chapter 2 middle passage. iron tools west africans were making iron tools long before europeans...
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I. European Exploration ~ Colonization (Section 1)
Western European countries expand during 15th century because they . . . – Explore, conquer, and colonize– Trade
• Eastern markets of India, China, and Japan• New World
– Demand for laborers led to Atlantic slave trade!
II. The Slave Trade in Africa
Been around for a LONG time! African kingdoms and Islamic nations conduct
brisk commerce– Not race based (as it will be in America)– West African slave trade dealt mainly in women
and children (to serve as concubines and servants)
III. The Origins of the Atlantic Slave Trade
In 15th century, slaves used as domestic servants on Iberian Peninsula (Spain/Portugal)
Slaves purchased from African traders– Portugal and Spain dominated slave trade in 16th
century (1500s)– Dutch dominated 17th century (1600s)– English dominated 18th century (1700s) – think
Roots and the Lord Ligonier ship
Although the overwhelming majority of Africans who were caught up in the Atlantic slave trade went to the Americas, a few reached Europe. This sixteenth-century drawing by German artist Albrecht Dürer depicts Katharina, a servant of a Portuguese official who lived in Antwerp.
SOURCE: Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528), “Portrait of the Moorish Woman Katharina.” Drawing. Uffizi Florence, Italy. Photograph © Foto Marburg/Art
Resource, NY
Katharina
IV. Growth of the Atlantic Slave Trade High demand for labor in 16th century to
work in– Spanish gold and silver mines– Portuguese sugar plantations– Tobacco, rice and indigo
Growth of the Atlantic Slave Trade (cont.) Slavery was harsher in the Americas,
because it was– Based on race– Mostly males
• Believed to be stronger for labor– Focused on agricultural work– Known as “Chattel” (a type of slavery) where the
slaves lost rights as human beings
Growth of the Atlantic Slave Trade (cont.) Triangle trade and profits
– Slave, tobacco, and sugar profits funded Industrial Revolution
– See Map of Triangle Trade
V. The African-American Ordeal: Capture to Destination
Slavery: byproduct of war between the West African kingdoms
European traders provided firearms to West Africans – they did not instigate fighting
The African-American Ordeal: Capture to Destination (cont.)
High mortality rate– Exhaustion, suicide, murder– Endured long, forced marches to the coast
Factories (fortified structures) served as – Headquarters for the traders– Warehouses for the trade goods– Pens or dungeons for captives/slaves
Factories: This one from the Gulf of Guinea (modern Nigeria)
From Thomas Astley, A New and General Collection of Voyages, 1746 Courtesy of the Library of Congress
President Obama’s Trip to Cape Coast Castle http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gm
Doon_yC0&feature=related
CNN w/ Anderson Cooper
The Crossing (Middle Passage)
40 to 180 days to reach the Caribbean Pirates attacked Spanish ships Frightening experience for all who
sailed
“The Slavers” (slave ships)
Small and narrow ships Two slaves per ship-tonnage formula Most captains were “tight packers”
– Ignored formula in the name of profits
From the Collection: The Atlantic Slave Trade and Life in the AmericasJames S. Handler and Michael L. Tuite Jr.(c) 2006 Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and University of Virginia
The Slavers (cont.)
“Many slaves became seasick or developed diarrhoea (sic). Unable to move because they were chained into their positions, the slave's deck became a stinking mass of human waste. Slaves who had developed sores where their chains had rubbed their skin, had festering wounds often with maggots eating away their flesh.”
http://www.historyonthenet.com/Slave_Trade/middle_passage.htm
The Slavers (cont.)
