Africa and the Atlantic World (The Slave Trade) Flashcards
What was the African Diaspora?
The dispersal of Afrian peoples and their descendants throughtout the western hemisphere.
What main crops were plantations used for in the Americas?
Sugar and tobacco
Examples of cash crops produced in plantations in the Americas:
Sugar, tobacco, rice, indigo, cotton, coffee
How did plantations function?
They specialized in one specific crop but also produced food for their local communities. Their purpose was to profit from their cash crops.
Who were the physical laborers of the plantations?
African and African-American slaves
Which peoples governed the plantations?
European and Euro-American peoples
What were the main causes of death for slaves on the plantations?
Yellow fever, malaria, brutal working conditions and horrible sanitation and nutrition.
What was a reason why slaves had low rates of reproduction?
Plantations owners mostly imported male slaves.
In what place were the conditions for slaves “better” than in South American plantations and why?
North America. Less disease and less harsh conditions in some ways. However, only about 5% of people were sent to North America.
What did North American planters encourage?
They encouraged the slaves to form families by importing large numbers of female slaves.
Why did the North Americans support these slave families?
Because the prices of fresh slaves rose dramatically by the 18th century.
Who was Thomas Peters?
One of the many slaves who resisted against slavery.
What was a mild way of slaves rebelling against their masters?
Working slowly in the plantations and occasionally sabotaging plantation equipment. This was costly to the slave owners.
What was a serious way for slaves rebelling against their masters?
They ran away.
What were slave runaways called?
Maroons.
What did the slave runaways do after they ran away?
They gathered in mountainous, forested, or swampy areas and built their own self-governing communities.
How did maroons retaliate against plantations?
They often raided nearby plantations for weapons, tools, provisions, and fellow slaves to increase their numbers or to provide labor within their own communities.
What made the maroons militarily successful in the Americas?
Many of them had gained military experience in Africa.
Where today has descent from 18th century maroons?
Saramaka people of Suriname.
Why did slave revolts scare the slave owners?
The slaves outnumbered the supervisors of plantations and brought a lot of death. However, the slave revolts did not help that much in ending slavery because the ruling elites had guns and military forces.
What is Saint-Domingue?
A French sugar colony that abolished slavery as an institution after a slave revolt. (1793)
What modern day country is Saint-Domingue in?
Haiti.
Did any other slave revolts bring the same results as the Haitian revolution?
No.
Island of Hispaniola: two modern day countries and year Spanish established plantations there
Haiti and Dominican Republic (1516)
What did the Portuguese refer to the kingdom of Ndongo as?
Angola
How would the Portuguese come up with the name Angola?
from the title of the king, ngola
How did Ndongo grow from a small chiefdom to a powerful regional kingdom?
Because it was able to attract lots of wealth by trading directly with Portuguese merchants
When did Portuguese merchants found a small coastal colony in Ndongo
1575
Queen Nzinga years of reign
1623-1663
What did Queen Nzinga dress as?
She dressed as a male warrior when leading troops in battle
What was Queen Nzinga’s goal
To drive the Portuguese from her land, then expel the Dutch, and finally create a vast central African empire
What happened when Queen Nzinga died
Portuguese forces faced less capable resistance and they both extended and tightened their control over Angola
What kingdom was built by 1300
Great Zimbabwe
Why did Europeans strike alliances with local peoples and intervene in disputes?
In search of commercial opportunities
What group did the Dutch mariners encounter when building a trading post at Cape Town?
The Khoikhoi people
Where was Islam most popular in Africa?
Commercial centers of west Africa and the Swahili city-states of east Africa
What was the result of African Muslims?
A syncretic brand of Islam that not only made a place for African beliefs in spirits and magic but also permitted men and women to associate with each other.
What did the Fulani do for Islam?
They led a series of military campaigns to establish Islamic states and impose their own brand of Islam in west Africa
What did the Portuguese community in Kongo and Angola support?
priests and missionaries who introduced Roman Catholic Christianity to central Africa
Which class of people were made crucial contributions to the building of new societies and the making of the early modern world as a whole.
Slaves.
Were slaves rewarded for their hard work?
No.
What languages were dominant in slave societies of the western hemispheres?
