Facts:
New World: Colonial America
Old World: Most of Europe especially England
**Compare Trade Routes
Slave Background
- Slavery had been going on for a very long time
- It can be dated back to the time of Ancient Egypt
- One of the biggest roles that slavery had in a civilization would have been in Rome.
- They were very important in growing food in the latifundas.
- Also in Colonial America, it was not just the Africans that would used as slaves, Natives were also tried but the colonists had better luck with the Africans
Atlantic Slave Trade
- Many historians compare this event to the Holocaust. 3-4 million died
- Start in the mid 16th century and continued up until the 19th century.
- Current estimate of the number of slaves that were actually shipped across the Atlantic is roughly 12 million even though historians think that more were purchased.
Triangular Trade
- It was a trading network that was established in the late 16th century to early 19th century
- It was a trade network that consisted of the New World )including the west indies), Old World, and Africa
- Some of the best exports:
- Africa: Slaves
- Old World: Manufactured Goods
- New World: Cash Crops (Tobacco)
- Some of the best exports:
Middle Passage
- Term used to refer to the event/setting of sending the slaves across the Atlantic to Colonial America.
- The conditions were terrible. Ex: no bathrooms and close quarters
- Some slaves would commit suicide by either not eating or jumping off the ship and generally would drown.
- If a slave would starve to death, the captain of the ship would make friends or family members of the slave eat the liver and heart of the dead slave.
- Around 15% to 20% of the slaves that were shipped over the Atlantic died on the journey there.
- Dead slaves would be thrown over board to help avoid disease even though there were many diseases already being spread on the ships.
How they were captured
- Many of the slaves were actually sold into slavery by other Africans. The reason for this is due to the fact that the European explorers would bribe the Africans with manufactured goods like alcohol and guns.
- Generally the European explorers would conduct the coast raids, but if they went too much inland the Europeans wanted nothing to do with that.
Slaves: Captured
- Once captured, they would walk to the coast and wait for ships. This would sometimes take months for the European ships to appear.
- They would be restrained to avoid the slaves escaping which is very inhumane.
- Also the Europeans would take variety of slaves from different villages. The reason for this is that Africa has many different languages so it was impossible for some of them to communicate.
Columbian Exchange
- Focuses more the trade network for the Old World to the New World
- Named after Christopher Columbus
- Many different foods from each side were exchanged which benefited both sides
- For the most part it was a pretty positive experience except for the disease that it brought both sides.
Cause and Effects
- The biggest cause for slavery is that Colonial America was expanding very quickly and the colonist did not have the man power to keep up.
- Effects:
- African villages were struggling because they were losing many of their hunters and gatherers
- Spread of disease
- Racial Superiority
- Colonists became lazy
- The economy boomed in the south
Rhiana Chickering
Brittany Leinen
Why Africans were Chose as Slaves
Many of the reasons why plantation owners chose African slaves were hidden.Why plantation owners prefered African slaves over any other was because they were easy to buy. They were better immune to European diseases than Americans or imported white slaves. Africans came from a more advanced society than people from the West Indies. The Africans were closer to the Europeans, than the people of the West Indies. The Indian when forced to work would grow sick and died. Sometimes the whole village would commit suicide.
Africans were skilled artisans, therefore they would have made good slaves. The Indians of the West Indies were great at gathering foods. However, the Indians were not advanced enough to grow crops and keep animals. The African society had strict laws. Therefore, those who visited African cities could travel with no fear of violence. Since Africans were easier to buy and were more disciplined, they were used for slavery.
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