The Transatlantic Slave Trade

1
The Transatlantic Slave Trade

• By Kevin Lu
• AP Euro-Kinberg
• Period 5

2
Origins of the Transatlantic Slave Trade

• Began in 15th century when Portugese
  kidnapped natives from the West Coast of Africa
  and took them back to Europe ("Africa and the
  Transatlantic Slave Trade")
• 10 of Lisbon in early 16th century is of African
  descent ("Africa and the Transatlantic Slave
  Trade")
• As the demand for labor in colonial
  possessions in the Americas grew with increasing
  demand for production, more and more European
  countries began to implement slave labor
  (Chambers 544)
• First Spanish captives taken from present-day
  Cameroon in 1503 ("Africa and the Transatlantic
  Slave Trade")

Use of Slaves by Countries in Colonial Economies
(Abolition)
3
Triangular Trade

• Between home country and two overseas areas
  over Atlantic Ocean (Chambers 543-544)
• Home country carries manufactured goods to
  overseas areas (Chambers 544)
• Africa supplies slaves who are then brought to
  New World for labor (Chambers 544)
• Labor in New World then produces raw materials
  (sugar, cotton, tobacco, indigo, etc.) (Trade
  and Commerce)
• Raw materials brought back to home country for
  manufacturing (Chambers 544)
• Cycle continues

The Triangular Trade (Trade and Commerce)
4
What Slavery Means

• Slavery is when an individual is owned by
  another, who is able to control and impose labor
  upon the enslaved person. Thus, the owner is able
  to control all aspects of the enslaved persons
  living conditions. ("What Is Slavery?")
• Common conditions of slavery are
• No Freedom
• No Choice
• No Money
• No option to escape any of the three assignments
  ("What Is Slavery?")

A Slave Ship by Joseph Mallord William Turner
(Appiah)
5
The Middle Pasage

• The passage across the Atlantic Ocean
  transporting slaves from Africa to the New World
  (Equiano)
• Extremely tight conditions for slaves, who were
  packed together below deck like common goods and
  journey could be anywhere from 5 weeks to 3
  months (Equiano)
• No room to stand and slaves were shackled to ship
  with little food, little to no exercise and most
  importantly no light or information on their
  destination, future, or families (who they were
  separated from) (Equiano)
• Pleas for information were laughed at by crew
  members (Equiano)

The Path of the Middle Passage (Equiano)
6
The Middle Passage Continued

• Overwhelming amount of slaves perished on
  journey (Lovejoy 312)
• Many died from starvation or infectious disease,
  which spread like wildfire in the cramped
  conditions, lack of clean water and bad
  sanitation (Lovejoy 312)
• Included dysentery, malaria, small pox, yellow
  fever and others (Lovejoy 312-313)
• Many died of brutal punishments, even for not
  being quiet enough (Lovejoy 312)
• Others still even took their own life in the
  fearful conditions (Lovejoy 313)
• Ships could be tight or loose packers
  (The Middle Passage)
• Tight has higher rate of mortality, but more
  slaves transported (The Middle Passage)
• Loose has higher rate of survival, but less
  slaves transported (The Middle Passage)
• In the end, most ships resorted to being tight
  packers, and thus mortality rates increased from
  13 to 50 at height of Triangular Trade (The
  Middle Passage)
• Of 9-15 million transported, 3-5 million perished
  including both crew members and slaves (The
  Middle Passage)

A tight packer ships layout (The Middle
Passage)
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European Influence In Africa

• Great Empires in West Africa include Mali, Ghana,
  Songhay and Kindoms of Lunda, Dahomey, Asante,
  Ndongo, Chocke and Oyo (Obadina)
• Little to no resistance to more powerful
  Europeans with advanced firearms and war tactics
  (Obadina)
• Eager to agree to any terms with the Europeans
  (Obadina)
• Leaders of these Kingdoms soon made deals with
  Europeans who landed on coast to trade captives
  for manufactured goods and precious metals from
  Europe (Obadina)

A map drawn by Englishmen of Africa in the late
1700s (Obadina)
8
European Influence in Africa Continued

