WALT know what Transatlantic slave route is and its impact Have you ever heard about the Atlantic slave trade? Go on ... have a think. What do you think it was? 1
WALT know what Transatlantic slave route is and its impact The Transatlantic slave trade was the selling and transporting of African people as slaves by Europeans. This happened across the Atlantic Ocean. This unfair and inhumane lasted from the 15th century to the 19th century. Although most of the enslaved people were shipped from West Africa, some were taken from Central Africa too. These captured people were then brought over to the New World on slave ships. This journey from Africa to the New World (also called the Americas or the Western Hemisphere) was named the Middle Passage. Reason for the trade • Some enslaved people were captured in battles or through raids and kidnapping. Some were sold into slavery as punishment or to pay a debt. • Interestingly, some African kings HAD TO sell their own people into slavery or they would • be taken as slaves instead. Most slaves were usually captured by other Africans. Then they were shackled together and marched to the coast on journeys lasting weeks or months. When they arrived, they were imprisoned in forts where they were purchased by Europeans. Did you know that about between 12 million and 13 million Africans arrived in the New World? 2
WALT know what Transatlantic slave route is and its impact The main European countries that used the "triangular trade" were England, The Netherlands, France, Spain and Portugal. Other ships just worked the slave trade. When did it begin? Christopher Columbus (a Portuguese explorer) had arrived in the Americas in 1492 while seeking a westward journey to India. Thereafter, more and more Europeans flooded the region, c reating an economic reason for the transatlantic slave trade (they wanted to profit off these new lands but did not want to spend a lot of money doing so). Enslaved people were first imported in large numbers for mining and later to grow sugarcane and cotton in plantations. This free work done by the African slaves caused the countries that participated in the slave trade to become extremely wealthy. Therefore, because slave trade made a great deal of profit for those who sold and exchanged slaves, they often ignored the fact it was inhuman and unfair . 3
WALT know what Transatlantic slave route is and its impact Who do you think said this? "The slave trade is the ruling principle of my people. It is the source and the glory of their wealth ... the mother lulls the child to sleep with notes of triumph over an enemy reduced to slavery." A). European leader (The answer is on the last B). A slave ship owner slide). C). An African king D). A European businessman Clue: The answer may surprise you . 4
WALT know what Transatlantic slave route is and its impact Watch the video and imagine each little blob leaving Africa as a slave ship filled with humans, bound for the New World. Observe how many slave ships sailed to the New World between 1560 and 1585. Note, after that, the gradual build-up to 1620 and then the HUGE increase after 1620. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKo_Xxfywk Have a think ... why did the number of ships transporting slaves to the New World increase so drastically? 5
WALT know what Transatlantic slave route is and its impact Slavery in a 10point summary 1). Slavery had existed for many years before the Atlantic slave trade commenced. The first known written law code – that of Hammurabi, dating from around 1760 BC – makes references to slaves. 2). The first Europeans to enter into and profit from the slave trade in Africa were the Portuguese who began trading in the 15th century. 3). African kings and merchants sold captured enemies or criminals to the European traders. Sometimes, they had to sell slaves or risk being taken captive themselves. 4). Approximately 12 to 13 million people were enslaved as a result of the Atlantic slave trade. 5). The journey between Africa and the Americas, the so-called middle passage , took an a verage of seven weeks . 6). Nearly 40% of people taken in slavery came from West Central Africa – the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola. 7). Approximately 15% of slaves died whilst being transported to the Americas. This is estimated to between 2.1 to 2.3 million people. 8). Slaves were often captured inland and were marched for many weeks to reach the coast. There they were imprisoned in forts called factories awaiting shipping across the Atlantic. 9). Slaves were tightly packed on board s hips which could carry between 350 and 600 people , with as little as 4 feet of space. The unsanitary conditions led to the spread of disease and many slaves attempted to starve themselves or became very depressed. Some tried to jump overboard. 10). 70% of slaves worked to produce sugar with others producing tobacco, coffee or cotton. 6
WALT know what Transatlantic slave route is and its impact A simple breakdown of the triangular slave trade: 1) European slave traders travelled from Europe to Africa to trade for slaves. They traded with manufactured goods such as brandy, beads, blankets and guns for humans. 2). The captured slaves (after being marched to the coast) were loaded onto slave ships and taken to different parts of the New World to do back- breaking work. 3). With the money that they made from the sale of enslaved Africans in the New World, the slave traders were then able to buy goods such as rum, Name 5 destinations in the New World to which slaves were sugar, coffee, wood, cotton, precious metals and transported. tobacco to carry back to Europe for sale. The ships sailing from the New World to Europe were ALWAYS loaded with produce from the plantations for the voyage home. 7
WALT know what Transatlantic slave route is and its impact Activity Write a detailed explanation of the three different sections of the triangular slave trade. Can you pinpoint the exact point where most slavers' wealth rose significantly? Why do you think most slavers spent such a long time involved in the slave trade? 8
The answer is... GROWING RICH WITH SLAVERY ROYALTY In the early 18th century - the 1700s - Kings of Dahomey (known today as Benin) became big players in the slave trade, waging a bitter war on their neighbours, resulting in the capture of 10,000, including another important slave trader, the King of Whydah. King Tegbesu made £250,000 a year selling people into slavery in 1750. King Gezo said in the 1840's he would do anything the British wanted him to do apart from giving up slave trade. He was alleged to have said, "The slave trade is the ruling principle of my people. It is the source and the glory of their wealth … the mother lulls the child to sleep with notes of triumph over an enemy reduced to slavery…" 9
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