Transatlantic Slave Trade Flashcards
How did slaves get to the American South?
Through the transatlantic slave trade. The system involved three journeys on a triangular route, so it is also known as the triangular slave trade
When did the slave trade across the Atlantic begin, when did it grow and when did it reach its height?
It started in the mid 15th century, when Portuguese traders in Africa found that slaves were more easily available than gold. The slave trade grew in the 17th century, reaching its height by the end of the 18th century
What was the first leg of the triangle (outward passage)?
It was from a European port to West Africa
What was carried on the ships on the outward passage?
Copper
Cloth
Beads
Trinkets
Guns
Ammunition
What would the cargo carried on the outward passage be sold or bartered for?
Slaves
What was the second leg (the middle passage)?
It was from Africa to the New World
What was carried on the ships on the middle passage?
Slaves, many of whom died of diseases in the crowded holds
What happened once they arrived in the New World?
The survivors were sold in the Caribbean or the American colonies. The ships were then thoroughly cleaned, drained and loaded with export goods
What was on the ships on the homeward passage and what was the destination?
It took the ships back to Europe with their valuable cargo of raw materials, such as sugar, rum and molasses from the West Indies, and tobacco and hemp from Virginia in the American South
How were slaves captured?
War, slave raiding and kidnapping were the main ways that Africans in West Africa were captured, enslaved and shipped to the Americas
What happened when West African kingdoms fought against each other?
The kingdom that won took people from the defeated kingdom as slaves. This happened, for example, in the Akan wars between the Ashanti Kingdom and the Fante Kingdom in the early 1800s. Some West African rulers then traded these captured slaves with slave merchants for guns from Britain. These rulers used guns to further expand their territories
What were the two types of slave raiding that resulted in thousands of Africans being enslaved and shipped off to the Americas?
. European slave trading companies and independent slave traders organised raids on African villages. Africans were captured and forced into slavery
. Most Africans captured during raids by stronger African kingdoms were sold to European slave traders
How were slaves kidnapped?
European slave traders, who lacked knowledge of the African interior, used African middlemen to kidnap Africans and force-march them to coastal ports where they were sold and shipped of to the Americas
How were the slaves transported to the coast?
Many slaves were obtained very far inland and where collected in a coffle and marched to the coast. Two slaves were chained together around the leg and groups of four were secured by a rope. At times, a Y-shaped stick was fastened with the fork round the neck of the slave walking in front and the stem resting on the neck of the slave walking behind. Free Africans employed by the slave catchers guarded the coffle
What happened to the slaves before the ships left?
The captured Africans were held in forts, sometimes called slave castles, along the coast. They were tied together to prevent escape. When there were enough slaves to fill a slaver they were forced on board and shipped off to the Americas
What is a slaver?
A slave ship
What were the slave ships?
They were large cargo ships specially converted for transporting slaves
How were the conditions during the middle passage?
The air in the holds was foul and putrid and the heat was terrible. Seasickness was common and there was no sanitation. These conditions made the hold very unhygienic. The combination of disease, inadequate food and punishment meant about 20% of the slaves died on board.
What did the ship owners do to maximise profits?
They divided the hulls into holds with little headroom, so they could transport as many slaves as possible
How long did the voyage take?
Between 6 and 8 weeks
How were men and women and children treated differently?
The men were tightly packed together below deck in a very cramped space, so they were forced to crouch or lie down.
Women and children were kept in separate quarters, sometimes on deck, allowing them limited freedom of movement, but this also exposed them to violence and sexual abuse from the crew
How were the slaves bound?
They were chained together by the hand and the foot or chained together with leg irons. Sometimes the left wrist and ankle of one slave was bound to the right wrist and ankle of another
What happened to slaves who misbehaved?
Slaves who misbehaved or did not follow orders were punished cruelly
What happened in good weather?
In good weather the captives were brought on deck at midmorning and forced to exercise
How were the slaves fed?
They were fed meagre rations twice a day
What happened to the bodies of the slaves who died on board?
They were thrown overboard
Define quarantined.
Kept away from other people until it was certain they did not have contagious diseases
Define branded.
Had a mark burned into their skin with a red hot iron
What happened to the slaves once they arrived?
Most of the African slaves who had survived the Middle Passage voyage and were still healthy were kept in slave pens where they were cleaned, disinfected and quarantined before being sold on the slave markets
What did they do to make the slaves look healthier?
Sometimes their skin was covered with grease, or tar. This was done so that they could be sold for as much money as possible
Why were slaves branded?
To identify them as slaves
What happened after they were branded?
The slaves were then delivered to the auction warehouses for auctioning as chattel slaves. Most slave auctions were public. Flyers were put up and notices sent to newspapers announcing the date, time and details about the ‘cargo’
Why were slave auctions an ordeal for the slaves?
They did not understand the language and had no idea what was happening. The slaves were treated like animals and had to endure being poked, prodded and forced to open their mouths for the buyers. It was a very humiliating experience for the slaves. Families, tribal members and friends were separated as the planters or their buyers made their purchases
Why else were slave auctions held?
To sell groups of slaves from one plantation to another plantation
