Slavery

1. Slavery The Atlantic System

2. Sub-Sahara Africa • Starting in the 1400’s the west coast of Africa came under the influence of European explorers • First the Portuguese and later the Spanish, British, French and Dutch seized cities, built fortresses, and established permanent colonies • Europeans began to exploit the natural resources of Africa such as gold, spices, ivory either through trade or force

3. Sub-Sahara Africa • Soon Europeans found the need for a new natural resource in the New World • With the plantation system and the need for labor which the Native Americans were unwilling to fulfill the Portuguese and later the other European nations found a need for slaves

4. West and Central Africa • Quickly the number of slaves and slave ship increased from Africa to the New World • At first European nations only took slaves from the coastal areas because they were unable to gain entrance into the interiors of Africa • By the mid-1800’s Europeans were able to explore and colonize the interior regions of Africa

5. Songhai Askia Mohammed

6. Songhai • As the Kingdom of Mali began to decline a new Askia Mohammed a skilled general who expanded the boundaries of Songhai while also promoting the arts and culture of the Songhai Kingdom • Songhai reached it’s height between 1500 to 1590

7. Kingdom of the Kongo • Another large and rich kingdom was that of the Kongo in west central Africa • The people of the Kongo were skilled in working with wood, copper and iron • There was a division of labor within this cultural kingdom

8. Kingdom of the Kongo • In the late 1400’s the Portuguese come into contact with the Kongo • Christian missionaries convert the kingdom when they are able to convert Nzinga Mvemba the ruler of the Kongo • Both Portugal and the Kongo exchanged ambassadors and at first dealt with each other on an equal basis.

9. Kingdom of the Kongo • Soon however Portugal’s need for slaves caused the Portuguese to enslave the people of the Kongo • Mvemba and the people of the Kongo attempted to stop the slave trade and drive the Portuguese out of the Kongo • The attempt to push out the Portuguese was not successful-Portugal had established a strong dominance over • Trade in the Kongo • Portugal had better technology to overcome the Kongo and it’s people

10. The Gold Coast • Cooperation with the Slave Trade • During the 1400’s many African nations were formed through trade with Europeans • Many West African nations emerge • Oyo • Benin • Dahomey • Kongo • Asante (Ashanti)

11. The Gold Coast • Cooperation with the Slave Trade • Many of these new nations were warring with other older or emerging nations • Due to this warring nature prisoners of war were often sold into European slave markets established along the West African coast • Africans were selling Africans into slavery

12. The Gold Coast • Asante • Established in 1680 by Osei Tutu • Became a strong African nation because of it’s sale of gold and slaves in return for guns and gunpowder from European nations • Because of this West Africa became known as the Gold Coast • Asante was one of the few places that had abundant mineral and agricultural resources

13. African Slave Trade • Once slaves and the prospect for slaves dried up on the coast West Africans began warring against Central African nations • European’s desire for slaves lead to constant warfare between African nations to obtain more slaves

14. Reasons for the Slave Trade • 1. The need for labor intensive work on the plantations • Planting, harvesting sugar • At first sugar plantations off the coast of Africa, Sao Tome and later Brazil and the Caribbean caused the need for labor to become more intense

15. Reasons for the Slave Trade • 2. Native American were not well suited to be slaves • The Catholic Church objected to native Americans being used as slaves • The native Americans were not well suited for the hard labor of slavery • Native Americans did not have knowledge of different activities like mining, agricultural work or sugar cultivation like Africans

16. The Atlantic Slave Trade • In 1518 the first recorded shipment of slaves was brought by the Portuguese from Africa to the New World • In the 1400’s about 1,000 slaves a year were brought from Africa to the New World • In the 1500’s about 2,000 slaves a year were brought to the New World

17. The Atlantic Slave Trade • During the 16th and 17th Century the need for slaves dramatically increased • 37% of all slaves brought to the New World went to Brazil • 15% went to Spanish America • By the 17th Century other European nations settled in the New World also needed slaves • 41% of slaves went to non-Spanish colonies

