The Atlantic Slave Trade

1. The Atlantic Slave Trade Telling more than just the American version. By: Brian Innes

2. Sugar is King! • The expansion of the Atlantic Slave Trade was driven by the profitability of sugar. • The Canary Islands off the West Coast of Africa provided the starting point for the expansion of slavery to the Atlantic World. • Next came ventures to Madeira, Cape Verdes and Sao Tome. • Eventually, Europeans had the ability to move west across the Atlantic.

4. On their own terms • While early Europeans believed that they would be able to raid African coasts, they were largely unable to do so. • African maritime technology forced Europeans to trade with Africans for slaves • Europeans were advised to conduct trade properly, waiting until African officials made contact and grant permission for trade. John Thornton, Africa and Africans in the Making of the Atlantic World, 1400-1800 p. 39.

5. Slaves, not Captives • The vast majority of slaves taken from Africa were already slaves when the Europeans arrived • The west coast of Africa was dominated by hundreds of nations, constantly warring for territory and power • Their goal in warfare was to take prisoners not to kill more than their enemy • Land does not define wealth, people do Philip Curtin, The Rise and Fall of the Plantation Complex.

6. J. W. Buel, Heroes of the Dark Continent (New York, 1890), p. 66; also, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, LC-USZ62-32008.

7. Slaves not Captives, cont’d • This situation created a large number of slaves for the warring nations • Africans viewed those outside of their nation as not being of the same kin and therefore subject to being enslaved • The rulers or kings of these nations would trade these slaves for desired luxury items from the Europeans Claude Meillassoux The Anthropology of Slavery

8. Luxury not Necessity • Africans traded with Europeans for luxury goods because it was the kings who were in charge of the trading • Africans produced plenty of textiles, they saw the possession of European textiles as a matter of prestige • Early on they rarely traded for weapons, their warfare was different than that of Europeans

10. Why Africans? • The Africans that Europeans traded for to develop the New World were already enslaved • Indigenous populations were killed off by European diseases • Indigenous populations knew the territory • Africans from different nations were unable to communicate in the early stages

11. Curtin, Philip D. The Rise and Fall of the Plantation Complex. Cambridge University Press, 1990. Klein, Herbert S. The Atlantic Slave Trade. Cambridge University Press, 1999. Manning, Patrick. Slavery and African Life. Cambridge University Press, 1990. Northrup, David. The Atlantic Slave Trade. Boston College, 2002. Thornton, John. African and Africans in the Making f the Atlantic World, 1400-1800. Cambridge University Press, 1998. Websites: http://hitchcock.itc.virginia.edu/Slavery/ http://africanhistory.about.com/library/weekly/aa080601a.htm http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761595721/Atlantic_Slave_Trade.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/features/storyofafrica/9chapter4.shtml Email: bdi0547@uncw.edu Resources

12. The Roles of Adolescence in the Lives of Civil Rights Activists Kerry Schwallenburg

13. Ida B. Wells-Barnett • Greatest anti-lynching activist • Writer for the Free Speech • Filed lawsuit in 1884 against the Chesapeake, Ohio, & Southwestern Railroad • Founding member of the NAACP www.pbs.org/.../ peopleevents/p_wells.html

14. Childhood and Adolescence • Father, Jim Wells, influenced her passion for justice & equality • He was a member of the board of trustees at Shaw University • At 16, her parents died of yellow fever • She became the guardian of her 6 siblings and worked as a teacher www.africawithin.com/ bios/ida_wells.htm

15. Childhood & Adolescence • Born into slavery in 1856 • Was a house boy for a wealthy white family • Worked in mines during the day & attended night school • Worked his way through the Hampton Institute as a janitor http://docsouth.unc.edu/washstory/washin.html

16. The Aftermath of Childhood • Her father’s love of education gave her the will to gain a formal education • His determination was apparent in the lawsuit she filed in 1884. • Began a lifelong crusade against lynching in 1892 after 3 of her friends were murdered • Her father’s fearlessness was once again apparent in her writings www.loc.gov/exhibits/ odyssey/educate/barnett.html

17. Booker T. Washington • Accomodationist • Ran the “Tuskegee Machine” • Considered an axis between the races www.historycooperative.org/ btw/info.html

18. Hard Work Pays Off • 1881 established the Tuskegee Institute, perhaps motivated by his mentor at Hampton, General Chapman Armstrong • 1st college to open with an all black faculty • Behind the scenes he exploited white philanthropists by funding several newspapers and court cases http://www.tuskegee.edu

19. Malcolm X • “A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything.” • “Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today.” • “I want Dr. King to know that I didn’t come to Selma to make his job difficult. I really did come thinking I could make it easier. If the white people realize what the alternative is, perhaps they will be more willing to hear Dr. King.”

