Why Africans for slavery?

Stage One: Obtaining Slaves in Africa

Geography of Slavery• Enslaved Africans mostly

came from the area stretching from the Senegal River in Africa to Angola.

• Europeans divided the area into five regions:– Upper Guinea Coast– Ivory Coast– Lower Guinea Coast– Gabon– Angola

Stage One• Ships left Europe loaded with goods, such as guns,

tools, textiles & rum.• Crews with guns went ashore to capture slaves.• Slaves were obtained by:

1. Kidnapping2. Trading

3. People were given by chiefs as tributes (gifts)4. Chiefs would send people who were in debt

5. Chiefs would send criminals through judicial process

6. Prisoners of tribal wars were also sent.

The Atlantic Slave Trade

King Tegbesu of Dahomy, made around HK$3,000,000 from selling Africans in about 1750.

Tegbesu is shown here entertaining some European slave traders.

Sale of Slaves by Tribal chiefs

Prisoners of Tribal Wars.

Kidnappings

Criminals Royal Wives

Potential plotters against the Tribal chief

Capture• The original capture

of slaves was almost always violent

• As European demand grew, African chieftains organized raiding parties to seize individuals from neighboring societies

• Others launched wars specifically for the purpose of capturing slaves

Goree, or Slave-Stick

A French naval officer, in the Angola region in the late eighteenth century, describes how slave traders used "a forked branch which opens exactly to the size of a neck so the head can't pass through it. The forked branch is pierced with two holes so that an iron pin comes across the neck of the slave . . ., so that the smallest movement is sufficient to stop him and even to strangle him”

Goree, or Slave-Stick

Forced ParticipationAfrican Chiefs did resist in the beginning; however, they needed weapons for defence.

The Europeans were too powerful; therefore, any effort to resistance was unsuccessful

If chiefs did supply slaves, they were threatened to be taken as slaves.

History of African Slavery• Most slaves in Africa were

war captives• Once enslaved, an

individual had no personal or civil rights

• Owners could order slaves to do any kind of work, punish them, and sell them as chattel

• Most slaves worked as cultivators

Captured slaves often had to trek hundreds of miles from the interior to the slave coast, where the European slave ships awaited them. They were linked together in ‘coffles’, iron, or shown here, wooden collars and clinking chains.

African Captives in Yokes

Slave Trade in the Congo

A dealer checks the condition of newly arrived slaves for bad teeth or grey hair.

PHYSICAL CHECKS

BRANDING

Once bought the slave was then branded with the owner’s initials or mark.Most brands were of silver because wounds healed faster than those made with iron.

• Slaves were held in prisons along the west coast of Africa.

• They were waiting to put

on slaves ships.

• Those that journeyed from the interior and were not fit for the ship were left on the shores to die

Cape Coast Castle, W. Africa

Slaves on reaching the coast and awaitingthe arrival of slave ships were kept in slave barracks called ‘barracoons’. Shown below, are other methods of detaining slaves.

“Black” Gold for Sale!

Stage Two: Middle Passage

Stage Two: The Middle Passage

- Ships sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas

- The journey took 8-10 weeks

- Some Africans tried to jump ship, refused to eat and rebelled.

- Loss of a slave’s life was a loss of $ for the sailors.

The Middle Passage

Aim: How did the Atlantic slave trade effect Africa?Do Now: What is the legacy of Columbus?

The Horrors of the Middle Passage

The Middle Passage

Stage Two

“Loose packing” meant that the captains would take on board fewer slaves in hope to reduce sickness and death.

“Tight packing” meant that the captains would carry as many slaves as their ship could hold, as they believed that many blacks would die on the voyage anyway

Aim: How did the Atlantic slave trade effect Africa?Do Now: What is the legacy of Columbus?

Middle Passage

• This is the voyage that brought captured Africans to the West Indies and later to North/South America.

• Cruelty characterized this journey. The Africans were packed into ships with beatings.

• They suffered horrible disease and abuse. • Many committed suicide by throwing

themselves overboard.

Slave Ship Plan

Aim: How did the Atlantic slave trade effect Africa?Do Now: What is the legacy of Columbus?

The Voyage

“Coffin” Position: Onboard a Slave Ship

Middle Passage

• Most ships provided slaves with enough room to sit upright, but not enough to stand

• Others forced slaves to lie in chains with barely 20 inches space between them

Middle Passage• Tight packing - belly to

back, chained in twos, wrist to ankle (660+), naked.

