The Trade in Enslaved African People Flashcards
The organisation and nature of the slave trade
- Outward Passage: ships sail from Europe to Africa carrying manufactured goods (eg pots, guns, alcohol) to trade for slaves
- Middle Passage: slaves carried across Atlantic to be sold to plantations
- Homeward Passage: ships return to Europe with plantation goods (eg sugar, tobacco, tea)
The trade’s effects on Britain
- Ports grew in size
- Insurance companies made money insuring slave ships
- Industries like sugar-refining and glass making grew
- Demand for shipbuilding exploded with need for more slave ships
- Populations exploded
- Demand for manufactured goods to trade for slaves exploded
- Cotton manufacturing industry exploded
The trade’s effects on African societies
- Africans unwilling to trade with Europeans
- Houses moved inland from fear of kidnapping
- Easy access to manufactured goods for the first time
- Society grew more violent because of easier access to guns
- More crimes punishable by slavery to increase profits
- Population decreased
- Families torn apart
The trade’s effects on the Caribbean
- More plantations created, smaller farms turned into plantations
- Population increased
- Native crops destroyed to make room for sugar, cotton
- Native people killed and deported
- New diseases introduced
- Sharper divide between races
Slave ‘factories’ on the African coast
- Prison-like forts on the coast
- Used to hold slaves before they were taken to the Caribbean
- Slaves marched to the factories shackled together
- Slaves held in inhuman conditions with little food or water
- Men separated from woman and children
- Slaves branded by buying company
- Even harsher punishment rooms for rebellious that lacked sunlight
Conditions on board the Middle Passage
- Held in the dark
- Chained together
- Forced to dance to exercise
- Treated cruelly by crew (whipped, sexually abused)
- Terrible hygiene
- High chance of catching diseases as a result
- Poor food lacking in nutrition
Middle passage: tight pack
Slaves held close together.
Pros:
- More slaves can be transported
- More profit can be made
Cons
- Harsh conditions caused many slaves to die
Middle passage: loose pack
Slaves packed less tightly
Pros:
- Better hygiene
- More slaves survived
- Less food required
Cons
- Less slaves could be held
- Less potential profit
Living and working conditions on the plantations
- Slaves forced to learn new languages, put aside old culture
- All ages, even children, forced to work
- Long working hours, often 16+ hours a day
- Slaves who did not work enough were whipped and punished
- Unsafe machinery caused many injuries
- Heat often unbearable
- Poor housing, often just flimsy huts
Discipline
- Slaves branded by owners
- Slaves whipped and flogged by overseers
- Sometimes forced to wear heavy iron chains
- Slaves publicly executed to deter resistance
- Slaves sold to other plantations, families separated
Other forms of slave labour on the Caribbean islands
- Arawak natives were first used as slave labour by the Spanish, died due to new diseases from Europeans
- Bond servants came to work on plantations on 4-7 year contracts, often died due to poor conditions
- Convicted criminals from Britain were also sent to the West Indies to work on sugar plantations rather than going to jail in Britain
Resistance on the plantations
Active (Overt) resistance was violent or direct action:
- armed revolt
- killing owners/overseers
Passive (Covert) resistance was non-violent action against the plantation owners:
- killing livestock
- slowing down work
- cultural resistance
Running away was also a form of resistance
Slave rebellions against plantation owners were usually put down quickly. Slave owners had guns and were backed up by the army or navy if this was necessary
Cultural resistance
A form of covert resistance where slaves continued to practice their home cultures. This included:
- Telling traditional sotries
- Cooking traditional foods
- Dancing and singing
- Practicing Obeah
Slaves escaping
- Slaves often attempted to run away
- Large rewards were given for the capture of runaway slaves
- Plantation owners also used bloodhounds and bounty hunters to track down runaway slaves
- Slaves were branded with the name of their plantation owner which made it difficult for them to escape as they could be easily identified and returned
- Some were able to set up communities in the swamps and mountains (Maroons)
Fear of revolt
- West Africans outnumbered the white population by 20 to 1. This led to a fear of rebellion
- Slave codes were legal systems that punished revolting slaves
- Punishable offences included cultural resistance, gathering after dark, and carrying any weapons
