Atlantic Slave Trade
Agenda for Tues, 9/6
• Please have out notebook
• Title today’s notes, Atlantic Slave Trade
• Formative assessment (5 min)
• Notes
• Reading/response
• NOTE: the slave trade is a serious topic. I expect you to
demonstrate sensitivity and maturity throughout today’s
lesson. Today is not the day for calling out/sarcastic
comments… thank you.
Why Africans?
• At first, Europeans tried to use Native Americans for slaves
• Native Americans were not immune to European diseases, so
many died, but Europeans still wanted free labor
• Africans were immune as Europe and Africa had been in
contact for thousands of years
• Africans often had slaves, people they had conquered in wars,
and were willing to sell these slaves to Europeans
• African chiefs were eager to trade for European guns, to
protect and extend their lands
• Soon Europeans began kidnapping free Africans and forcing
them into slavery, as they wanted more slaves than were
available
Atlantic Slave Trade
• 16th-19th c.
• Trade of African
people to “New
World” in and around
Atlantic Ocean
• Between 9.5 and 12
million Africans
actually made it to
the New World, many
others died en route
Facts and Figures Most slaves brought
•
over in 18th c.
• Destinations were
usually Brazil,
Caribbean, and North
America
• English, Brazilian,
French and Dutch
main traders
• Known as “Maafa” in
Swahili, or “African
Holocaust”
Triangle Trade
• 1st: export of goods from Europe to Africa
– African rulers sold captives from other tribes to
Europeans for goods like guns, cloths, and rum
• 2nd: export of slaves from Africa to Americas
– The Middle Passage
• 3rd: export of goods from Americas to Europe
– Slave labor plantations produced such goods as cotton,
sugar, and tobacco
3
1
2
Triangular Trade
The Middle Passage
• Journey took 1-6 months
depending on weather
• Slaves fed once a day or
less
• Men usually shackled
together throughout
entire journey
• Many died from diseases,
malnourishment
• Some committed suicide
by jumping overboard
The Middle Passage
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Map the Slave Trade
• Diaspora:
The African Diaspora when a
group of
people is
split up
and
spread out
over a
wide area.
• Slaves
held on to
African
culture
through
music, art,
and dance
Legacies of Slavery
• Britain and United States outlaw slave trade
early 1800s, Brazil last in 1888
• Africa’s population and economy declined
• Created incredible wealth in the American
colonies
• Loss of African languages, cultures
• Racism