Download - The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade
The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade
The History Of Slavery Slavery became popular in Europe
during the renaissance Europeans opened trade routes
with western Africa and took advantage of existing slave trading networks
In Africa, people became slaves through warfare, criminal behaviour and debt
However, African slaves were rarely subjected to brutality and back-breaking labour – in most cases, slaves were treated well and accepted as part of the family
The Europeans first took slaves to act as domestic servants for wealthy households
The Need for Slaves Slavery becomes
economically profitable when explorers began to build colonies in the new world
Exporting goods from the new world becomes a major source of profit
Plantation economies were devised to harvest Sugar Cane, Tobacco, Cotton and coffee
These “cash crops” were in high demand globally
The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Europeans turn to African slaves
as warfare and disease ravage local populations
In 1562, Great Britain begins purchasing slaves in Africa to export to colonies in the new world – salve trading grows exponentially from this point on
The Trans-Atlantic slave trade is the biggest forced movement of people in the worlds history
Historians estimate that 11 million people were exported from West and Central Africa between 1451 - 1869
The Middle Passage The majority of Slaves are taken from west Africa
(present day Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast etc) The demand for slaves was so high that slave traders
resorted to kidnapping people The Middle Passage was the journey from Africa to the
New World It was infamous because 20% of slaves died in route The trip could last between 1 and 9 months Slaves suffered through malnutrition, disease and
physical torture Slaves were kept below deck, shackled and sometimes
placed in cages where they were forced to eat, sleep and perform bodily functions
Slaves in the New World Slaves sent to the new world worked as “Domestics” or
“Field Slaves” Slaves were considered “Chattel”, and had the legal
rights according to Farm animals To set an example and discourage resistance, slaves
would often be “Seasoned” Seasoning meant subjecting slaves to horrific and
brutal treatment in order to shock them into submission
Female slaves were most prized because of their ability to reproduce
The condition of slavery was passed on from mother to child
Slave Resistance Any form of resistance was met with extreme brutality However, there are cases of slave uprisings throughout
the new world The most common form of fighting back was “Passive
Resistance” Slaves would break tools, sabotage crops and move as
slow as possible Some women went so far as to perform abortions or
murder new born children to resist their masters Slaves were often forced to whip each other – however
slaves often developed techniques so that it appeared they were hurting the person without even making contact
The Abolition Movement It is ironic that the height of slavery took
place during the enlightenment However, some religious groups and
educated people saw slavery as evil and an abolition movement slowly grew throughout the old and new world
Slavery was outlawed in Canada in 1793, and the rest of the British Empire in 1833
Slavery lasted longest in the United States and was a major cause of the US Civil War
Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation was written in 1863
However, the greatest reason for the decline of slavery was the industrial revolution, plantation economies were no longer very profitable in the 19th century