European languages
What language did the slaves speak amongst each other?
Creole, which was a mixture of several African and European languages.
Percentage of population enslaved in Georgia:
75%
What creole languages did slaves from South Carolina and Georgia speak?
Gullah and Geechee
What syncretic faith was practiced in Haiti?
Voudou
What syncretic faith was practiced in Cuba?
Santeria
What syncretic faith was practiced in Brazil?
Candomble
For which social class were syncretic faiths popular?
African and African american slaves
What religion did syncretic faiths draw inspiration from?
Christianity
What beliefs did these syncretic faiths have?
Beliefs in spirits and supernatural powers: magic, sorcery, witchcraft, and spirit possession.
Name two African influenced foods/ingredients:
Okra and Gumbos
Where do the words Okra and Gumbo derive from?
They are both African words.
Which two revolutions stimulated the abolishing of slavery cause?
American and French revolutions.
The AMERICAN call for __ appealed to the universal human right to freedom and equality
life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness
The French appeal to __ suggested the universal human right to freedom and equality.
Liberty, equality and fraternity
Who was Olaudah Equiano?
(1745-1797) Was a slave who purchased his freedom in 1766. His efforts strengthened the antislavery movement in England.
What did music do for the African American slaves?
Brought a sense of home/community and cultural grounding and belonging.
What instruments did African Americans play to play their music?
Instruments like the banjo and drums.
How were drums used in plantations in ways other than playing music?
Slaves used drums to signal one another to rise up during the Stono rebellion of 1739.
What present day musics have been influenced by African American music?
Work songs, spirituals, blues, jazz, and soul.
What format found its way into the music of spirrituals that blended Christian, European, and African influences?
Call-and-response format.
Portuguese colony that emerged in former Ndongo and origin of name
Angola and origin is from the title of the king, ngola
What did some Africans regard Christian missionaries as?
They regarded them as magicians and wore crosses and other Christian symbols as amulets to ward off danger from angry spirits
When did the Antonian movement in Kongo flourish?
early eighteenth century
How did the Antonian movement begin?
It began when an aristocratic woman named Dona Beatriz proclaimed that St. Anthony of Padua had possessed her and chosen her to communicate his messages
Who was St Anthony of Padua?
He was a thirteenth century Franciscan missionary and popular preacher and was extremely popular among Portuguese Christians
What did Dona Beatriz teach?
She taught that Jesus Christ has been a black African man, that Kongo was the true holy land of Christianity, and that heaven was for Africans
How did the Antonian movement affect Christian missionaries in Kongo?
The Antonians had gathered about twenty thousand and challenged King Pedro whom they considered an unworthy ruler
American food crops in Africa
manioc,maize,and peanuts
principle staple foods of sub-Saharan Africa
bananas, yams, rice, and millet
Most important American crop and why
Manioc because of its high yield and because it thrived in tropical soils not well suited to cultivation of the other crops
Population growth of Sub-Saharan Africa from 1500-1800
34 mil - 62 mil
Where did most slaves in Africa come from?
The ranks of war captives, although criminals and individuals expelled from their clans also frequently fell into slavery
What and Where did African slaves work
They worked as cultivators in societies farm from their homes, although, some worked as administrators, soldiers, or even highly placed advisors
What did the Songhay emperors often employ slaves as?
Administrators and soldiers
Where did wealth and power come from? (slavery)
Not from the possession of land, but control over the human labor that made the land productive
Why would Africans routinely purchase slaves?
To enlarge their families and enhance their power
When traditional sources in the Islamic Slave Trade proved insufficient, how would merchants acquire more slaves?
They would raid villagesm capture innocent individuals, and force them into servitude
How many Africans would leave their homeland in servitude in the Islamic Slave Trade?
as many as ten million Africans
How did the Songhay Empire decline?
The Songhay Empire began to decline after the Moroccan invasion in 1591, when Moroccan forces, equipped with firearms, defeated Songhay troops and disrupted its political and economic stability.
Who was Sunni Ali, and what was his significance to the Songhay Empire?
Sunni Ali was a ruler of the Songhay Empire who reigned from 1464 to 1492. He expanded the empire’s territory and gained it control over important trade routes and cities.
What was the primary role of Songhay in West Africa during the early modern period?
