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Slavery and Triangle Trade. Triangle Trade. European Background. Portuguese started African slave trade in 1441 First Africans in Hispanola in 1505 1450-1850 ~12 million Africans sent to Americas. Why Africans?. Native Americans dying off Some degree of disease resistance
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European Background • Portuguese started African slave trade in 1441 • First Africans in Hispanola in 1505 • 1450-1850 ~12 million Africans sent to Americas
Why Africans? • Native Americans dying off Some degree of disease resistance • No muskets and gunpowder • Africans participated in trade by enslaving others, selling debtors and criminals, and kidnapping • Skilled workers • Knew how to extract precious ore from mines • Familiar with soils and crops • Not familiar with the land—making escape less likely
Portuguese Slave Trade • The Portuguese population was too small to provide a large number of colonists. • The sugar plantations required a large labor force. • Slaves filled this demand. Europeans and Africans Meet to Trade
Slave Trade and Sugar • Portuguese crop growers extended the use of slave labor to South America. • Because of this, Brazil would eventually become the wealthiest of the sugar-producing lands in the western hemisphere.
Plantations • The first was established by the Spanish on Hispaniola in 1516. • Originally the predominant crop was sugar. In addition to sugar, plantations produced crops like tobacco, indigo, and cotton. • In the 1530s Portuguese began organizing plantations in Brazil, and Brazil became the world’s leading supplier of sugar.
Plantations • Labor intensive= HARD WORK • Relied almost exclusively on large amounts of slave labor supervised by small numbers of European or Euro-American managers. Brazilian sugar mill in the 1830s
Justification- Why? • Slavery made development of the New World profitable $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $
Slavery Expands • In 1518, the first shipment of slaves went directly from West Africa to the Caribbean where the slaves worked on sugar plantations. • By the 1520s, the Spanish had introduced slaves to Mexico, Peru, and Central America where they worked as farmers and miners. • By the early 17th century, the British had introduced slaves to North America.
Impact of Slave Trade on the Americas • Diverse Culture- Cultural Diffusion- Africans brought part of their culture(like music food, traditions, Language) to the Americas. • MadeLatin American colonies (Brazil) wealthy
Exportation • Trip called the Middle Passage • 5000 miles, 3 wks. to 3 mos. • 20-25% died • Strip Africans’ self respect and self identity