transatlantic slave trade Flashcards
what are some other names for the transatlantic slave trade?
triangular slave trade
middle passage
What was the transatlantic slave trade?
The transatlantic slave trade is the name given to the forced enslavement and movement of people from Africa to the
Americas. Approximately 12-15 million people were forcibly transported from their homelands in Africa to
European colonies and plantations between 1500 and 1870. Some historians suggest the number of people transported may have been higher.
what did the enslaved people grow?
The labour of enslaved people was used in the Americas to produce goods such as tobacco, cotton, sugar and indigo dye.
roughly how many voyages was there across the atlantic?
10,000
roughly how many people were transported?
around 3.4 million with only around 2.6 million surviving
how did the transatlantic slave trade begin?
In 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed across the Atlantic on behalf of the Spanish crown and arrived in the Caribbean. This discovery made Europeans aware of the Americas for the first time, and how it could provide economic benefits. In the aftermath of this voyage, Portugal and Spain began to develop colonies. This meant that they took control of territories in the Americas in places such as Peru, Mexico and Hispaniola, imposing their own customs and beliefs. They forced
indigenous people into enslavement, mining for gold and silver and producing crops. This allowed European countries to increase their power and expand their empires. From 1500 onwards, Portuguese and Spanish traders began to take enslaved West and Central African people to the new colonies in the Americas. The transatlantic slave trade had begun and it would continue for over 300 years. According to the historian Robin Blackburn, during this time enslaved people crossing the Atlantic outnumbered free European
migrants four to one.
what was the triangular trade?
From the 1500’s, the ‘Triangular Trade’ is a name given to the three main voyages of the transatlantic slave trade. British enslavers sailed from ports such as Glasgow, Liverpool and Bristol to West Africa. There, enslaved West African people were exchanged for trade goods such as guns, cloth, iron and beer. These enslaved people were then taken across the Atlantic to be sold in the West Indies and North America. This journey is known as the Middle Passage. It is estimated that 2 million enslaved people died during this journey, due to the horrific conditions on the ships. British enslavers then sold the enslaved people in the West Indies and North America. They brought a cargo of tobacco, rice and other goods back to England to sell.
who benefitted from the slave trade?
british enslavers
plantation owners
factory owners
west african leaders
What happened in 1492?
Christopher Columbus arrived in the Caribbean
Which monarch helped to establish the Royal African Company?
Charles II