Songhay served as a major trading state in West Africa, controlling key trade routes and facilitated the exchange of goods such as gold and salt.
What was one characteristic of the Swahili city-states in East Africa?
The Swahili city-states were known for their vibrant trade networks, connecting Africa to the Indian Ocean and for their diverse culture that blended African, Arab, and Persian influences.
What factors contributed to the growth of centralized states in Africa during the early modern period?
increased trade, the rise of Islam, the development of agriculture, and the need for organized governance to manage resources and interactions with foreign powers.
How did European interactions affect African states during the early modern period?
European interactions introduced firearms, which shifted the balance of power among states, and increased the demand for slaves, which altered social and economic systems in many regions.
What role did Islam play in the governance of African states during this period?
Islam was a unifying and legitimizing force in many African states. Rulers often adopted Islam to strengthen their authority, establish trade relationships, and create a sense of shared cultural identity.
What was the Kingdom of Kongo’s relationship with the Portuguese?
The Kingdom of Kongo had a significant relationship with the Portuguese, marked by cultural exchanges, trade, and religious influence. The Portuguese introduced Christianity, which was adopted by Kongo rulers to strengthen their authority.
How did the transatlantic slave trade impact Central Africa?
The transatlantic slave trade destabilized Central Africa by increasing warfare, depopulating regions, and disrupting traditional societies as enslaved individuals were captured and sold to European traders.
What role did religion play in the Kingdom of Kongo?
Religion played a crucial role in the Kingdom of Kongo, particularly after the introduction of Christianity by Portuguese missionaries. Rulers used Christianity to legitimize their power and establish alliances with European traders.
What factors contributed to the growth of trade along the Swahili coast?
The growth of trade along the Swahili coast was facilitated by the Indian Ocean trade network, the availability of valuable resources like gold and ivory, and the blending of African, Arab, and Persian cultures.
Why were the interior regions of Africa less involved in global trade networks compared to coastal areas?
The interior regions were less accessible due to geographical barriers and lacked the direct connections to sea trade routes that coastal areas had
What was the impact of European firearms on African societies?
The introduction of European firearms intensified conflicts between African states and communities, contributing to the rise of militarized kingdoms and increasing the scale and frequency of warfare.
Four places that Thomas Peters went to (561-562):
Louisiana
North Carolina
Nova Scotia
London (England)
Black Pioneers (562):
They were a company of escaped slaves who fought to maintain British rule in the colonies.
Bantu Migrations (562):
Occurred between 2000 B.C.E. and 1000 C.E.
Led to the organization of sub-Saharan Africa’s villages.
Governance was structured by clan groups rather than formal states.
Two impacts of Muslim merchants (562):
Formation of large centralized kingdoms.
Establishment of Muslim trading cities and spread of Islam.
Thriving empires in the west and thriving city states in the east
Sentence beginning with “Regional kingdoms…” (562):
Regional kingdoms replaced the imperial states of west Africa as people organized their societies to take advantage of Atlantic as well as trans saharan commerce.
What happened to city-states in East Africa?(562):
They were conquered and absorbed by larger states or empires.
Which two religions grew with long-distance trade? (562):
Islam
Christianity
In which century did the Mali Empire replace Ghana? (562):
In the 13th century.
When did the kingdom of Ghana likely originate? When did it dominate? What resource did it control and tax? What direction of Africa was it located in? (562):
Likely originated between the 4th and 5th centuries.
Dominated from the 8th to the 13th century.
Controlled and taxed gold.
Located in West Africa.
Sunni Ali’s years of reign, interactions with Timbuktu, Jenne, and the Niger Valley (562-563):
Sunni Ali reigned from 1464 to 1493.
He expanded the Songhai Empire, including conquering Timbuktu and Jenne.
Controlled the Niger Valley to enhance regional trade and strengthen the empire.
Capital city of Songhay Empire and two facts about it (563):
Capital City: Gao
Facts:
Gao was a major trade hub for trans-Saharan trade routes.
It was a center for Islamic learning and culture.
Soldiers who defeated Songhay Empire and kingdom that emerged around Lake Chad (563):
Soldiers: Moroccan soldiers with firearms.
Kingdom: Kanem-Bornu.
