TheDoorofNoReturn:AnIntroductiontotheAfricanSlaveTrade

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WhatistheTransatlanticSlaveTrade?• Thetransatlanticslave

trade,wasthetrading,primarilyofAfricanpeople,tothecoloniesoftheNewWorldthatoccurredinandaroundtheAtlanticOcean.

• Slaveryhadexistedforthousandsofyears,butthisperiodsawthemostwidespreadandsystematicform.

Whoparticipatedinthetransatlanticslavetrade?

• England• France• Portugal• Spain• Netherlands• UnitedStates• Brazil• VariousAfricanKingdoms

Whendiditoccur?

• ThePortuguesestartedenslavingAfricansinthemid-1400’sbybringingAfricansbacktoPortugal.

• Thetransatlanticslavetrade(meaning“acrosstheAtlantic”)beganin1503,whentheSpanishbroughtthefirstslavestothe“NewWorld.”

• Officiallylasteduntil1831whenBrazilwasthelastcountrytobanthetrade.

• Forapproximately400yearsAfricanswereenslavedandshippedacrosstheAtlanticOcean.

Whydidthetradebegin?• Europeansbeganexploringand

settlingin“theNewWorld”andtheyneededalaborforcethat:– couldhelpbuildsettlements– hadexperiencewithagriculture– wereresistanttotropicaldiseases

• TheindigenouspopulationwasnotresistanttoEuropeandiseasesandtheydiedoffquicklyandinlargenumbers.

• Europeanindenturedservantswereused,buttherewerenotenoughtosustainthelargeagriculturalplantations.

Whatisthetriangletrade?• Asystemoftradebetween

Europe,theAmericas,andAfrica.

• SlavesfromAfricaweretradedforrawmaterialsfromtheAmericas.

• TherawmaterialsfromtheAmericaswerebroughttoEuropetomakemanufacturedgoods.

• ManufacturedgoodswerebroughtfromEuropetoAfricatoexchangeforslaves.

WheredidtheSlavescomefrom?• Slaveswereinitiallysourcedin

Senegambia andtheWindwardCoast.

• Later,muchofthetrademovedtowest-centralAfrica

• EuropeansusuallyboughtenslavedpeoplewhowerecapturedduringwarsbetweenAfricanstates.

• TherewerealsoAfricanswhohadmadeabusinessoutofcapturingotherAfricansandsellingthem.

• SometimesEuropeansorganizedtheirownslaveraids.

HowmanyAfricanswerebroughttotheNewWorld?

• Manyscholarsbelievethatapproximately11millionAfricanswereenslaved.

• Thesenumbersarestillhotlydebatedtoday,withsomeestimatesaslowas9millionpeopleandsomeashigh28million.

• Thesenumbersdon’tincludethenumberofAfricanswhodiedbeforereachingtheNewWorld.

SlaveCastles

• Called“WarehousesofBlackHumanity.”

• Whatdoyouthinkthismeans?

CapeCoastSlaveCastle,Ghana

SlaveCastles• Capturedslaveswerebrought

tocastlesorfortsonthecoastwheretheywereloadedontoshipsboundfortheNewWorld

• Dungeonsheldhundredsofpeopleatatime

• Nobathingfacilities

• Peopleslept,ate,andusedthebathroominthesamespace.

• Poorlyventilated– terriblesmell

CapeCoastCastleDungeon

SlaveCastles

• Stayedindungeonforfourtosixweeks

• Menandwomenwereseparated.

• Theslavecastleservedtobreakthespiritoftheenslavedbeforebeingsentacrosstheocean.

DoorofNoReturn

FamousSlaveCastles

• ElminaCastle• CapeCoastCastle• GoreeIsland• JamesIsland

Sources• BBCNews

– http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1523100.stm

• About.com– http://africanhistory.about.com/od/slavery/tp/TransAtlantic001.htm?p=1

• LASentinel– http://www.lasentinel.net/African-Slave-Castles.html

• Klein,Herbert.TheAtlanticslavetrade.CambridgeUnivPr,1999.Print.