some tried to jump overboard.
Resisters were beaten/tortured.
And once you survived the trip it
may even get worse.
Impact of the Slave Trade on Western Africa
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We always look at what
happened with slavery in the
Americas.
But, don’t ever forget what it
did to Africa – they lost a lot of
people.
Some groups and some
cultures of Africa were lost
forever.
Many of the strongest and best
men of Africa were taken from
their own people.
The distrust among Africans
(with each other) led to many
other problems – some still
today.