Practice Lesson 6

African Slave Trade — the Cruellest Commerce

1 In 1501, the Spanish monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella granted permission to the colonists to import black
slaves. From Hispaniola black slavery spread rapidly to the islands of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Jamaica,
to the mainland colonies of Mexico and Peru, and then throughout. Spanish America.

2 The business of delivering Africans to the Americas was undertaken by Portuguese, French, English,
and Dutch, among others, with varying degrees of success. The colonists became more active in the 5
trade as the demand for labour grew along with the plantation economies of the Americas.

3 To facilitate trade, forts were established along the West African coast. The Gold Coast
(contemporary Ghana) saw the construction of more than 50 such posts along 300 miles of coastline.
The larger forts were called castles. The forts included residences and offices for the white traders,
warehouses for the trade goods, and quarters for the slaves. Traders built these forts with the 10
permission of the local ruler and paid rent for the privilege. They had to be repeatedly defended from
assaults by other Europeans and Africans as well.

When visiting the surviving forts, I could barely suppress my profound anguish. The massive structures
4
attract even as they repel. As one enters these monuments of doom, with their thick walls and austere
rooms that now lie empty, one can still hear the cries of the enslaved, punctuated by the sounds of the 15
angry waves crashing against the shore. The damp, dark dungeons where the captives were imprisoned,
chained and fearful, lying in their own excrement, still assault the sensibilities. Narrow tunnels from the
dungeons to the waiting ships remain as terrifying today as they must have been for those who passed
through them to begin their journey of no return. The tears flow freely as one descends into these hells,
and the gasps of the visitors remind us that the trauma of the trade has not been spent. 20

Traders on the African coast acquired their slaves in various ways. Most of them were captives taken in
5 wars — African states fought frequently over territory, succession and commerce. Others likely to be
sold into slavery included debtors and those convicted of such crimes such as homicide, treason, and
theft. Still others were simply unfortunate enough to be abducted and swiftly sold to traders. Individuals
who engaged in this practice faced severe penalties from their own people if they were caught, since 25
their atrocities could lead to war between the victim's home territory and that of the kidnapper.

Most persons placed on the slave market were men. Women and young children were less likely to be
offered for sale. Females were highly valued as workers in African societies; they bore the brunt of
6 productive labour as well as fulfilling reproductive functions.
30
African traders brought their slaves to the coastal markets fettered in groups, or coffles. Once the
7
captives arrived on the coast, they were carefully examined by the prospective purchasers. The
enslaved person was branded with the purchaser's mark on the shoulder, the breast, or the buttocks.

Slaves were held at the coastal forts until traders acquired full cargoes for the ships. The dismal wait
8 could be long or short, depending on supply conditions. If wars were being fought in the interior, a flow 35
of captives could be anticipated.

The many captives who died on the coast as they awaited departure fell victim to a variety of diseases
9 and to infection of wounds suffered during their capture and branding. The damp dungeons in which
they were kept certainly contributed to the high mortality.
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The prisoners knew nothing of their destination or their ultimate fate. As they waited, the slaves must 40
10
have been racked by emotions — fear, anger, disbelief, defiance, resignation — each exacting a price.
Yet, as their subsequent behaviour would show, many also found an inner resolve not to be vanquished,
not to yield control over one's inner sanctuary to one's captors.

The Atlantic passage tested bodies and souls to their limits. The human cargoes were arranged on
11
wooden platforms like books on a shelf on various levels in the cramped hold. Rarely was there space 45
for an adult to stand erect. Some had barely enough room to lie down. One ship's surgeon observed that
the traders "wedged them in so that they had not so much room as a man in his coffin either in length or
breadth. It was impossible for them to turn or shift with any degree of ease."

12 Fearing rebellion, ship's crews generally chained the slaves securely in the hold, usually in pairs, the
right ankle of one connected to the left ankle of the other. But the crews did not always depend on harsh 50
discipline, shackles, and whips to control the slaves. The more humane captains permitted music and
drumbeating and encouraged singing and dancing. On the better-managed vessels, rum was provided as
well as pipes and tobacco. Women were given beads and other trifles with which to adorn themselves.
Contented slaves, it was presumed, would be more tractable.

13 With so many bodies closely packed together, the heat below-decks became unbearable. The air reeked
of excrement and infected sores. By the 18th century, ships customarily had portholes to aid ventilation, 55
wind sails to throw down a current of air and gratings on the decks, but to the human cargo the hold
remained a fetid hell.

