Atlantic Slave

Trade
Key Questions
•Where did the Atlantic slave trade originate?
•How did slavery evolve in the Americas?
•What were the consequences of the slave trade?
Origins of Slave Trade
•Slavery has existed in many parts of the world, throughout all of history
•People forced into slavery came from different walks of life: Farmers,
merchants, priests, soldiers, or musicians; fathers and mothers, sons and
daughters.
Trade networks and slavery
Enslaved Africans became part of network called the triangular trade, but really
more of a bow tie (knotted in Europe, especially London)

India, China (cotton cloth, tea)→ Europe exchanged for silver, gold
Europe (cotton cloth)→ Africa exchanged for enslaved people
•Middle Passage: enslaved Africans to Americas
Americas (sugar, silver) → Europe
North America (fish, flour) → Caribbean (sugar)
Some slave traffickers from Americas sailed directly to Africa
Global Trade Routes, 1400-1800
Source:

The Geography of
Transport Systems
https://www.slavevoyages.org/voya
ge/database#timelapse
Slavery in the colonies
● Slave traders trafficked captive Africans throughout the Americas
● Caribbean and Brazilian sugar plantations
● Portuguese; English; and Dutch slave traffickers
● England dominated slave trade by 1700
The Middle Passage
Central Historical Question
How did people experience the
Middle Passage?
Enslaved Africans in colonial America
JOBS Many slaveholders lived in
● Most: constant fear of rebellion by
○ SUGAR/TOBACCO angry slaves who could no longer
○ US cotton (1800s) take harsh treatment they faced
● Others:
on plantations
○ Agriculture
○ Domestic
○ Crafts
○ Silver Mines
Resistance
● Kept cultural traditions alive
● Religion for strength, hope
● Slowing work, destroying
equipment, revolting
● Escaped, established communities
Mankind clip-32 min mark till 39
Treasures episode
Effects of the Slave Trade
•Estimates of 15 to 20 million
Africans shipped to Americas
against will

•Human cost enormous

–Countless died in transit
–Millions deprived of freedom
–Descendants doomed to lives of
forced servitude
Effects of slave trade
•Effects profound in Africa
•Slave raiders captured strongest
young—future leaders of
societies
•Divided Africans one from
another—some rulers waged
wars to gain captives
•Forced labor of millions of
Africans did not enrich Africa
Lasting effects of Slave Trade

•Labor of African slaves built economies of many American colonies

•Their knowledge of agriculture contributed to growth of rice industry in
southern English colonies
Lasting effects of Slave Trade
Spread of Culture
•As result of slave trade, people of African descent spread throughout
Americas, Western Europe
•Spread called African Diaspora
•Eventually led to spread of African culture—music, art, religion, food—
throughout the Western World
Middle Passage Writing Assignment:
How did people experience the Middle Passage?
● Thesis/topic sentence: specific answer
● Evidence from at least four sources-superior level-just because you use four does
not mean you will automatically get a superior. It is HOW you use them-
quotes,interpretation
○ Cite evidence
■ author, use name in writing
■ letter, for ex. (C)
○ Explain how evidence supports your claim-use quotes and interpret
○ Analyze the sourcing of the evidence
■ Impact of the source on the content and/or style
○ How does the evidence fit together?