Bellringer (9.30.16) Turn in your Mercantilism homework assignment into the Inbox at the front of the room. What strategies did your team use during the game? What determined how your team chose which resource to go for? What ideas of mercantilism were evident during the game? What is the main goal of mercantilism?

Africa in an Age of Transition Section 6.2

Today’s Class 9.30.16 Outcome: Agenda: Explain economic and political effects of the slave trade on the countries of West Africa during the Age of Exploration. Agenda: Bellringer Reflection & debrief on Mercantilism Game Notes – Africa in an Age of Transition Primary Source Reading – Olaudah Equiano’s Slave Account Exit Slip

The Slave Trade Slavery had been practiced in Africa, as well as other parts of the world since ancient times Both ancient Greece and Rome utilized practice of slavery Europeans had come to understand the enormous profits that could come from plantation(s) farming in the Americas

The Slave Trade Europeans had become accustom to products that came from the new world (cotton, molasses, rum, tobacco, etc) Part of Columbian Exchange Due to European contact, however, the native labor force was depleted from starvation and disease Slaves from Africa became the choice to fill the labor void.

Triangle Trade Products from the Americas went to Europe Europeans then sent weapons and later manufactured goods to Africa where they could be traded for slaves The slaves were then taken to the Americas where they were sold and worked on plantations.

Middle Passage The last leg of the triangle which brought slaves to the Americas was called the middle passage because it crossed the center of the Atlantic. This journey was extremely deadly and many slaves arrived in the New World with little immunity to diseases.

Middle Passage The middle passage was a journey of horrors for slaves, packed tightly on ships, forced to lay in the slop for days at a time, mistreated, fed very little, starved or thrown into the ocean if they appeared sick Africa was depopulated from the slave trade and families were split apart never to see each other again

Effects on African Nations Some African states, such as the brilliant and creative Benin, were devastated by the slave trade. Local slave traders desire for constant supply of slaves led to increased warfare. As their population declined and warfare increased, the people lost faith in their gods, their art deteriorated, and human sacrifice increased. Benin became brutal and corrupt. It would take generations before the country was able to recover its former brilliance destroyed by slavery.

Effect of Slave Trade One Dutch slave trader remarked: “From us they have learned strife, quarreling, drunkenness, trickery, theft, unbridled desire for what is not one’s own, misdeeds unknown to them before, and the accursed lust for gold.”

Olaudah Equiano’s Account Before reading Equiano’s account of his voyage to the Americas, review the class discussion questions below. Class Discussion Questions: Under what circumstances was Equiano captured? Describe Equiano’s voyage to America. How did the slave traders attempt to quell the fear of the slaves before moving them off the boat? What was the scene like when slaves were chosen?

EXIT SLIP