20. Childhood & Adolescence • As a child, teachers told him he could not become a lawyer • Grew up in Michigan, where his father was murdered • As a teenager he moved to Boston and later to Harlem, where he saw the separation within his own race • “I think that an objective reader may see how in the society to which I was exposed as a young black youth here in America, for me to wind up in prison was really just about inevitable.”

21. The Struggle • Introduced to the Nation of Islam by his brother while in prison • In 1963, he was one of the most desired speakers in the U.S. • Just prior to his assassination Malcolm X made a trip to Mecca where he adopted orthodox Islam and changed his militant views

22. Resources • General • “African American Odyssey” Library of Congresshttp://rs6.loc.gov/ammem/aaohtml/exhibit/aointro.html • The History of Jim Crowhttp://www.jimcrowhistory.org/home.htm • The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow • Ida B. Wells-Barnett • Ida B. Wells-Barnett: Crusader of Freedomhttp://www.learntoquestion.com/seevak/groups/2002/sites/wells/NEW • “Ida B. Wells” Just the Arti-FACTS http://www.chicagohs.org/aotm/Mar98/mar98fact2.html • Booker T. Washington • “The Booker T. Washington Papers.” The History Cooperativehttp://www.historycooperative.org/btw/index.html • “Booker T. & W.E.B.: The Debate between W.E.B. DuBois and Booker T. Washington.” Frontline: The Two Nations of Black America http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/race/etc/road.html

23. More Resources • Malcolm X • Malcom-X.orghttp://www.malcolm-x.org/index.html • The Official Website of Malcolm Xhttp://www.cmgww.com/historic/malcolm/home.php • “What he said Archive” Malcolm X: A Research Site http://www.brothermalcolm.net/mxwords/whathesaidarchive.html

24. Gender Relations in Early America: Myths about the Native American and English Woman

25. The Authentic History Center: Primary Sources from American Popular Culture http://www.authentichistory.com/diversity/native/images/diversity_native_images04.html

26. The Myths and Stereotypes • Indian Women Had No Status • Example: Pocahontas portrayal by Disney • English women were highly revered • More status than Native American Women

27. Mary Jemison • Child of two Irish immigrants • She was captured by six Indians and four Frenchmen • Adopted by Seneca Tribe • Mary described her new life as better than the life of most English, white women.

28. European Ideals vs. Native American Ideals • Native American societies were based upon ideals that promoted equality • Many tribes were matrilineal and matrilocal • European • Patriarchy • Male head of household and Woman were submissive followers

29. The English Woman • Cotton Mather • “produce the fear of, a cautious diligence never to displease him.” • Ideal English women of late 17th century • Pious • Virtuous • Domestic • SUBMISSIVE • Thrifty Hardworking

30. The Iroquois Woman • Sir William Johnson on Native American Women’s Power • Very strong • Hard to undermine • Women were present at council meetings and conferences of each tribe in the Five Nation Iroquois • Ideal Iroquois Woman: • Political Active • Economic provider of stable food source—Corn • Head of household based on matrilocal traditions

31. Contact, Conflict and the Causes of the Gender Shift • Diseases • Trade: Increasing Dependency of Iroquois on European goods • ‘Consumer Revolution” • Warfare (damaged crops)

32. The English Woman’s Increasing Status • Religious Realm • Leaders of church • Moral leaders in Community • Domestic Realm • Deputy husbands during times of war and also during other times of the husband’s absence

33. The Iroquois Woman’s Declining Status • No longer able to provide stable food source • Loss economic power • Loss of political status • Authority transfers to Native American men • Biggest industry—trading. • Sir William Johnson and the Effects of Englishmen

34. Towards Today’s Gender Conventions • Gradual beginning of a women’s movement that is still ongoing in today’s society. • Iroquois women assimilate into English patriarchal view • English women gain status • Step outside of the domestic sphere

35. For Further Information • Link to paper and Powerpoint Presentation: : • Email address: cne6687@uncw.edu • Helpful Links: • Information on Iroquois • “The Longest Living Democracy on Earth”: http://www.ratical.org/many_worlds/6Nations/#CREDITS • http://www.iroquois.net/ • http://www.iroquoismuseum.org/ • Halder, Bornali. “Native American Women,” n.d., <http://www.lakotaarchives.com/natwomenpr.html> • Information on Mary Jemison (Iroquois Captive) http://www.letchworthparkhistory.com/jem.html • IMA Hero Reading Program (Questions about the book, If you Lived with the Iroquois)http://www.imahero.com/readingprogram/iroquois.html • Information on 17th century English Women: • http://www.nhc.rtp.nc.us/tserve/eighteen/ekeyinfo/erelwom.htm