Effect of Atlantic trade on West African empires (563-564):
Increased wealth for some empires through slave trade.
Disrupted traditional political structures and fueled conflicts.
Four kingdoms in Central Africa (564):
Kongo
Ndongo (Angola)
Kanem-Bornu
Songhay
King Nzinga Mbemba of Kongo: Other name, two names of capital city, and nickname for capital city (565):
Other Name: King Afonso I
Names of Capital City: Mbanza Kongo and São Salvador
Nickname: Kongo of the bell
Portuguese colony that emerged in former Kingdom of Kongo and what was traded there (565):
Colony: Angola
Trade: Slaves and ivory.
Black Pioneers:
A company of escaped slaves who fought to maintain British rule in colonies.
Years of reign of Queen Nzinga and two facts about her
Reigned 1623-1663
Portuguese colony that emerged in former Ndongo and origin of name
Angola and origin is from the title of the king, ngola
Year of European arrival in Cape Town, group who arrived, and group who was previously there
1652 European arrival
Dutch mariners arrived
Khoikhoi was the group that was previously there
Location of and two facts about Fulani people
Located in Savannas of west Africa
Established schools in remote twos to teach the Quran
Followed a strict form of Islam
Year Antonian movement began and role of Dona Beatriz
1704
An aristocratic woman who started the movement
Four places that Thomas Peters went to:
Louisiana, England, North Carolina, and Nova Scotia
Bantu Migrations:
People who migrated into sub-Saharan Africa and organized themselves into villages and clans governed by kinship groups.
Two impacts of Muslim merchants:
They encouraged formation of large kingdoms. They also were a main part of the Islamic slave trades.
What happened to city-states in East Africa?
They fell under the domination of Portuguese merchant-mariners.
Which two religions grew with long-distance trade?
Islam and Christianity.
When did Ghana originate and when did it dominate?
They originated during the 3rd to 4th century. They dominated during the 8th century.
What resource did Ghana
Who were the first European slave traders in the mid-15th century
Portuguese Explorers
What hapened in 1441 involving Portugugese raiders and Africa men?
A raiding party seized twelve African men and toook them to Portugal as slaves.
By 1460, how many slaves were being delivered per year to Portugal and Spain?
500 slaves per year.
Which Portuguese island colonies were involved in the slave trade?
Azores, Madieras, Cape Verde Island, and Tome.
By the 1520s, how many slaves were sent to Sao Tome annually?
2k per year
Which country became the wealthiest sugar-producing land in the Western Hemisphere in the 1530s?
Brazil
When did the first shipment of slaves go directly from West Africa to the Caribbean?
In 1518.
Why was there no labor supply available for plantations in the Portuguese island colonies?
Because the islands were uninhabited when discovered, and the Portugese population was too small to provide large numbers of colonists.
What led to an increase in sugar production and demand in Europe?
Reliance on slave labor led to a production increase and higher sugar demand in Europe
Where did Portuguese planters import explorers face with indigenous populations in the Caribbean and the Americas.
From Kongo and Angola
What problem did Spanish explorers face with indigenous populations in the Caribbean and the Americas.
Disease ravaged inidgenous populations, leaving conquerors with vast land but few laborers.
How did some Arican chieftains participate in the slave trade?
Some African chieftains organized raiding parties or wars to caputr individuals from neighboring scoetities. These captives were then sold to European slave traders in exchangefor gods, including firearms, which fueled further conflicts and raiding activties.
What emotiosn did captives and their families experience during the slave trade
Never able to see family memebrs again
Century the Islamic Slave trade began:
8th century
Two facts about the Islamic slave trade:
was happening before the Atlantic Slave trade and as demand for slaves increased merchants raided villages for more slaves to sell
Description of triangular trade:
Europe brought horses and firearms to Africa for slaves. Slaves from Africa were sent to Americas and Carribean to labor on plantations. The sugar and American products from the plantations are sent back to Europe.
How long did Middle Passage take and mortality rates:
4-6 weeks with around 25% death rate.
How were Rwanda and Masai affected by the slave trade?
They escaped from the slave trade and were not affected much by it because they were far away from major slave ports.
Two facts about gender and slavery:
Men were mostly taken for slave trade. Women took more responsibilities in society because lack of men.
