1. Commerce in People: The Atlantic Slave Trade
AP World History Notes: Chapter 15

2. The Atlantic Slave Trade
Lasted from about 1500 to 1866
About 12.5 million Africans taken from their societies
About 10.7 million made it to the Americas
About 1.8 million (14.4%) died during the transatlantic crossing
Millions more died in the process of capture and transport to the African coast  didn’t even make it to the ships

3. The Middle Passage Middle Passage
Enslaved person’s journey from Africa to the Americas
Middle leg of the “Triangular Trade” pattern
Miserable journey
Packed tightly together
Chained together
Many suffocated or died of disease (1 in 6)
Some committed suicide or went on hunger strikes

5. The Atlantic Slave Trade
When slaves arrived in the Americas, they were sold at auctions
Used as laborers, seen only as a unit for profit
Viewed as valuable property/things, NOT people

6. The Slave Trade in Context
Idea of slavery = nothing new
Before 1500 = Mediterranean and Indian Ocean regions were major areas of slave trading
Major source of slaves = southern Russia
Many African societies practiced slavery themselves, as well as selling slaves into these networks
Trans-Saharan slave trade = brought Africans to the Mediterranean
East African slave trade = brought Africans to the Middle East and Indian Ocean area
Depiction of slaves in ancient Rome

7. The Slave Trade in Context
Slaves have always been considered “outsiders” of their masters’ societies, but slavery came in many forms  examples:
Some slaves could be assimilated into their owners’ households or communities
In some places, children of slaves were considered slaves; in other places they were considered free
Preference for female slaves in the Islamic world
Jobs of slaves differed depending on the region
African slaves in the Islamic world

8. Slavery in the Americas: Something Different
Immense size of the traffic of slaves
Centrality of slave labor to the economies of colonial America
Slavery based on plantation agriculture only
Slaves treated as dehumanized property
Slave status = inherited; little hope of freedom
Racial dimension  Atlantic slavery came to be indentified with Africa and “blackness”

9. Origins of Atlantic Slavery
Origins = lie in the Mediterranean = where Europeans first established sugar plantations
After they learned about sugarcane and producing usable sugar from the Arabs
Also set up sugar plantations on islands off the coast of West Africa
Sugar plantation work = difficult and dangerous
Slavery became the source of labor because nobody would work under these conditions for the small wages being offered

10. Origins of Atlantic Slavery
Original slaves on these Mediterranean plantations = Slavic-speaking people from the Black Sea region
1453 = Ottoman Turks captured Constantinople
Result = Official end of Byzantine Empire
Result = Ottomans now controlled Black Sea region
Result = Ottomans cut off Christian Europe from its major source of slaves
Slave raiders in eastern Europe

11. Origins of Atlantic Slavery
At the same time = the Portuguese were starting to explore the coast of West Africa
Were looking for gold  but found an alternative source of slaves there
Result = when sugar- plantations started in the Americas, Europeans already had ties to a West African source of labor supply

12. Origins of Atlantic Slavery
Africa = primary source of slave labor for the colonies through a process of elimination
Slavic-peoples = no longer available
Native Americans = quickly died off from European diseases
Europeans = Christians = exempt from slavery
European indentured servants = expensive and temporary
Inspection and sale of an African slave

13. Origins of Atlantic Slavery
To the Europeans, Africans were perfect for plantation labor because:
Skilled farmers
Some immunity to tropical and European diseases
Not Christian
Relatively close and easy to get
Available in large numbers
Had darker skin  allowed the Europeans to view them as an “inferior” race
“Testing an African Slave for Sickness”

14. The Slave Trade in Practice
Slave raiding in Africa = unnecessary and unwise
African societies = capable of defending themselves against European intrusion
African societies = willing to sell their slaves peacefully
Europeans = dropped like flies when entering Africa’s interior because not immune to tropical diseases

15. How Did the Slave Trade Work?
Step 1: African merchants and political elites captured slaves and brought them to the coast of West Africa
Step 2: Europeans waited on the coast (in ships or fortified settlements) to purchase these slaves
Step 3: Europeans brought slaves to the Americas and sold them at slave auctions to plantation owners

16. The Slave Trade in Practice
In exchange for slaves, African sellers wanted:
European and Indian textiles
Cowrie shells (used as money in West Africa)
European metal goods
Firearms and gunpowder
Tobacco and alcohol
Decorative items, such as beads

17. The Slave Trade in Practice
African slave trade = hurt smaller societies within Africa
Raided by larger, more powerful neighbors to conquer their people to sell as slaves
Lacked the protection of a strong state

18. Where Did These Slaves Come From?
Slave trade drew mainly on the societies of West Africa
Progressively moved into the interior of Africa as the demand for slaves picked up
Slaves = drawn from marginal groups in African societies = prisoners of war, criminals, debtors, people who had been “pawned” during times of difficulty, etc.
Those captured and sold = “outsiders”
So Africans didn’t believe they were “selling their own people”

19. The Impact of the Slave Trade in Africa
Slowed Africa’s population growth
Simultaneously = populations of Europe, China, etc. were expanding
Causes:
Loss of millions of people over 4 centuries
Economic stagnation caused by the slave trade
Political disruption caused by the slave trade
Number of Slaves Traded During the Slave Trade

20. The Impact of the Slave Trade in Africa
Slave trade = did not help Africa economically because: African merchants and elites who sold the slaves kept the money for themselves and did not invest in their African societies
No technological breakthroughs in agriculture or industry to help increase the wealth of African societies
Proclamation of the New King of
Dahomey in Africa
The rich get richer, and the poor get poorer.