African Slave Trade Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade

Video: Africans in America  For Handout For Handout For Handout  Part 1 25:40 to 41:40 Part 1 25:40 to 41:40 Part 1 25:40 to 41:40  Part 2 start to 6:09 Part 2 start to 6:09 Part 2 start to 6:09  Steven Spielberg Video's Middle Passage Steven Spielberg Video's Middle Passage Steven Spielberg Video's Middle Passage

What motives led to Europeans to explore the coast of Africa during 1400’s (#3)  looking for gold/resources – economic motive  looking for sea routes to India  Portugal first contact w/ West Africa  setup small trading post did not go into interior  Christian Missionaries

Causes of the Slave Trade  causes/rise (#4 a & b)  Colonies in Americas/plantation system and mines  make profitable  Native Americans did not work as slaves  not used to large farming villages  disease  Escape – limited population

1700’s height of Slave Trade (#3)  demand and profits grew  African rulers- humans for guns and goods  Triangle Trade: responsible for bringing millions of African slaves to the Americas (see handout) – most to Caribbean and South America  Middle Passage: slave ship trip across Atlantic (see handout)

The "triangle trade" carried agricultural products from America to Europe, manufactured goods from Europe to Africa, and slaves from Africa to America. As this map shows, though, it more more complicated than a single triangle.

Conditions on board the slave ships were so inhuman that many did not survive the voyage. This famous image shows the way slaves would be chained lying down on benches for perhaps 100 days, unable even to sit up. Unbelievably, this formation was known as "loose pack" as the slaves were lying on their backs. The alternative, "tight pack", which had the slaves lying on their sides, allowed the slaver to fit more slaves onto the ship. However it was eventually abandoned, not for humanitarian reasons but due to the brutal economic calculation that the higher mortality rate of "tight pack" meant that fewer slaves reached the new world alive than with "loose pack".

Effects of Slave Trade (#5)  racism used as justification  Rise of Planation system in Americas  Abolition Movement: movement to end slavery (#2b)  Effects in Africa  West Africa: conflict between tribes  Loss of population/culture  African traditional economies suffered  African Diaspora: spread of African people and culture throughout the world (#2a)  rise of European influence across West Africa  Eventually Decreased demand for slaves = industrialization  raw materials not humans = Imperialism

 Eventually Decreased demand for slaves = industrialization  raw materials not humans = Imperialism