unit one: becoming african america
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Unit One: Becoming African America. Africa. Africa is geographically, ethnically, religiously, politically, and culturally diverse West Africa is typically the ancestral homeland of most African Americans There are several ancient civilizations of West Africa. Pg 80- 83. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Unit One: Becoming
African America
• Africa is geographically, ethnically, religiously, politically, and culturally diverse
• West Africa is typically the ancestral homeland of most African Americans
• There are several ancient civilizations of West Africa
Africa
Ancient West African Civilizations
Religion
Language
Skills/Economy
Time Period
Leaders
Ghana Soninkepeople
Gold, precious woods, and kola nuts, salt, cloth, horses
500 a.d- 1076
Ghana-war chiefEmperors; princes
Mali Islam Mandingo
Salt and gold trade; farming; Conquering land
1307-early 1400s
Mansa Musa
Songhai Islam
Trade, Education (Timbuktu), Technology
1464-1591
Sunni Ali; Askia Muhammad
BeninForest
Traders, craft workers, wood, ivory, brass, bronze, roads
“Oba” = rulerEwuare
Pg 80-83
• Portugal & Spain led the way in European exploration in the 15th century
• In need of labor for their colonies in the “New World,” they focused on Africans
• There was already a thriving slave trade in Africa
European Exploration
• Africans traded slaves to Europeans, often times due to rivalries among tribes
• European demand for sugar drove up prices, making sugar plantations very profitable
• Because the cultivation of sugar is extremely labor intensive, the Native labor supply could not meet the demands of the sugar industry
Motives for the Expansion of Slavery
• African slaves were then imported to meet this demand
• Race was not a factor in the slave trade in Africa
• Usually slaves taken for use in Africa were used as concubines & domestic servants (women & children) or as soldiers (men)
• Slaves were often captured in warfare
• They were forced to trading posts on the coast
• Slaves were stuffed tightly in slave ships for the trip across the Atlantic Ocean
The Slave Trade in Africa
• Poor sanitation• Insufficient food• Widespread disease• Cramped conditions• Sexual abuse of
women by crew of ships
• Slaves would throw themselves overboard to drown
• Resistance & rebellion commonly occurred
Conditions on Slave Ships
Atlantic Slave Trade
• The “Middle Passage” was the middle leg in a triangular trade that linked Europe, Africa, and the Americas.
• On this middle leg, slaves purchased with European products were transported to the Americas
• Once there, they worked in agriculture, producing commodities for the European market
The Middle Passage
Triangle Trade
• Most slaves who survived the journey were first sold in the Caribbean (West Indies)
• They were “seasoned,” by learning their new jobs, environments, language, and rules
• Behaviors & attitudes were modified to break connections with Africa
• The goal was to produce efficient & effective laborers
• Slaves were subjected to the humiliation of examination & sale
• They were often purchased by British & later American plantation owners for work in North America
Seasoning Process
Seasoning Process
Seasoning Process
• Most slaves were men, used for agricultural labor
• Slaves became personal property, losing basic rights.
Characteristics of Slavery in America
The slave trade was outlawed:• Britain in 1807• United States in 1808