African Americans

1. African Americans

2. Beginnings of slavery • 1441 was the start of the European slave trade in Africa. Portuguese captains Antao Concalves and Nuno Tristao capture 12 Africans in Mauritania and take them to Portugal. • De Freitas captures 225 Africans and enslaves them, afterwards they send them to Europe; this was the first large group of slaves sent to Europe. • In 1452 Juan de Cordoba from Seville becomes the first merchant that is identified to send African slaves to the New World. In 1509 Columbus’s son Diego Colon becomes governor of new Spanish empire in Caribbean and complains that the Natives don’t work hard enough. This was a factor initiating the thought of switching to Africans as a alternative labor source. • 22 January 1510- start of systematic transportation of Africans to the new world. King Ferdinand authorized a shipment of 50 slaves to be sent to Santo Domingo. In 1522 there was a major slave rebellion on Hispaniola and after this rebellion slave resistance became common and widespread.

3. Slavery in the New World • 1528 a slave called Esteban becomes first slave to step foot on what is now united states soil. • Juan de la Barrera, a Seville merchant, begins transporting slaves directly from Africa to the new world instead of going to Europe first. The Spanish created a system that the small minority of settlers controlled the lives and labors of millions of Indians and Africans. • In this society there was mixed peoples involving colonists, Natives, and Africans. • Around 125,000 Africans were forced to settle on the Spanish plantations on the Caribbean. Since European women only counted for 10% of immigrants. Most male colonists married with African women. • Mulatto was the term to describe the mix between Europeans and Africans. The mulattos became a majority in the population. • The island of Barbados was abundant in the production and sale of sugar but had become overpopulated with English settlers and Africans. • So in order to combat the overpopulation problem the majority of the Barbadians both masters and slaves moved to South Carolina. This diversified the population giving South Carolina around 6,000 nonnative and 2500 of these peoples were enslaved Africans.

4. The Middle Passage • The Royal African Company was a slave trading monopoly based in London and was chartered in 1672. In 1698 England opened the trade to independent merchants. Soon hundreds of ships started competing with London which sky rocketed the number of slaves in North America. • Most Africans were enslaved by other Africans in wars • Demand for slaves increased significantly in response to the plantation system because plantations required a lot of labor. • Before 1750 most slaves were sailed to Massachusetts but after 1750 most slaves were sailed to Rhode Island. • On the West African coast when slaves were waiting to be shipped off they waited in dark dungeons or open pens. Also to lessen the possibility of collective resistance the slavers would split up families. The Africans selected for transport were branded with the mark of their buyer. • A French trader wrote that many prisoners were, “positively prepossessed with the opinion that we transport them into our country in order to kill and eat them.

5. The Middle Passage Continued • The middle passage was a passage through the middle part of a triangle from England to Africa, Africa to America, and America to England. There were two methods of shipping slaves, tight packing and loose packing. Loose packers believed that if you gave slaves more room and better conditions to live in there would be a lower fatality rate and profits would increase in turn. Tight packers argued that it was better to pack as many slaves in as possible because they may have more deaths but the profit for the shipment would be higher. Tight packing was the more popular method because the demand for slaves was so high and people needed as many slaves as possible. • Conditions in the slave ship were appalling; the sailors were supposed to clean the hull everyday but the smell was so putrid that they wouldn’t do it so the slaves would wind up lying in their own body wastes. Because of these horrible conditions many diseases were spread around among the slaves. Historians estimate that in the middle passage 1 in every 6 slaves died. • In 1755 Olaudah Equiano is born; he was a slave until he bought his freedom and wrote a book called, “The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano.” The novel is one of the few African accounts of enslavement and he describes the cruelty slaves faced.

6. The Middle Passage Continued… • Slaves still managed to offer plenty of resistance. They were most dangerous when the slave ships were anchored off the coast of Africa because they could still see the coast so they would be more encouraged to rise up against the sailors or jump overboard. As a precaution the crew watched the slaves intently and would also put netting around the ships to catch the slaves from jumping into the water. A historian found reference to 55 slave revolt on British and American ships from 1699 to 1845. Once the ships reached the open sea slaves became desperate because they felt as if they had no chance of returning to their country. Some slaves jumped overboard and would drown. • When the slaves reached land their shackles were taking off except for the most rebellious slaves. The slavers would try to make the slaves look better by shoving clumps of hemp fiber up the slave’s rectum to hide the bloody discharge. Most slaves were bought by an auction or by a scramble. The scramble was when the Africans were paid for in advance and were put into a corral were at the signal the buyers would rush in and take their pick.

