Africans in Alabama Lesson 2 Africans were brought to Alabama as slaves. They did not want to come.

Lesson 2 Vocabulary ① Coffle —a train of animals or slaves fastened together. ① Folkways —ways of thinking, feeling, and acting that are shared by a group of people.

Lesson 2 (page 113)  The 1 st slaves in America arrived in Virginia in 1619 aboard a Dutch ship. In 1721 the French needed workers in Mobile, so slaves were brought to Alabama on the French ship Africane.  The trip on a slave ship was terrible. Men and women were shackled to the ship in crowded areas and given very little to eat, or meager rations.  Once on land, they usually walked to their new homes, possibly tied together so they could not run away. The ropes they were tied together with were called a coffle.

Lesson 2 (page 114)  Some families were separated when they were sold.  Alabama’s law stated that children were not to be separated from their mothers, but sometimes they were.  Fathers were often sold and forced to leave their families.

Lesson 2 (page 114)  Africans brought to Alabama were people with strong oral traditions. They would often gather at night and the elders would tell stories from Africa, passed down by their family members.  African folkways (ways of thinking, feeling, and acting) still remained in the slave culture: food cooked, superstitions, songs, and stories.

Lesson 2 (page )  They lived in small 1 room houses, called slave quarters, or “the quarter.” They were grouped together behind the master’s house, or “the big house.”  Slaves were made to do most of the physical work on a plantation. They planted, hoed, harvested, chopped cotton, built barns, mended fences, tended the garden, and took care of animals, wagons, and the tools.

Lesson 2 (page 115)  Their culture helped them get through the hardships of slavery. They expressed their culture in many ways- made instruments, (drums, gourd fiddles, banjos) sang songs, danced, created African pottery, and told stories.  By the 19 th century, most slaves had adopted Christianity, but often gave it African flavor.

Lesson 2 (page 115)  To get married, slaves had to ask their“master” for permission, which almost always was granted. Most masters wanted slaves to live in families and raise children.  Some were married by a minister, but others were married by their master. They were often allowed to have a small celebration in their quarters.

Lesson 2 (page 115)  The slaves that labored in the fields ate and left early in the morning. They worked ALL day, only stopping for a small lunch. They would get home just as the sun went down.  Slaves were also blacksmiths, carpenters, brick masons, and architects.

Lesson 2 (page 116)  Slaves wore simple clothes. Young boys and girls wore straight dresses. Men wore shirts with no collars and held up their pants with a draw cord. Women wore blouses and skirts.  Slaves working in the “big house” were often given hand-me-downs to wear.  The master’s wife sewed all the clothes for the family and slaves.

Lesson 2 (page 116)  Slaves were usually given enough food; the staple was cornmeal, salt pork, vegetables, and fruit.  Vegetables and fruits were often grown in a small garden on the slaves’ quarters.  Sweets came from honey and syrup made from cane grown on the plantation.

Lesson 2 (page 116)  The majority of Alabamians did not own slaves.  In 1860—only 6.4 % of the white population owned a slave.  Slavery was an expensive, but profitable system of labor. It forced planters to spend money buying labor (workers).  Slavery was a part of that time, and some feared what may happen in the future without it.

Lesson 2 (page 116)  Some free blacks in Alabama raised cotton to be sold at market. Others worked as skilled laborers.  Free blacks typically lived in cities because their freedom was protected there by the community that knew them.

Lesson 2 Review! Discuss and answer the following questions: 1. When and how did the 1 st slaves come to Alabama? 1. How did the slave owners keep slaves from running away? 1. What are some African folkways that continued in America? 1. Where did the slaves live on the plantation? 1. What part did slavery play in Alabama’s economic development?