14 As an aid to good health, slaves were periodically taken on deck for exercise and fresh air. While they
were being "danced" on deck, the crew cleaned and disinfected their quarters with vinegar. Although-
exercise helped, many still contracted disease during the passage. Measles, scurvy and various "fevers" 60
attacked slaves and crew alike.

15 Malnutrition, even starvation, accounted for the poor condition in which many slaves came ashore. A
staple food was a mush of maize and palm oil, though traders who learned the value of delivering a
healthy cargo adjusted the menu to suit different cultures and might serve rice or yams as well. On
longer voyages, provisions sometimes gave out. 65

16 Many of the captives struggled to liberate themselves from the moment of capture. Their best chance
for escape was while they were still on African soil or aboard the ships on the coast. Thus, crews took
elaborate precautions.

17 So Africans arrived in the Americas, to be sold yet again, to end up in the cane fields of the Caribbean
and north-eastern Brazil, the tobacco cultivations of Virginia, the rice fields of South Carolina, and 70
households everywhere. Many slaves rejected their condition, continuing a struggle that had begun on
the African coast. Some resisted passively, malingering, pretending not to understand the masters'
orders, deliberately breaking tools, or feigning illness. Others, in a long history of violent protest, chose
open revolt.
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From paragraph 4:
1) Using your own words, state how the visitors felt when they passed through the tunnels leading
from the dungeons.

……………..

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..........
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…………………………………………………………………………………………………......………………………………………………….. [2]

From paragraph 5:

2. What does "this practice" (line 25) refer to?

……………..…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………[1]

From paragraph 6:

3. Explain in your own words why African societies valued women highly as workers.

……………..………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

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…………………………………………………………………………………………………......………………………………………………….. [2]

From paragraph 7:

4. Give two reasons why you think the prospective buyers "carefully examined" the slaves.

……………..………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

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…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..........

…………………………………………………………………………………………………......………………………………………………….. [2]

From paragraph 11:

“The human cargoes were arranged on wooden platforms like books on a shelf ..."

5) What does the expression "like books on a shelf" tell you about the conditions in the hold? [1]

……………..

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..........

…………………………………………………………………………………………………......………………………………………………….. [1]

6) Write down two separate words from this paragraph that convey the same idea as the above
quotation.

…..........…………………………………………………………………………………………………......………………………………………………….. [2]

From paragraph 13:

7) Name two features of the ships' design that were supposed to improve ventilation below decks.
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……………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…..........…………………………………………………………………………………………………......………………………………………………….. [2]

8) What two factors made the hold a "fetid hell"?

1)…..........…………………………………………………………………………………………………......…………………………………………………..

2) .........…………………………………………………………………………………………………......………………………………………………….. [2]

From paragraph 14:

8) What measures were taken to keep the slaves in good health?

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………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…..........…………………………………………………………………………………………………......………………………………………………….. [2]

From paragraph 15:

10) "On longer voyages, provisions sometimes gave out." What consequence would this have had for
the slaves?

……………..………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…..........…………………………………………………………………………………………………......………………………………………………….. [1]

From paragraph 17:

11) Using your own words, give two examples of passive resistance put up by the slaves. ",

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…..........…………………………………………………………………………………………………......………………………………………………….. [2]

From the passage as a whole:

12) For each of the following words or phrases, give one word or short phrase (of not more than seven
words) which has the same meaning that the word or phrase has in the passage.

austere (paragraph 4, line 14) ……………..……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

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anguish (paragraph 4, line 13) ……………..………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

forts (paragraph 3, line 7) ……………..………………………………………………………………………………………………………............

Rapidly (paragraph 1, line 2) ……………..…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

dungeon (paragraph 4, line 16) ……………..…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

anticipated (paragraph 8, line 36) ……………..………………………………………………………………………………………………….…

vanquished (paragraph 10, line 43) ……………..………………………………………………………………………………………………….

adorn (paragraph 12, line 53) ……………..…………………………………………………………………………………………………….[5]

Extra Vocabulary

profound (paragraph 4, line 13) ……………..………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

repel (paragraph 4, line 14) ……………..……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

captives (paragraph 4, line 16) ……………..………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

homicide (paragraph 5, line 23) ……………..……………………………………………………………………………………………………….

enslaved (paragraph 7, line 33) ……………..…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

tractable (paragraph 12, line 54) ……………..………………………………………………………………………………………………….....

reeked (paragraph 13, line 55) ……………..…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Marks obtained

Remarks