Title: Who were the authorities behind the

transatlantic slave trade?

Do now: Complete your

recap on the triangular
trade

Our enquiry question: How did transatlantic slavery change African identity?
 Do now: recapping the triangular trade
Explain what happened on each part of the journey of the trade.

At this part of the trade: At this part of the trade:

Then write a
response the
question: How did
transatlantic slavery
change African At this part of the trade:
identity?
 Recap: what was the triangular trade?
The driving force of the trade was
demand for sugar.

English merchants set out from

England to West Africa. At first
they simply kidnapped people, but
later they sold goods in exchange
for west Africans.

The West Africans were then

transported across the Atlantic
ocean to the Americas.

There they were set to work on

plantations producing sugar.

Our enquiry question: How did transatlantic slavery change African identity?
 Key words
A monopoly is when only one
Monopoly person or company controls
what is bought and sold

A chattel slave is a person who is

Chattel slavery enslaved forever. Their children
are also automatically enslaved.

Our enquiry question: How did transatlantic slavery change African identity?
 How did the trade develop?
In 1672 the Royal African Company was given a
monopoly to trade along the west African coast.

Read the text and add the key information to the

timeline
Challenge: How does this link to our previous
topics?
Our enquiry question: How did transatlantic slavery change African identity?
 How did the slave trade develop?
Use the text to add detail to the timeline.
Britain first became involved the Caribbean following Christopher Columbus’s
“discovery” in 1492. But Britain’s first involvement with transatlantic slavery 1492 Christopher Columbus “discovered”
came in 1562. John Hawkins set sail with three ships to West Africa where he the Americas
captured 500 enslaved people. He took them to what is now Haiti and sold
them into chattel slavery. He made a huge profit and as a result Queen
Elizabeth I invested in other voyages to capture and enslave West African
people. 1562
British slave trading was minimal until it established colonies in the Caribbean,
where sugar was produced. After the colony at Jamestown in America was set
up in 1625 white indentured labour was often used to produce sugar. Under
this system indentured labourers worked without pay for a fixed period of time 1625
(often seven years). However it became clear that indentured labour was not
producing the amount of sugar the planters wanted, therefore they started to
look towards enslaving people in West Africa who they could force to work for
free. Chattel slavery had never existed in Africa before transatlantic slavery.
1660
In 1660 the Royal African Company was set up and in 1672, King Charles II gave
the Royal African Company a monopoly to trade along the West Coast of Africa.
This meant that only members of the company could trade in gold, ivory and 1672
enslaved people. One of the company’s leaders was Edward Colston.
Many British people were furious that the London based Royal African
Company had a monopoly on such a lucrative trade. Some merchants ignored
the monopoly and traded enslaved people illegally during this period. They
1698
claimed that buying and selling people was a fundamental British right.
Eventually in 1698 the Royal African Company lost its monopoly and from this
point any British merchant could get involved with the slave trade. The
 Learning check: true or false
1. England first became involved in slavery in the 1700s. false
2. The English kings and queens opposed slavery.
false
3. The Royal African Company was one of many companies that the
government supported to enslave people in the late 1600s. false
4. Some people argued buying and selling enslaved people was a true
fundamental British right.
5. In 1698 the Royal African Company lost its monopoly over the slave true
trade.
6. By 1698 the RAC had transported 40,000 Africans into slavery
false
Our enquiry question: How did transatlantic slavery change African identity?
 How did Robert Aske benefit from
slavery?
In recent years there have been big debates
about the legacy of slavery. In 2021 it was
reported that Robert Aske, the founder of our
schools, had invested £500 (today’s value
£110,000) in the Royal African Company.

There were consultations in all Haberdashers’

schools about how to respond to this.
Read the information about Edward Colston
and Robert Aske and write your response to
the questions.
Discussion

Our enquiry question: How did transatlantic slavery change African identity?
 Who were the authorities behind the
transatlantic slave trade?
Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6UaVYlZ26M
And discuss:

Why do people have different reactions

to the debates about people like Edward
Colston and Robert Aske?
 Who were the authorities behind the
transatlantic slave trade?
In 1753 the editor of the ‘Bristol Journal’, Felix Farley, explained
the interconnections of the various trades linked to Bristol:

Explain how the transatlantic trades showed that ‘Commerce is a Circle’.

How far do you think that enslaving Africans was at the centre of the circle?