18. The Atlantic Slave Trade • Southern Colonies of British North America were slaves were used to grow crops such as tobacco and cotton accounted for 5% of the slaves

19. The Atlantic Slave Trade • In the 1600’s more than 1 million slaves were transported from Africa • In the 1700’s at the peak of the slave trade 6 million slaves were transported to the New World

20. The Middle Passage • Most slaves were captives or prisoners of war • Often times slaves were separated from their families, mixed with other tribes, spoke different languages or practiced different customs

21. The Middle Passage • At the ports of West African countries slaves were loaded onto ships destine for the New World • This passage to the New World was known as the Middle Passage • Slave ships were build and loaded to carry as many slaves as possible to ensure greater profits

22. The Middle Passage • Slaves were chained together and then chained to the boat lying on their backs • Hundreds of other slaves were also be chained to the boat • Shackled in darkness and filth, seasickness and disease were rife. The heat in the hold could be over 90 degrees and the slaves would have no access to toilets or washing facilities. • So foul was the smell of slave ships that other vessels took care to steer well away from them.

23. The Middle Passage • Once at sea, the slaves were brought up out of their steamy dungeon each morning. • The men's' leg-irons were linked to a chain running down the centre of the ship's deck to prevent them jumping overboard. On some ships they were made to dance for exercise. • The slaves would receive their meal, usually a kind of porridge made from maize or millet. A second meal might be provided in the afternoon, usually the same as the first. While on deck a good captain had the slaves washed down with warm vinegar and scrubbed.  Some did not bother and in rough weather the slaves would not be allowed out at all.

24. The Middle Passage • In such conditions disease spread, and many slaves died. It was not rare for hundreds to die in an epidemic; occasionally every African on board was dead by the time the ship entered Caribbean waters. • Their bodies would be thrown overboard. • The average voyage could last 6 week to 3 months

25. The Middle Passage • It has been estimated that between 9-11 million people were taken from Africa by European traders and landed alive on the other side of the Atlantic. • But as the average loss was 1/8 of all slaves it can be estimated that a further 1½ million Africans are buried in the Atlantic Ocean between Africa and the Americas.

26. The Triangle Trade • At the end of the voyage came the sale of  the cargo. • Africans were inspected for physical faults and auctioned like meat in a meat-market. • Families were split up forever and life as a plantation slave would begin.

27. The Triangle Trade • Meanwhile, the captains totted up the profits and the crew began cleaning out the ship to take on a cargo of colonial produce, which had to be carried in better conditions than the slaves had endured. As soon as the ship was ready and loaded, the final part of the Trade Triangle

28. The Return Passage • Having loaded the ships with sugar, tobacco and rum paid for from the proceeds of the sale of slaves, the captains would try to set sail for England on the final part of their triangular voyage before the Hurricane season began in mid-July.

29. The Return Passage • A ship that sank, or was wrecked near the English coast, could mean disaster for a single owner. This was the reason most merchant ventures shared the risk, and therefore the profit, by investing jointly in the trade. • This was a business venture and profit was to be made off the sale of slaves and the return of goods

30. The World Economy • Slavery was a crucial element in European economic life • By the 1800’s every major nation had made a profit off the sale or use of slaves • This was evident by the reluctance of nations to make slavery illegal • The Triangle trade of slaves for goods and later the exchange of European finished goods (metalware, cotton textiles, processed alcohol gin and rum and fire arms) made the slave trade possible and profitable

31. The World Economy Europe Finished Goods New World Finished Goods Raw Materials Africa New World African Slaves

32. World Economy • In America the slaves would be traded for raw materials • Furs, tobacco, raw cotton, sugar and silver • The raw materials would then be transported back to Europe and turned into finished goods • In Africa finished European goods would be exchanged for • Gold, ivory, timber and slaves

33. World Economy • It was the ruthless expansion of Europeans into Africa and the exploitation of African goods including people (slaves) that accounted for the growth and expansion of European wealth from the 1400’s to the 1800’s.