1. The Slave Ship Brookes

2. Close up

4. The captains and owners obtained enormous profits at the end of their routes. Captain Roberts of Liverpool, for example, collected 630 slaves on one voyage and 100 died along the middle passage. The result was that he sold 530 slaves at an average of 60 English Pounds. The net profit from the voyage, including the sugar and rum sold and all expenses deducted, was 24,000 pounds for the 12 month voyage. At that time, a family could live very comfortably in England for 200 pounds a year.

5. Immigration to the Americas: from 1550-1820:
10 –12 million slaves crossed the Atlantic compared with 2 million whites
20% mortality for slaves on “Middle Passage”
80-90% mortality in the Americas
Average lifespan 3-7 years

6. Slave Trade Destinations

7. The “Triangle Trade”

8. Atlantic Ocean currents determined Africa -America slave routes

9. What was the value of a “blank slate” for the Europeans in the Americas?
No competing elites
No large populations to conquer
Uprooted laborers could be forced into agricultural factories (plantations) and mines - compare with European peasants
Created a new system of exploitation – capitalism without steam power