• Main traffickers of slaves are warlords, wealthy
  merchants and nobility (Obadina)
• There is no idea of African patriotism, and the
  traffickers were quick to offer up others they
  had no connection with (Obadina)
• Traffickers selfish and narrow-minded with sights
  on being rich from a new and highly profitable
  trade (Obadina)
• Amazed by the precious products brought by
  Europeans, they were quick to offer prisoners of
  war, those in deep family debt and criminals up
  for slavery (Obadina)
• But much of time, kidnapping also contibuted to
  the amount of slaves (Obadina)

Suppliers of Slaves in West Africa (Lovejoy 345)
A map drawn by Englishmen of Africa in the late
1700s (Obadina)
9
Economic Importance of Slaves

• Plantation economy produced huge numbers of crops
  ("Africa and the Transatlantic Slave Trade")
• Keep flow of profits into the host nation as
  European country exports manufactured goods in
  exchange for a larger quantity of raw materials,
  supplies and physical money (Africa)
• Capital accumulates in nations, especially in
  France (Africa)
• Actually number of European settlers there was
  very small most are plantation owners
  (Africa)
• Rest are slaves from Africa who provide cheap,
  essentially free labor (Africa)
• Huge proportion of slaves provides mass
  production of crops (Africa)
• Island of Saint-Domingue in 1790 has 500,000
  slaves compared with 35,000 whites and 28,000
  natives (Africa)
• Slaves are integral part of triangular trade that
  provide link between West Indies and host country
  with Africa and keep machine of mercantilism
  running (Africa)

Chart of Slave Trade between 1520 and 1867
(Africa)
10
Major Exporters of and Destinations for Slaves

• Major Exporters Britain, Netherlands, France
  (Nantes is chief slaving port in Europe), Spain,
  Portugal (Obadina)
• Major Destinations West Indies (Jamaica,
  Saint-Domingue, Haiti etc), Brazil, Spanish
  possessions in South America, Florida, British
  Colonies (Obadina)

Slave Movement (Appiah)
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Important Slave Market Factory Regions

• Factory forts on the African
  coast for defense and organization of slaving
  enterprises (Obadina)
• African chiefs and European slavers coordinated
  at these (Obadina)
• Europeans did not penetrate African continent far
  due to harsh topography and native resistance
  (Obadina)
• Thus rely on African chiefs to supply slaves in
  return for goods (Obadina)
• This trade and flow of supplies (including
  slaves) occurred at these factories (Obadina)
• Most departures to the New World took place on
  these (Obadina)
• Major ports Benguela, Elmina and Bonny (Obadina)
• Bight of Benin came to be called The Slave
  Coast (Obadina)

Major Slave Factory Regions (Obadina)
12
Impact on Africa

• At same time, Africans are divided after
  enslaving each other as prisoners and criminals
  (Obadina)
• Human resources exhausted and population in West
  Africa declines sharply (Rubinstein 254)
• Africans profited from slave trade economically
  (Rubinstein 254)
• Manufactured goods such as firearms, utensils and
  tools come into their possession (Rubinstein 253)
• Precious and refined metals circulate through
  West Africa (Rubinstein 254-255)
• Smaller amount of peoplehigher amount of
  goodshigher standard of living for each person
  (Rubinstein 255)

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Impact on Europe

• Mercantilism in 16th, 17th, 18th centuries
  overseas works very well (Scott)
• Imperialistic states profit from triangular trade
  as there is net flow of imports into country as
  opposed to exports (Scott)
• Large amounts of raw material such as sugar,
  cotton, wheat and corn imported into country from
  New World (Scott)
• Capital accumulation helps to finance Industrial
  Revolution especially in England (Scott)
• Prosperity in colonization and imperialistic
  trade leads to increase in national pride within
  nations (Evans)
• Colonial Exposition in Paris displays diversity
  in colonies (Evans)

The flow of mercantilism (Scott)
14
Impact on New World

• Many blacks implanted in New World
• Population of West Indies and much of Carribean
  is predominantly of African descent (Chambers
  544)
• Large number of mulattoes in the region (of
  partially black descent) (Obadina)
• Sometimes slaves even revolt such as under
  Toussaint LOuverture in Haiti in 1791-1794
  (Chambers 598-600)
• Revolution transforming a slave society into a
  free nation shakes up view of slavery in world
  and helps the abolition movement get going
  (Chambers 599-600)
• Many American slaves in southern plantations
  would eventually be emancipated in 1863 (Trade
  and Commerce)
• South American region also has a significant
  number of blacks even today (Trade and Commerce)