• Loose packing - shoulder to shoulder chained wrist to wrist or ankle to ankle.

• Men and woman separated (men placed towards bow, women toward stern).

• Fed once of twice a day and brought on deck for limited times.

Slave Ship Interior

Middle Passage• Journey lasted 6-8 weeks.• Due to high mortality rate, cargo was insured

(reimbursed for drowning accidents but not for deaths from disease of sickness)

• Common to dump your cargo for sickness or food shortages.

• Slave mutinies on board ships were common (1 out of every 10 voyages across the Atlantic experience a revolt).

• Covert resistance (attempted suicide, jumped overboard, refusal to eat).

Onboard the Slave Ship

Middle Passage• Crews attempted to keep as many slaves alive as

possible to maximize profits, but treatment was extremely cruel– Some slaves refused to eat and crew members used tools to

pry open their mouths and force-feed them– Sick slaves were cast overboard to prevent infection from

spreading

• During the early days of the slave trade, mortality rates were as high as 50%

• As the volume of trade increased and conditions improved (bigger ships, more water, better nourishment and facilities), mortality eventually declined to about 5%

Middle Passage• The time a ship took to make the Middle Passage

depended upon several factors including its point of origin in Africa, the destination in the Americas, and conditions at sea such as winds, currents, and storms.

• With good conditions and few delays, a 17th Century Portuguese slave ship typically took 30 to 50 days to sail from Angola to Brazil.

• British, French, and Dutch ships transporting slaves between Guinea and their Caribbean island possessions took 60 to 90 days.

• As larger merchant ships were introduced, these times reduced somewhat

Middle Passage

• 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

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

• Astronomically high before 1750– Poor sanitation

• No germ theory prior to early 20th century• Malaria, yellow fever, smallpox, dysentery

• After 1750– Faster ships– Hygiene and diet better understood– Early forms of smallpox vaccinations

African Women on Slave Ships

• Less protection against unwanted sexual attention from European men

• African women worth half the price of African men in the Caribbean markets

• Separation from male slaves made them easier targets

• Historian Barbara Bush– Middle passage horrors depressed sex drives

Middle Passage Statistics• 10-16 million Africans forcibly transported across the

Atlantic from 1500-1900.

• 2 million died during the Middle Passage (10-15%)

• Another 15-30% dies during the march to the coast.

• For every 100 slaves that reached the New World, another 40 died in Africa or during the Middle Passage.

Revolt Aboard a Slave Ship

Resistance and Revolt at Sea

• Uprisings were common– Most rebellions before sailing– Some preferred death to bondage– Justification for harsh treatment by slavers

African Captives Thrown Overboard

Sharks followed the slave ships across the Atlantic!

Destination of Captives

• Caribbean 40%

• Brazil 40%

• Latin America 10%

• British North America 10%

Stage Three: Arrival in New World, Auctions, and

Plantation Life

Stage Three

• Africans would be sold at auctions in the Americas

• The ships’ captains would use the $ from their sale to buy a 3rd cargo of raw materials: sugar, spices or tobacco.

• They sold this for a further large profit in Europe.

• In Europe, they would convert the raw materials into finished product.

Arrival• When the slave ship

docked, the slaves would be taken off the ship and placed in a pen

• There they would be washed and their skin covered with grease, or sometimes tar, to make them look healthy (and therefore more valuable)

• They would also be branded with a hot iron to identify them as slaves

Landing and Sale in the West Indies

• Pre-sale– Bathed and exercised– Oiled bodies to conceal blemishes and

bruises– Hemp plugs

Nineteenth-Century Engraving

This nineteenth-century engraving suggests the humiliation Africans endured as they were subjected to physical inspections before being sold.

Seasoning

• Modify behavior and attitude• Preparation for North American planters

Seasoning (cont.)

• Creoles– slaves born in the Americas – worth three times price of unseasoned Africans

• Old Africans – Lived in the Americas for some time

• New Africans– Had just survived the middle passage

• Creoles and Old Africans instruct New Africans

Negros for Sale?

• What is the first thought you had when you read this?

• How would a wealthy colonial American have looked at this?

• What would an African think when they saw this?