What emotions did captives and their families experience during the slave trade?
Captives and their families experienceed intense bewilderment and anger. The violent and sudden nature of their capture, along with the loss of freedom and seperation from loved ones, led to profoudn emotional distress.
How did the scale of the Atlantic slave trade change over time.
It started modestly, then gew dramatically, peaking i n the 18th century wit hup to 100k slaves per year.
What was the total impact of the Atlantic slave trade from beginning to end?
It brought 12 million slaves, with four million more dying in the process.
How did the impact of the slave trade vary across different African societies?
Some societies escaped, others flourished economically, like Asante and Dahomey.
From what happened after the abolition of slavery, and how did some African merchants respond?
Some merchants lost their livelihood and tried to ressit British efforts to the end trade.
How did the slave trade impact Sub-Saharan Africa overall?
Sub-Saharan Africa suffered serious losses from the slave trade. with about 16 million individuals deprived by the Atlantic slave trade alone.
What other slave trade continued to impact African soctities, and how many individuals were affected?
The continuining Islamic slave trade consumed several million more individuals.
Despite the overall population increase, what impact did the slave trade have on specific African societies?
Although the total African population due to American food crops, several societies experienced severe losses.
Which regions in West Africa were especially vulnerable to slave raiding?
West African societies between Senegal and Angola were especially vulnerable to slave raiding.
How did the slave trade affect labor and sex ratios in sub-saharan Africa and the Americas?
The slave trade diverted labor from sub-Saharan Africa, distorting sex ratios by primarly taking young men, leading to imbalancesw in both regions.
Why were approximatley 2/3 of slaves young men, and what impact did this?
Two thirds of slaves were young between 14-35 years of age due to European preferences. This led to gender imbalances, hindering slave reproduction in colonial America and requiring constant replenishment from Africa.
What was the gender imbalance’s impact on African and American societies?
n Africa, female slaves were retained for household use. By the late 18th century, women made up more than two-thirds of the adult population in Angola, leading to polygyny and women taking on men’s duties.
How did the need for slave replenishment differ across plantation regions?
The need for constant replenishment was especially acute on Caribbean sugar plantations due to high mortality and labor demands.
How did the slave trade impact African societies?
The slave trade brought turmoil, escalating violence and encouraging additional conflicts.
What role did firearms play in the Kingdom of Dahomey during the slave trade?
he Kingdom of Dahomey used firearms to capture slaves from unarmed neighboring societies, expanding rapidly by increasing its arsenal and slave trade.
How did the Dahomey army change during the 18th century?
The Dahomey army became largely a slave-raiding force, including a regiment of women soldiers.
How did the slave trade affect African politics and society?
The slave trade altered patterns of African politics and society significantly.
types of work did some slaves do in Mexico and Peru?
Some worked as urban laborers or domestic servants, while many worked as miners.
Where did the majority of slaves provide labor, and what crops did they cultivate?
The majority provided agricultural labor on plantations in the Caribbean or the Americas, cultivating cash crops that connected lands throughout the Atlantic Ocean Basin.
How did slaves respond to their bondage culturally?
laves resisted their bondage and built hybrid cultural traditions that combined African, European, and American elements.
What happened to the slave trade and slavery in the 19th century, and what was the impact of the African diaspor during this time?
Most European and American states ended the slave trade and abolished slavery. By that time, the African diaspora had left a permanent mark throughout the Western Hemisphere.
Plantation Societies
Where did most African slaves go to work in the Western Hemisphere?
ost African slaves went to plantations in the tropical and subtropical regions of the Western Hemisphere.
What did European arrivals in the Caribbean and the Americas envision with the fertile land they found?
European arrivals envisioned profits from plantations that would satisfy the growing European demand for agricultural commodities.
When and where did Spanish colonists establish the first plantations?
Spanish colonists established the first plantations in 1516 in Hispaniola and later extended them to Mexico.
When did Portuguese entrepreneurs organize plantations in Brazil, and which other countries followed suit in the early 17th century?
In the 1530s, Portuguese entrepreneurs organized plantations in Brazil. By the early 17th century, English, Dutch, and French plantations had also appeared in the Caribbean and the Americas.
