Vocabulary

1. Vocabulary • Triangular Trade- The movement of natural resources, finished goods, and slaves between the Americas, Europe, and Africa. • Middle Passage- The part of the triangular trade where African slaves made the journey to the Americas.

2. Warm Up • Why did it seem necessary to import Africans to the Americas?

3. African Slavery in the Americas Begins

4. The African slave trade with the Americas began when Native Americans who had been used as slaves, began dying off in huge numbers mostly from small pox. • Catholic Priests led by Bartolome De Las Casas suggested the use of Africans as slaves instead of Native Americans for several reasons:

5. Africans were bigger & stronger than Native Americans • Africans had been exposed to European diseases (through trade) • Many West Africans were farmers already • Africans had no knowledge of American geography so less apt to escape

6. Slaves in the Americas were subjected to the following: • Before they went on the auction block, they were paraded as if they were livestock. Their teeth were looked at, their eyes and their general physical appearance. They were then greased with pig fat so their skin looked healthy and their muscles were well defined.

7. As soon as they arrived in the Americas, they were auctioned to the highest bidder. • They were handled as if they were animals and were paraded, turned this way and that in front of bidders. • They worked long hours at hard jobs and were whipped or beaten if their performance lagged.

8. Slavery was hereditary meaning you were born into it so sons and daughters of slaves were slaves for life. • To resist the horror of enslavement, slaves often retained some of their culture such as music, stories and religion

9. They also found ways to resist their bondage by doing things such as breaking garden tools, uprooting plants and working slowly (which often caused masters to perceive them as being lazy & dumb) Nothing could have been further from the truth. Their tactics were a means to survival.

10. Consequences of the Slave Trade • Many families in Africa lost their fittest, strongest members. • Families were torn apart. (Marriage was not recognized by slave traders or plantation owners. Slaves were not to marry but to breed strong offspring.)

11. Guns were introduced to Africa stimulating warfare across the continent. (This continues today!) • African labor was a main reason for the success of the American economy. • African crops such as rice and farming methods helped the economy as well. • Africans influenced the culture of the Americas through music, food, and other aspects of culture.

12. The Triangular Trade • Africans transported to the Americas were part of a transatlantic trading network known as the Triangular Trade. • On the triangular trade, merchants from the New England colonies carried rum & guns to Africa. • There they exchanged their merchandise for slaves. • The traders then transported the Africans to the West Indies and sold them for sugar and molasses. • They then sold these goods to rum producers in New England.

13. Other triangular trade routes existed that carried a variety of trade goods including furs, fruits, tar, and tobacco, as well as millions of African people.

14. Closing/Reflection • What were the reasons for the use of Africans as slaves? • What would the slave traders do to make the Africans look more appealing to buyers? • What would slaves do to resist their enslavement? • What was the triangular trade? • What was the Middle Passage?