7. Anti-Slavery movements • Fernaode Oliveira denounces the slave trade as “evil trade” and his book inspires abolitionists in later years. • 1571- The parliament of Bordeaux sets all slaves, blacks and moors, free and declaring slavery illegal In France. • March 4 1681- The colony of Pennsylvania was founded which would later become a center of antislavery thought. • 1688- Aphra Behn publishes “Oroonoko” also known as the Royal Slave which discusses the rights and wrongs of slavery. • February 18 1688- The German Mennonite Resolution against slavery took place; this was the first formal protest against slavery in a British American colony. • Slavery in the north was not as important as in the south because the north did not have gigantic plantations which required massive amounts of labor; at most there were some small farms. • One major area were slavery was still concentrated was in Newport, Rhode Island. This was due to the large slave gangs used in cattle and dairy operations in the Narragansett country, some of which were as large as Virginia plantations.

8. Anti-Slavery Movements continued… • The Quakers voiced the first antislavery sentiment in the colonies. “Consideration on the keeping of negroes” written in 1754 by John Woolman pointed out the Bible’s declaration that all people were of one blood and he urged his readers to imagine themselves in the place of the African people. • William Wilberforce delivers the first major abolitionist speech before the house of commons on may 12, 1789.

9. Africans during the revolution • Atleast 5000 African Americans served in the continental army • The war in the south began with a slave uprising. In 1775, Lord Dunmore, the last royal governor of Virginia, issued a proclamation calling on slaves to desert their masters and take up arms with the British. Over 800 slaves responded to his call. When patriot forces efficiently routed Dunmore’s army in July 1776, they fought a large number of African American troops who wore sashes that said, “Liberty to slaves.” Many of these black soldiers succumbed to smallpox, but atleast 300 soldiers sailed with Dunmore when he left to England. • General Clinton’s promise of liberty to those who fought in the army rallied thousands of slaves. • Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina began recruiting free persons of color and even slaves. In the south some slaves won their freedom through military service but in the lower south, were the numerical superiority of slaves bred fears of rebellion among white people, there was no similar movement

10. Post war for African Americans • For Africans there was little celebration towards the American victory in the revolution because it only perpetuated slavery. Thousands of black fighters departed with the British and some moved to the West Indies, Canada, and even Africa. South Carolina said to have lost around 30,000 to 25,000 slaves due to the war. • Slavery was first abolished in the constitution of Vermont in 1777, and in Massachusetts and New Hampshire in 1780 and 1784. Respectively Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Rhode Island adopted emancipation by 1786. Every Northern state except Delaware provided immediate or gradual emancipation even though as late as 1810 30,000 African Americans remained enslaved in the north. • In the upper south revolutionary idealism, Christian egalitarianism in Methodist and Baptists, and a shift from tobacco farming weakened the commitment of many planters to the slave system. There was an increase in granting freedom to slaves by their individual masters. There was also a small movement in freeing slaves in their owners will.

11. Post war continued… • George Washington not only freed several hundred of his slaves on his death but also developed an elaborate plan for apprenticeship and tenancy for the able-bodied, lodging and pensions for the aged. Planters in the lower south were too heavily dependant on slavery and ignored the growing calls to end slavery. Between 1776 and 1786 all states except South Carolina and Georgia heavily taxed the international slave trade. • From a few thousand in 1750 the free African American population grew to more than 200,000 by the end of the century. The African community now had sufficient strength to establish schools, churches, and other institutions of its own. Initially this development was opposed and people would be whipped for such ideas. But by the 1790’s the Williamsburg African Church had more than 500 members, and the association reluctantly recognized it. The incorporation of the term African in the names of churches, schools, and mutual benefit societies reflected the pride that African Americans now took in their heritage.

12. Influential African American people • Benjamin Banneker, born free in Maryland, where he received an education, was one of the most accomplished mathematicians and astronomers of late eighteenth century America. Other famous African American writers would be Jupiter Hammon who wrote poems and essays, one of his most important writing was, “Address to the Negroes of the State of New York” published in 1787. The most famous however was Phillis Wheatley, who came to public attention when her poems “poems on various subjects, Religious and Moral” appeared in London in 1773. her poems described her piety and her concern for her people

13. Famous people to know • Antao Goncalves-one of the captains of the Portuguese ship which captured 12 Africans and shipped them back to Europe which started the slave trade. • Fernaode Oliveira- a man who denounced the slave trade as a “evil trade” and his writing inspired abolitionists in later years. • Olaudah Equiano- famous slave narrative writer who wrote one of the only Accounts of the cruelty slaves faced. • John Woolman- voiced the first antislavery speech in the colonies • Phillis Wheatley- the most famous African American writer • William Wilberforce-he delivered the first major abolitionist speech before the House of Commons

14. Important terms to know • Mulatto- name given to people who are mixed between European and African • Caravel- Portuguese ship which was at the time period it was made the best ship ever seen and was also used for transporting African slaves. • Mauritania- a country in Africa were the first slaves were taken by Europeans back to Europe. • Abolitionist- a person who wanted to end slavery • Barbadians- were natives to Barbados • Barracoons- the pens that the Africans were kept in before they were shipped out of Africa. • Maroons- runaway slaves • Seminoles- mixture of Africans and Creek Indian people • Middle passage- main passage used in the slave trade for the transportation of slaves. • The Scramble- method of buying slaves were the slaves are prepaid and the Buyers rush in at a signal and pick their slaves.

