The Atlantic Slave Tradeby Brian, Josh, and Sebastian

Chapter 20.3

Essential questionHow did the Atlantic Slave trade affect European, Western, and African cultures.

What was the Atlantic Slave Trade● The Atlantic slave trade was the buying and selling of Africans for work

in the Americas. ● This soon became a massive enterprise, and between 1500 and 1600

nearly 300,000 Africans were sold into slavery. ● In the next hundred years, the numbers would jump to almost 1.3

million.● By the time the Atlantic Slave Trade ended, about 9.5 million Africans

had been transported across the Atlantic to the Americas.

The Evolution of African Slavery

A. Slavery in Africa already existed for 100’s of yearsB. The spread of Islam into Africa during the 17th century increased the amount of slavery.C. African rulers followed the muslim belief that non-muslim prisoners of war could be sold into slavery.D. Between 650 and 1600, muslims had transported over 4. 8 million africans to southwest asia.

The spread of slavery to the americasA. As plantations in the americas showed up the colonist used the Native Americans to do the labor.B. The Native Americans started to die from being exposed to European disease. As a result the colonist started to use African slaves as a new source of free labor.C. Africans had already been exposed to the diseases that killed the native workers and had built up an immunity to them.

A Forced JourneyAfrican Men and Women were sent to the Americas. Millions died along the way.

Triangular Trade

Europeans sent manufactured goods to the West African coast, then the traders exchanged their goods for captured African slaves. The Africans were then transported across the atlantic and sold in the West Indies. In the West Indies the merchants traded slaves for Sugar, Coffee, and Tobacco, which was taken back to Europe.

Middle Passage

The Middle Passage was the bottom leg of the Triangular Passage. This brought slaves from Africa to the Americas. It was characterized by its sickening cruelty.

Slavery in AmericaThe slaves that survived the passage had a very harsh life. Slaves would be forced to work long hours without pay and would usually be beaten.

Resistance ● To cope with the horrors they faced constantly, African slaves kept the way

of life based on their cultural heritage. They kept the musical traditions and the stories of their ancestors alive.

● Slaves would also make themselves less productive by breaking tools, uprooting plants, and working slowly.

● Thousands of slaves ran away.

Rebellion

● Some groups of slaves would begin to revolt. ● Revolts occurred in the european

settlements resulting in the death of slaves, slave owners, and colonists.

● These revolts continued well into the 1800s.

Consequences associated with the Slave Trade

AfricaMany African generations and families were sold and separated from one another.

Close to all African slaves were unwilling to leave.

A high percentage of slaves died in the ship before even reaching America due to the poor sanitation.

Weapons gained by selling slaves created a spread in conflict throughout Africa.

Europe

At the start, the trading was creating a large profit but over time the profit was becoming more common which created inflation.

What used to be a strong growing economy was turned into one of the worst economic declines that europe has seen.

How has the slave trade affected western cultures?

The slave trade affected western cultures by introducing new races and cultures to North America, South America, and Europe. It also caused a lot of important moments in American history like the Civil War and the Civil rights movements. It also helped change Europe’s perspective on slavery and without that, the Civil war would have ended very differently. The Atlantic Slave Trade also separated African families and took the strongest and healthiest members of villages away. It also influenced African culture by bringing about things like Apartheid, and people like Nelson Mandela.