Capture in West Africa

The Atlantic Slave Trade1450-1850

StatisticsTotal of approx. 12 million Africans were taken from their homeland2000/year between 1450-1850

Why did it begin?The Portuguese explored the African Coast

2. Europeans discover New World

3. Native Americans were an inadequate labor force Began buying slavesNeed for a large labor force Plantations and MinesCreateColonies

Labor SourceNative AmericansDying from DiseaseHunters, not farmersKnew the GeographyEasy to escapeAfricansImmunity to DiseaseExperienced FarmersUnfamiliar landHard to escapeProfits from slave tradeSlave Trade CharacteristicsSpain and Portugal were the leadersBy 1600s:

3. Taken primarily from West Africa4. Role of AfricansEngland, Dutch and French were involvedKings gave permissionMerchants sold captivesHunters captured other Africans

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A slaves Journey from Africa to the New WorldAs you listen to the podcast, record where each step took place and a supporting detail

Africans eager for guns/horses, traded POWs to Europeans. There was a premium on Adult Males. Captured slaves were escorted on a 500 mile walk to sea

Step 1

Captured slaves were placed in prisons, examined by surgeons and stripped of clothing. Invalids were thrown into sea. Branded with company logo. Families were separated

Step 2

Over 700 slaves were packed into the ship. They were separated by gender, arranged together in mixed language groups

Step 3

Disease was common in the holds of the ship. Slaves were fed once a day and brought to the surface once a week

Step 4

Slave rebellions were ruthlessly oppressed. Agitators were thrown overboard. Suicides were common.

Step 5

. Slaves were sold in the West Indies and then could be sent to Brazil and Mexico where they labored on sugar plantations or in the gold mines. They could also be shipped to the S. British Colonies where they worked on tobacco, rice and cotton plantations

Step 6Consequences of Slave TradeAfrica lost a generation of peopleFamilies were dividedDemand for Guns in Africa

5. Greatly developed the Americas6. New Culture emerge:More Civil WarsAfrican//European mix-MulattoesNew Songs, dress, different forms of ChristianityQuestions1. Why were Africans willing to trade other Africans into slavery?

2. While on a slave ship there were few slave rebellions despite the fact that slaves outnumbered their captors 10 to 1. Why do you think there we so few rebellions?

3. Where in North America would you expect to find large numbers of slaves and why? North or South?

4. Some form of slavery has existed in nearly every empire in history. What makes the Atlantic Slave trade uniquely cruel and barbaric form of labor?

5. Do you think slave hunters/traders hated the people they captured and enslaved? Explain.