15. More important terms… • Egalitarianism-belief in human equality • Emancipation-freeing someone from control of another • Manumissions-grants of freedom to slaves by individual masters • Abolitionist- someone who wants to get rid of slavery • Liberty- the quality or state of being free

16. multiple choice questions • 1. What was the term used to describe African and European hybrids? • a.) mestizos • b.) mulattos • c.) black • d.) French • 2. What American colony would become a major abolitionist supporter? • a.) North Carolina • b.) New England • c.) Pennsylvania • d.) South Carolina • 3.) The first significant slave rebellion took place on the island of..? • a.) Cuba • b.) Barbados • c.) Hispaniola • d.) Puerto Rico • 4.) What was the year the African slave trade started? • a.) 1441 • b.) 1500 • c.) 1452 • d.) 1394

17. MC continued… • 5.) What group of people voiced the first antislavery sentiment in the colonies? • a.) puritans • b.) Quakers • c.) Jews • d.) Catholics • 6.) At what point in the slave voyage were the slaves most dangerous? • a.) when in the open sea • b.) when exiting the ship • c.) when boarding the ship • d.) when anchored off the coast • 7.) Conditions in the hull for slaves were moderately nice and appealing. • a.) true • b.) false • 8.) Where in the north was slavery most concentrated? • a.) New York • b.) New England • c.) new jersey • d.) Rhode Island

18. MC Continued… • 9. What year was the colony of Pennsylvania found? • a.) 1680 • b.)1681 • c.) 1640 • d.)1670 • 10. Who wrote the famous story “oroonoko?” • a.) John Locke • b.) fernaode Oliveira • c.) Aphra Behn • d.) Shakespeare • 11.) What did Africa contribute to the Intercontinental Exchange? • a.) gold, silver • b.) tobacco, cotton • c.) enslaved Africans • d.) horses, cows, pigs • 12.) What was the German Mennonite Resolution? • a.) it was a resolution to conflicts between Germans and Mennonites • b.) it was a protest against slavery • c.) it was a revolt against the Salem witchcraft trials • d.) it was a bloody war with the Germans and Mennonites against the British

19. MC continued… • 13.) Which European country made slavery illegal very early on? • a.) England • b.) Germany • c.) France • d.) Spain • 14.) Which European country started the slave trade? • a.) Spain • b.) Portugal • c.) Italy • d.) England

20. MC continued • 15. What term was given to runaway slaves? • a.) mulattos • b.) Mestizos • c.) Maroons • d.) Deserters • 16.) The Middle Passage is a route used for transporting slaves from Africa. • a.) true • b.) false • 17.) What was the most popular way that slavers transported their slaves? • a.) tight packing • b.) loose packing • 18.) Famous African author who wrote a narrative about his life in slavery. • a.) Aphra Behn • b.) Olaudah Equiano • c.) Ignatius sancho • d.) Shakespeare

21. MC continued… • 19.) What percent of the colonial population to Africans count for after 1750? • a.) 11% • b.) 40% • c.) 20% • d.) 15% • 20.) Most Africans were enslaved by… • a.) the Spanish • b.) the French • c.) other Africans • d.) the Portuguese • 21.) About how many slaves fought in the continental army? • a.) 20,000 • b.) 5,000 • c.) 10,000 • d.) 1,000 • 22.) What British general promised freedom to slaves who fought for him? • a.) Clinton • b.) Cornwallis

22. MC Continued… • 23.) Delaware abolished its slavery along with all the other northern states. • a.) true • b.) false • 24.) Famous African author who wrote about her piety along with her concern for her people. • a.) Aphra Behn • b.) Benjamin Banneker • c.) Jupiter Hammon • d.) Phillis Wheatley • 25.) What was the first colony to abolish slavery? • a.) Vermont • b.) Massachusetts • c.) New Hampshire • d.) South Carolina • 26.) In what year did Massachusetts abolish slavery? • a.) 1780 • b.) 1783 • c.) 1810 • d.) 1805

23. MC continued… • 27.) South Carolina lost a maximum 10,000 slaves because of the war. • a.) true • b.) false • 28.) About how many Africans remained enslaved in the north after most states abolished • Slavery? • a.) 5,000 • b.) 30,000 • c.) 10,000 • d.) 50,000 • 29.) Which two states did not heavily tax the international slave trade? • a.) South Carolina • b.) Georgia • c.) both a and b are correct • d.) none of the answers are correct • 30.) There were about 200,000 free African Americans at the end of the 18th century • a.) true • b.) false

24. References Revised third edition Out of many a History of the American People • By: John Mack Faragher, Mari Jo Buhle, Daniel Citrom, Susan H. Armitage. • http://www.brycchancarey.com/slavery/index.htm • By: Brycchan Carey