The Trans-atlantic Slave Trade

Question 1

Why did the slave trade develop

Answer 1

• Demand for sugar: sugar was cheaper than sweeteners, at first in 1600 it was a delicacy, in 1800 everybody had it
• shortage of indigenous labour-
• • shortage of British labour
• Military conquest
• religious justifications

Question 2

How it worked

Answer 2

STAGE 1
- traders leave Britain with ships loaded with manufactured goods such as cloth weapons , metal work and other luxury items
- ships sail to west Africa

/ STAGE 2
- ships would dock at specially built fortresses in west Africa
- good from Britain would be exchanged for slaves in Africa
-ships would be loaded with slaves and would cross the middle passage

MIDDLE PASSAGE/STAGE 3
- in the Caribbean and the Americas the slaves would be traded with plantain owners in exchange for goods such as sugar, tobacco, cotton, and other valuables
-the ships would return to Britain and sell the stuff their as well as some slaves
The process would then repeat

Question 3

Treatment of enslaved people

Answer 3

-slaves were treated brutally
-guns and cutlasses were used
Prisoners were held/tied up in captivity
-slaves had no idea where they were going
-whipped if they protested
-stayed in packed damp and murky conditions
-loved in unhealthy living conditions with barely enough food
-people died and were sick
Treated like objects
-families separated
-hot,sweaty conditions
-Africans were based on their physical appearances, not personality