The Atlantic Slave Trade

Question 1

1450-1850

Answer 1

• slaves came about due to the African Authorities (consent of African rules)
• Africans that were traded into slavery were prisoners of war due to civil/tribal wars in Africa
• about 12 million Africans were shipped across the Atlantic….0-11 million arrived alive

Question 2

slaves viewed

Answer 2

• viewed as dirty and immoral
• seen as savages (uncivilized)
• heathens: not acquainted with God and Jesus

Question 3

over 12 million shipped across the Atlantic to the Americas

Answer 3

• Not just from West Africa, but also Muslim controlled Eastern side (3 million)
• most slaves were males - due to high mortality rate and low fertility rate (in women)
• 1/3 may have died in passage (Middle Passage)
• 40% of slaves went to Brazil
• life expectancy in sugar plantations was 3 years
• slaves were considered: debt peons, chattel, subhuman
• denial of individual (dehumanize)

Question 4

up to about 1630, the Portuguese controlled the slave trade

Answer 4

• the Dutch, English, and French begin to get involved and profit from the slave trade
• Atlantic slave trade expanded the trade into new territories now discovered by European nations
• the Dutch became major competitors after they seized El Mina in 1630
• by the 1660s, the English worked to supply their plantation colonies

Question 5

note

Answer 5

• always note the “cause and effect” - Slavery has shaped our modern racism
• Slave trade increase military warfare and the importance of the military (Western firearms)… the gun
• Slaves worked on plantations, mines, and households
• Africa had developed many forms of servitude in their nonegalitarian societies (justification)
• with state controlled land, slaves were an important way for individuals and lineages to gain wealth and status
• the Atlantic trade opened new opportunities to slave holding societies for expansion and intensification of slavery
• enslavement of women was central to African society
• the existence of slavery allowed Europeans to mobilize commerce in salves by tapping existing structure with assistance of interested African rulers

Question 6

which country received the largest portion of slaves in the Americas?

Answer 6

• Brazil

Question 7

how did the European view of Africans as heathens and pagans influence the slave trade?

Answer 7

• slaves were seen as other, less than human

Question 8

how did the Portuguese view of Africans as heathens, savages, and immoral pagans help to justify the slave trade

Answer 8

• they dehumanized them

Question 9

how did the Africans’ unique culture, color, and language affect the slave trade

Answer 9

• the traders could dehumanize them

Question 10

which African best filled the role in the Atlantic slave trade

Answer 10

• young, fit men

Question 11

how did Africa support the dehumanization inflicted upon Africans during the slave trade?

Answer 11

• Africa’s non-egalitarian environment

- an african slave market existed before Europe became involved

Question 12

some historians theorize that the immense slave profits may have led to the rise of capitalism and industrialism. what fact does NOT support that theory

Answer 12

• the high morality of slavers shipped