Auctions• Slaves were sold at

auctions• Buyers physically

inspected the slaves, to include their teeth as an indication of the slave’s age

• Auctioneers had slaves perform various acts to demonstrate their physical abilities

Notice of a Slave Auction

Auctions• “We were not many days in the merchant’s custody,

before we were sold after their usual manner... On a signal given, (as the beat of a drum), buyers rush at once into the yard where the slaves are confined, and make a choice of that parcel they like best. The noise and clamor with which this is attended, and the eagerness visible in the countenances of the buyers, serve not a little to increase the apprehension of terrified Africans... In this manner, without scruple, are relations and friends separated, most of them never to see each other again. I remember in the vessel in which I was brought over... there were several brothers who, in the sale, were sold in different lots; and it was very moving on this occasion, to see and hear their cries in parting.” – Olaudah Equiano, The Interesting Narrative of Olaudah Equiano

First Slave AuctionNew Amsterdam (Dutch New York

City - 17c)

Slave Auction in the Southern U. S.

Auctions• There were 3 ways slaves were auctioned off:1. Public Auctions:

- They put tar on the slaves to hide any sores and cuts- Slaves were inspected- An auction to took place and the higher bidder would get to purchase the slave.- Bids were taken as long as an inch of a candle burned.- Slaves were branded- Families were separated- They were given a European name.

Inspection and Sale

Slave Master Brands

Auctions

2. Private Auctions:- Similar to public auctions- They were indoors and red markers would

be placed on the door to indicate an auction.

Auctions

3. Scramble Auction:-They would take place on the docks or on the deck of the ship-There would be a fixed price per head-Slave owners would go in and grab who they wanted to purchase.

Auctions

• American born slaves who had skills were the most expensive

• African born slaves were less $, as they had to be “broken in”

• Age, sex and skills determined the cost• Slaves with a lot of scars were considered

too rebellious

30 Lashes

Whipped Slave, early 19c

A Slave Lynching

Negro Hung Alive by Waist

The End of the Journey

• Survival – One-third died

• Men died at a greater rate than women– Adapted to new foods– Learned a new language

• Creole dialect well enough to obey commands– Psychological ~ no longer suicidal

• Africans retained culture despite the hardships and cruel treatment

• Created bonds with shipmates that replaced blood kinship

Volume: How Many Slaves?

Volume of the Slave Trade• Late 15th and 16th Century… 2,000 Africans

exported each year• 17th Century… 20,000 per year• 18th Century… 55,000 per year

– 1780s… 88,000 per year• All told, some 12 million Africans were

transported to the western hemisphere via the Atlantic Slave Trade

• Another 4 million died resisting capture or during captivity before arriving at their destination

Growth of African American Population

1820 1.77 million 13% free

1830 2.33 million 14% free

1840 2.87 million 13% free

1850 3.69 million 12% free

1860 4.44 million 11% free

Effects: Forms of Resistance to Slavery

Forms of Resistance• Work slowly• Sabotage• Runaway

– “Maroons” gathered together and built self-governing communities

• Revolt– Slaves outnumbered the owners and supervisors so

revolt was always a threat– While causing much destruction, revolts were usually

able to be suppressed because the owners had access to arms, horses, and military forces

Slave Resistance:Passive and Active Resistance

• Breaking tools• Faking illness• Staging slowdowns• Committing acts of

arson and sabotage• Running Away• Underground Railroad

Saint-Dominique• The only revolt to

successfully abolish slavery as an institution occurred on the French sugar colony of Saint Dominique in 1793

• The slaves declared independence from France, renamed the country Haiti, and established a self-governing republic in 1804 Francois-Dominique Toussaint was

one of the military leaders of the Saint-Dominique revolt

Slave Revolts• Late 18th Century slave

revolts erupted in Guadeloupe, Grenada, Jamaica, Surinam, Haiti, Venezuela, Winward Islands

• Within the United States slave revolts were common as well. Richmond, Virginia, Louisiana, Charleston, South Carolina.

• Denmark Vesey

• The Amistad

• Nat Turner

Abolition Movement: Ending Slave Trade and Institution of

Slavery

Ending the Slave Trade

The Ending of the Atlantic Slave Trade

• Cruelties help end Atlantic slave trade– English abolitionists

• Thomas Clarkson, William Wilberforce, and Granville Sharp

• 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• Guinea and western central African kingdoms oppose

banning slave trade

Abolitionist Symbol, 19c

Abolitionists

• Former Slaves– Olaudah Equiano

• Politicians– William Wilberforce

• Religious Leaders– John Wesley

• Revolutionaries– Simon Bolivar

Olaudah Equiano (1745-1797)

1789 wrote and published, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus

Vassa the African.

