THE SLAVE TRADE

1. THE SLAVE TRADE

2. JOB DESCRIPTION OF A SLAVE: WHAT IS A SLAVE? Sex - Male or female Any age; from 4 until death Age - Characteristics - Poor and vulnerable; prisoners captured in tribal wars; Africans captured by European slave traders. Hours - Up to 20 a day, sometimes more. A slave is someone who is forced to work through violence or the threat of it, they are under the complete control of their ‘owners’.. They are treated as property and sometimes bought and sold. They have no rights, no individual freedom. Days per week - Up to 7; 365 days a year. None Holidays - Sick Leave - None Health and safety provision - None Pay - Nothing Accommodation - Very basic

3. A BRIEF HISTORY OF SLAVERY THE TRANS ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE GROWTH OF ABOLITION MOVEMENT, 18TH CENTURY. THE STONE AGE 1807 – BRITAIN DECLARES SLAVE TRADE ILLEGAL 1808 – USA DECLARES SLAVE TRADE ILLEGAL The Portuguese started the Atlantic slave trade, soon to be joined by the Spanish. Christopher Columbus’ conquest of the Caribbean virtually wiped out the native Indians. They were to be replaced by slaves brought from Africa. Hunter-gatherer societies did not have enough food to feed extra mouths, so did not have slaves. 1833 – SLAVERY DECLARED ILLEGAL ACROSS THE BRITISH EMPIRE. 1861-65 – AMERICAN CIVIL WAR ANCIENT CIVILISATIONS MEDIEVAL EUROPE All Ancient civilisations - whether in Europe, the Middle East, Asia or the Americas - made use of slavery.. Western slavery goes back 10,000 years to Mesopatamia (present day Iraq). Slavery often took place in the name of religion – Christians, Muslims and Jews all took part. SLAVE GIRLS FORCED LABOUR GLADIATORS

4. SLAVERY ALREADY EXISTED IN AFRICA BEFORE THE EUROPEAN ATLANTIC TRADE Europeans began to dominate the African trade from the 16th century onwards. A series of trading forts were built along the African coast to protect European traders interests. THE ARAB TRADE Slaves had been transported across the Sarahan region to the Middle East since Ancient times. Slave market in Yemen showing African slaves, 13 century AD. Slaves were brought to the coastal areas where they were sold to European slave traders

5. Who became slaves? Tegbesu is shown here entertaining some European slave traders. King Tegbesu of Dahomy, made around HK$3,000,000 from selling Africans in about 1750. Sale of Slaves by Tribal chiefs Prisoners of Tribal Wars. Potential plotters against the Tribal chief Kidnappings Criminals Royal Wives

6. TREK TO THE SLAVE COAST Captured slaves often had to trek hundreds of miles from the interior to the slave coast, where the European slave ships awaited them. They were linked together in ‘coffles’, iron, or shown here, wooden collars and clinking chains.

7. Weak Slaves were abandoned to await their death.

8. Arrival at the Slave Coast PHYSICAL CHECKS A dealer checks the condition of newly arrived slaves for bad teeth or grey hair. BRANDING Once bought the slave was then branded with the owner’s initials or mark. Most brands were of silver because wounds healed faster than those made eith iron.

9. WAITING FOR THE SLAVE SHIP Slaves on reaching the coast and awaitingthe arrival of slave ships were kept in slave barracks called ‘barracoons’. Shown below, are other methods of detaining slaves.

10. CHEAP MANUFACTURED GOODS THE TRIANGULAR SLAVE TRADE Trinkets – pots, pans, beads, shells, cloth SLAVES WERE USED ON PLANTATIONS, GROWING SUGAR, TOBACCO, COTTON. THIRD STAGE – RAW MATERIALS SENT TO EUROPE Profits from slave sales were used to buy produce from the plantations eg. sugar, tobacco, cotton, which were sold for great profit in Europe. Cheap trinkets exchanged for slaves FIRST STAGE – EUROPE TO AFRICA U.S.A. TRIBAL CHIEFS EXCHANGE SLAVES , OR SLAVES ARE CAPTURED Mexico Caribbean Islands SECOND STAGE - THE MIDDLE PASSAGE SLAVE TRADERS THEN SOLD THE SLAVES TO PLANTATION OWNERS Brazil THE ‘MIDDLE PASSAGE’ – THE JOURNEY ACROSS THE ATLANTIC.. THE WORLD AROUND 1750