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The Atlantic Slave Trade

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The Atlantic Slave Trade COMMERCE IN PEOPLE: THE ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE AP World History Notes: Chapter 15 The Atlantic Slave Trade Lasted from about 1500 to 1866 About 12.5 million Africans taken from their societies 10.7 million Americas 1.8 million (14.4%) died during the transatlantic crossing Millions more died in the process of capture and transport 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 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 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” 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 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 or escaped into known terrain and blended in with free natives Europeans = Christians = exempt from slavery Inspection and sale of an African slave European indentured servants = expensive and temporary 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 “Testing an African Slave for Sickness” Had darker skin allowed the Europeans to view them as an “inferior” race 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 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 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.
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