Former Slaves: Olaudah Equiano• Equiano was originally from

Benin and was captured by slave raiders when he was 10

• Spent 21 years as a slave and was able to save up enough money to buy his freedom

• In 1789 he published The Interesting Narrative of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African, Written by Himself

• Sold the book throughout Britain, undertaking lecture tours and actively campaigning to abolish the slave trade

Politicians: William Wilberforce• English philanthropist

elected to Parliament in 1780

• Delivered a stirring abolitionist speech to the House of Commons in 1789 and repeatedly introduced the Abolition Bill until it passed in 1807

Slavery Abolished in the Britain Empire

• 1807 = The slave trade was abolished in the British Empire, which meant that no slaves would be carried from Africa in British ships.

• 1834 = Emancipation Act stated that slaves under 6 years old were freed; field hands over 6 had to work for their owners for 6 more years; house slaves had to work for 10 more years.

• Britain gave 20 million pounds in compensation to former slave owners and slaves received nothing.

• 1838 all slaves were given complete freedom• Slavery in the USA was not abolished until 1865

Religious Leaders: John Wesley

• Founder of the Methodist Church

• Published Thoughts Upon Slavery in 1774

• On his deathbed he was reading Equiano’s Narrative

Revolutionaries: Simon Bolivar• Inspired by George

Washington and Enlightenment ideas, Bolivar took up arms against Spanish rule in 1811

• Freed slaves who joined his forces

• Provided constitutional guarantees of free status for all residents of Gran Columbia (Venezuela, Columbia, and Ecuador)

Timeline for Abolition of the Slave Trade

• 1803: Denmark abolishes slave trade.

• 1807: Britain abolishes slave trade.

• 1807: U.S. passes legislation banning slave trade, to take effect 1808.

• 1810: British negotiate an agreement with Portugal calling for gradual abolition of slave trade in the South Atlantic.

• 1815: At the Congress of Vienna, the British pressure Spain, Portugal, France and the Netherlands to agree to abolish the slave trade (though Spain and Portugal are permitted a few years of continued slaving to replenish labor supplies).

• 1817: Great Britain and Spain sign a treaty prohibiting the slave trade: Spain agrees to end the slave trade north of the equator immediately, and south of the equator in 1820. British naval vessels are given right to search suspected slavers. Still, loopholes in the treaty undercut its goals and the slave trade continues strongly until 1830.

Slavery Continues• Abolishing the

slave trade did not end slavery

• British ships patrolled the west coast of Africa to halt illegal trade

• The last documented ship that carried slaves across the Atlantic arrived in Cuba in 1867

Timeline for Abolition of Slavery• 1813: Gradual emancipation adopted in Argentina.• 1814: Gradual emancipation begins in Colombia.• 1823: Slavery abolished in Chile.• 1824: Slavery abolished in Central America.• 1829: Slavery abolished in Mexico.• 1831: Slavery abolished in Bolivia.• 1833: Abolition of Slavery Act passed in Britain which

results in complete emancipation by 1838.• 1842: Slavery abolished in Uruguay.• 1848: Slavery abolished in all French and Danish colonies.• 1851: Slavery abolished in Ecuador.

Timeline for Abolition of Slavery• 1854: Slavery abolished in Peru and Venezuela.• 1863: Emancipation Proclamation issued in the U.S.• 1863: Slavery abolished in all Dutch colonies.• 1865: Slavery abolished in the U.S. as a result of the

Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution and the end of the Civil War.

• 1871: Gradual emancipation initiated in Brazil.• 1873: Slavery abolished in Puerto Rico.• 1886: Slavery abolished in Cuba.• 1888: Slavery abolished in Brazil.• 1960s: Slavery abolished in Saudi Arabia and Angola

Emancipation Proclamation

• Issued by President Lincoln after the Federal victory at Antietam

• “That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free…”

Impact of Emancipation Proclamation on Confederate Diplomatic Efforts

• “… the feeling against slavery in England is so strong that no public man there dares extend a hand to help us… There is no government in Europe that dares help us in a struggle which can be suspected of having for its result, directly or indirectly, the fortification or perpetuation of slavery. Of that I am certain” – William Yancey, Confederate politician

Why did the slave trade end?

Slave Exports and Profits• Early 18th Century - 36,000 per year• During 1780’s - 80,000 per year• Between 1740-1810 - 60,000 captives/year on

average.• 17th Century - slave sold in the Americas for about

$150\• Slave trade illegal in Britain in 1807, US 1808,

France 1831, Spain 1834.• Once declared illegal prices went much higher.