Distribution of slaves in New World (Appiah)
15
Decline of the Slave Trade

• Abolition movement begins with reinterpretation
  of Christian duty (spread thorough newer forms of
  Protestantism such as Quakerism) towards the
  oppressed savage, AKA slave as well as
  brotherly and spiritual love and equality for all
  (Rubinstein 267)
• Activists like William Wilberforce and Thomas
  Clarkson in England begin campaigning for
  abolition in late 18th century as public opinion
  spreads the idea through news (Rubinstein 267)
• Abolished in Britain by Parliament in 1807
  (Chambers 776)
• Frederick Douglass helps begin movement in
  America, which culminates in Civil War and
  Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 (Abolition)
• Final part of West Indies joins in 1833 as a
  result of influence from parent nations as
  movement spreads across Europe (Chambers 776)
• Spanish and Portuguese possessions in Central and
  South America are eventually freed of the slave
  practice, with Brazil finally joining in 1888
  (Chambers 776)

An Abolition Pamphlet (Abolition)
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The Legacy and Lasting Impact of the Slave Trade

• Permanent damage on African culture and relations
  with whites (Rubinstein 265)
• Racism is now a permanent part of national and
  personal consciousness that started with the
  rising in public opinion about the abolition
  movement in Britain (Rubinstein 265)
• African culture stinted and unable to develop
  individually without slavery and European
  influence and dominance (Shahadah)
• Think about what African culture could have been
  if not influenced by English, French, Dutch, etc.
  cultures (Shahadah)
• Called Maafa, or genocide in Swahili, in Africa
  (Shahadah)

The Honourable Slave (Shahadah)
17
Works Cited

• "Abolition." Abolition (Library of Congress
  Exhibition). Library of Congress, 23 July 2010.
  Web. 18 Dec. 2012.
• "Africa and the Transatlantic Slave Trade." BBC
  News. BBC, n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2012.
• Appiah, Anthony, and Henry Louis. Gates.
  Africana The Encyclopedia of the African and
  African American Experience. New York Basic
  Civitas, 1999. Print.
• Chambers, Mortimer. The Western Experience. 9th
  ed. New York Knopf distributed by Random
  House, 1974. Print.
• Equiano, Olaudah. "The Middle Passage." Recovered
  Histories-The Stories of Enslavement.
  Anti-Slavery by Heritage, n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2012.
  
• Evans, Martin. "Projecting a Greater France."
  History Today. History Today, n.d. Web. 18 Dec.
  2012.
• Lovejoy, Paul E. Transformations in Slavery A
  History of Slavery in Africa. Cambridge, UK
  Cambridge UP, 2000. Print.
• ""The Middle Passage"" "The Middle Passage"
  ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association of
  Philadelphia, 2008. Web. 18 Dec. 2012.
• Obadina, Tunde. "Slave Trade as Root to African
  Crisis." Slave Trade as Root to African Crisis.
  Africa Economic Analysis, 2000. Web. 18 Dec.
  2012.
• Rubinstein, W. D. Genocide A History. Harlow,
  England Pearson Longman, 2004. Print.
• Scott, Jennifer. "The Slave Trade." The Slave
  Trade. Oxford University Press, n.d. Web. 18 Dec.
  2012.
• Shahadah, 'Alik. "African Holocaust." AFRICAN
  HOLOCAUST Greatest Holocaust in History
  Slavery Reparations History. African Code,
  Oct. 2007. Web. 18 Dec. 2012.
• "Trade and Commerce." Understanding Slave
  Initiative. National Maritime Museum, n.d. Web.
  18 Dec. 2012. lthttp//www.understandingslavery.com
  /index.php?optioncom_contentviewarticleid307
  Itemid152gt.
• "What Is Slavery?" What Is Slavery? The
  Abolition of Slavery Project. East of England
  Broadband Network, n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2012.