Crowded, unsanitary conditions– Slaves rode on planks 66” x 15”
• only 20”– 25” of headroom
– Males chained together in pairs – Kept apart from women and children– High mortality rates
• One-third perish between capture and embarkation
A Slave’s Story
Olaudah Equiano– Writes autobiography of his
capture/voyage Conditions Suicides Smells Feedings
A Slave’s Story – Olaudah Equiano
Autobiography capture/voyage: The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa, the African
A Slave’s Story – Olaudah Equiano Describes horrific conditions Noted African suicides
– Nets up along boat edge to limit attempts– Felt more suicides would have occurred if
nets were absent
A Captain’s Story
John Newton
– Evangelical Christian
– Slaver captain
– Anglican priest• Repentance• Amazing Grace
A Captain’s Story – John Newton
Is “born again” as an Evangelical Christian following a rough, stormy trip
Poor health causes retirement – becomes an Anglican (Episcopalian) priest
A Captain’s Story – John Newton
Realizes horrors of slavery and seeks repentance.
Ends up writing the hymn, Amazing Grace
Provisions for the Middle Passage Slaves fed twice per day
– Poor and insufficient diet• Vegetable pulps, stews, and fruits • Denied meat or fish• Ten people eating from one bucket• Unwashed hands spread disease• Malnutrition, weakness, depression, death
Sanitation, Disease, and Death High before 1750
– Poor sanitation• No germ theory prior to early 20th century• Malaria, yellow fever, smallpox, dysentery
Sanitation, Disease, and Death
After 1750– Faster ships– Hygiene and diet better understood– Early forms of smallpox vaccinations
Resistance and Revolt at Sea
Uprisings were common– Most rebellions before sailing– Some preferred death to bondage– Justification for harsh treatment by slavers
Cruelty
Middle passage horrors exaggerated– Historian Eric Williams says that stories
were influenced by those who hoped to end slavery
Cultural context– Misunderstanding of each other’s culture
(not that they tried to understand each other!!!!!!!!)
Cruelty
Exceptional cruelties– Slaves had half the space allowed
indentured servants and convicts– Slavery was only suitable for non-Christians– Brutal treatment by crew members
BECAUSE AFRICANS WERE NOT SEEN AS EQUAL TO WESTERN EUROPEANS, THESE CRUELTIES WERE SOCIALLY ACCEPTED AT THIS TIME
African Women on Slave Ships
African women worth half the price of African men in the Caribbean markets
Fewer of them on the boat and they were not as valuable
Separated from male slaves made women easier targets
VI. Landing and Sale in the West Indies Pre-sale
– Bathed and exercised– Bodies oiled to conceal blemishes and
bruises– Hemp plugs used to block the bloody
discharge of dysentary GOAL: Get the most $$ from the sale
of the product = slaves
VII. Seasoning (following Sale in West Indies) To modify behavior and attitude In preparation for resale to North
American planters
VII. Seasoning (cont.)
Creoles– Slaves born in the Americas
– Worth three times price of unseasoned Africans – Instructed New Africans
Old Africans – Had lived in the Americas for some time– Also instructed New Africans
New Africans (a.k.a.: “Salt-Water Negroes” or “Guinea-Birds”)– Goal: Make them more like Creoles
VIII. The End of the Journey
Survival (Slaves have survived) – One-third died in first three years in West
Indies• Men died at a greater rate than women
Have adapted to new foods of the West Indies/Americas
VIII. The End of the Journey
Have learned a new language– Creole dialect well enough to obey
commands
They are no longer suicidal– Africans retained culture despite the
hardships and cruel treatment– Created bonds with shipmates that
replaced blood kinship (like an extended family)
IX. The Ending of the Atlantic Slave Trade
Cruelties help end Atlantic slave trade
– English abolitionists
IX. The Ending of the Atlantic Slave Trade Cruelties help end Atlantic slave trade
– English abolitionists• Moral crusade and economy less dependent on slave
trade• Great Britain bans Atlantic slave trade in 1807 • Patrols African coast to enforce
– United States Congress outlaws slave trade in 1808
IX. The Ending of the Atlantic Slave Trade An ironic twist!
– Guinea and western central African kingdoms opposed the banning of the slave trade
– Their economies were dependent on the trade!
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