1850s prime field hand $1200 - $1500 (about $18,00 in 1997 dollars).

Effects/Impact: Legacy of Slavery

Legacy of SlaveryAgriculture

RiceSweet PotatoesHerdingBasketryWorking Style

(cooperative labor)Planting (heel to toe)

FoodSpices (red pepper,

sesame, cajun)Okra, black eyed peasRice

DishesGumbo, jambalayaAsh and hot cakesSweet potato pie

MusicBanjoDrumBlues/JazzCall and responseSpirituals

ReligionCall and response patternsEmotional servicesMultiple spirits and soulsVoodoo

Tales and WordsTrickster takes (Anansi

the Spider, Brer Rabbit, Bugs Bunny)

Words like bogus, bug, phony, yam, tote, gumbo, tater, jamboree, jazz.

Creole Language

Impact of Slave Trade in Africa• Mixed

– Some states like Rwanda largely escaped the slave trade through resistance and geography

– Some like Senegal in west Africa were hit very hard

– Other societies benefited economically from selling slaves, trading, or operating ports

– As abolition took root in the 19th Century some African merchants even complained about the lose of their livelihood

• On the whole, however, the slave trade devastated Africa

“Door of No Return” on Goree Island off the coast

of Senegal

Impact of Slave Trade in Africa• The Atlantic Slave Trade

deprived Africa of about 16 million people and the continuing Islamic slave trade consumed another several million

• Overall the African population rose thanks partly to the introduction of more nutritious food from the Americas

Peanuts were one of several crops introduced to Africa from the Americas

Impact of Slave Trade in Africa

• The slave trade distorted African sex ratios– Approximately 2/3 of all exported slaves were male

• Slavers preferred young men between the ages of 14 and 35 to maximize investment potential and be suitable for hard labor

• The sexual imbalance in some parts of Africa such as Angola encouraged polygamy and caused women to take on duties that had previously been the responsibility of men

Impact of Slave Trade in Africa• The slave trade

brought firearms to such African societies as Asante, Dahomey, and Oyo and this increased violence

• In the 18th Century, Dahomey expanded rapidly, absorbed neighboring societies, and fielded an army that was largely a slave-raiding force

African Diaspora

• The slave trade sent millions of Africans overseas this created a scattering of individuals

• Survivors struggled to hold on to their culture

• African people and their culture of food, music, dance, and tradition was spread across a wide area.

African Diaspora

• Obviously, the main contribution slaves brought to the western hemisphere was an incredible amount of labor, without which the prosperous new societies could not have developed

• However they brought other contributions as well:– Slaves built hybrid cultural traditions made up of

African, European, and American elements– Influenced language by creating tongues that drew on

several African and European languages

Gullah• For several reasons, Africans,

both as slaves and free, enjoyed a relative amount of self-sufficiency in the Sea Islands off of South Carolina

• Their culture maintained much of its original characteristics as it encountered American culture

• For example, most of the Gullah vocabulary is of English origin, but the grammar and major elements of pronunciation come from a number of West African languages

Gullah• beat on ayun: “mechanic”; literally, “beat-on-iron”

• troot ma-wt: “a truthful person”; literally, “truth mouth”

• hush ma-wt: “hush mouth”; literally, “hush mouth”

• sho ded: “cemetery”; literally, “sure dead”

• tebl tappa: “preacher”; literally, “table-tapper”

• ty oonuh ma-wt: “Hush, stop talking”; literally, “Tie your mouth”

• krak teet: “to speak”; literally, “crack teeth”

• i han shaht pay-shun: “He steals”; literally, “His hand is short of patience”

African Diaspora• Impacted on cuisine by

introducing African foods to Caribbean and American societies– For example, combined African

okra with European-style sautéed vegetables and American shellfish to make gumbo

• Introduced rice cultivation to tropical and subtropical regions

• Fashioned distinctive crafts such as pottery and baskets Sea Island basket

African Diaspora• Many slaves were either Christians when they

left Africa or converted to Christianity after their arrival in the western hemisphere

• Their Christianity was not exactly like European Christianity and made considerable room for African traditions– Associated African deities with Christian saints– Relied heavily on African rituals such as drumming,

dancing, and sacrificing animals– Preserved their belief in spirits and supernatural

powers and made use of magic, sorcery, witchcraft, and spirit possession