The Atlantic Slave Trade Flashcards
Why did 18M people being captured in Africa cause developmental issues and conflict?
- Development: Less people to look after the land, thus much of the land becoming infertile.
- Conflict: Some African tribes began working for the Europeans by capturing and selling Africans, causing war and tension between tribes.
List four ways that you could become a slave in Africa.
- Being captured.
- Being sold in by a family member.
- Being a prisoner of war.
- For commiting a crime.
Give 4 conditions of slave forts.
- Slaves were kept with hundreds per room, lined up like sardines.
- No ventilation.
- Disease was common.
- They were not given much food.
- They were chained together.
- Heads shaved to stop the spread of lice.
Give 4 ways in which slaves resisted on the middle passage.
- Refusing to eat.
- Jumping overboard - commiting suicide.
- Refusing to follow instructions.
- Carried out rebellions to try and get control of the ship.
- Killed or injured members of the crew.
Why was resistance difficult on the middle passage - give 4 reasons.
- Lack of food and water.
- Disease.
- Slaves were often shackled.
- The crew had weapons.
- Fear of punishment.
- They did not all speak the same language.
Lack of food and water
Slaves were not strong enough to resist.
Disease
Too ill to fight back.
Slaves were shackled
Could not move easily, making fighting difficult.
The crew had weapons.
Slaves could be killed or seriously injured, so this put them off resisting
Fear of punishment.
Some slaves did not want to resist due to the concequences.
Slaves did not speak the same language.
It was difficult to plan rebellions due to language barriers as they could not understand one another.
What were the two methods in which slaves were sold?
Auctions and scrambles.
What is the word of a slave that was in charge of other slaves?
A driver.
Give 6 conditions of the plantations.
- Worked very long hours (sun up to sun down.)
- They were forced to do chores at their master’s homes after plantation work.
- Whipped if they did not work hard enough.
- Women were often raped.
- Heavy iron hooks round necks, more chains added for punishment.
- Sticky solution would be rubbed on them and they were left outside for mosquitos to stick to them as punishment.
- Sometimes forced to defecate in each other’s mouths.
- Children forced to work as soon as they were physically able.
- Families could be split up and sold to other owners at any time.
- Death rate was high due to the conditions.
- Disease was common.
How did slaves resist on plantations - give 4 examples.
- Running away.
- Attacking their master.
- Threatening their master.
- Killing the children of their masters.
- Messing with their master’s property.
- Not waking up on time.
- Not working as hard as they should be.
- Stealing from their master.
Why was resistance difficult on plantations?
- Working long hours with little food.
- Little sense of direction and easily got lost.
- Brutal punishments.
- Plantation owners had descriptions of each slave.
- Female slaves were often sexually abused and had children.
Working long hours with little food
Slaves were very weak and unable to fight back.
Little sense of direction and easily got lost.
Owners could easily find slaves and capture them again.
Brutal punishment (plantations)
This would deter many slaves from rebellion.
Slave owners had detailed descriptions of slaves.
These were published if slaves ran away, making running away difficult.
Female slaves were sexually abused and often had kids.
This deterred female slaves from rebellion out of fear of abuse and being separated from their families.
Give 4 impacts on Africa of the trade.
- Bonds between tribes were broken.
- Huge population decrease.
- Lots of Africa now lives in poverty.
- Many wars happened.
- Many families were forced apart.
Give 4 impacts on Britain of the trade.
- More jobs -> many people made their life earnings off the trade
- Opening of banks and insurance -> more money and wealth.
- Schools were built -> better education.
- Hospitals were built -> better health.
- Better ships were built -> stronger navy.
- Merchants became wealthier -> led to fine buildings.
- New industries opened in Bristol -> increased trade.
How did Thomas Clarkson play part in the abolishment campaign?
He snuck on slave ships and stole evidence of how horrific the trade was -> shocked the public.
How did William Wilberforce play part in the abolishment campaign?
He was an MP who would bring bills to end the trade to parliament -> led to abolition itself.
How did Olaudah Equiano play part in the abolishment campaign?
- Wrote an autobiography about his time in the trade -> shocked the nation.
- Gave public speeches about the trade -> shocked the nation.
How did Granville Sharp play part in the abolishment campaign?
Won the first legal case against slavery -> proved that abolition was possible.
How did John Newton play part in the abolishment campaign?
He was a minister/ex-captain of a slave ship -> encouraged his community to be against slavery.
How did Josiah Wedgewood play part in the abolishment campaign?
He created ‘The Seal’ -> He got more public attention towards the cause.
