The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade

The Maafa, or Black Holocaust

Where did the slaves come from?

Where did the slaves come from?

Most slaves came from western and central Africa.

Many slaves were captured as prisoners from wars between tribes.

How many slaves were brought over?

Somewhere between 11 and 12 million slaves were brought to the "new world" from Africa.

What made the journey so terrible?

Many slaves, sometimes several hundred, were cramped into very small spaces.

Slaves were chained together and had little room to move around.

Slaves were kept below deck. It was dark, loud, and smelled horrible.

How many Africans died?

It is impossible to know exactly how many Africans died because of the slave trade.

It is estimated that around 2 million slaves died during or shortly after the voyage across the Atlantic (or 10-20% of those brought on the boats).

It is impossible to estimate how many Africans were killed during wars taking place in Africa to capture slaves.

We can safely estimate that over 30 million African lives were "lost" (to death or slavery) due to the slave trade.

Indentured Servant African Slave

·voluntary·for a limited amount of time·white people·poor

·not voluntary·permanent·African people·few if any personal belongings

Colonists saw advantages to using slaves instead of indentured servants:1. Africans were "used to" the warm climate (Indentured servants were not)2. Harder for African slaves to escape because they stood out among the population3. Africans did not know the land (as opposed to Native Americans)4. Africans were a one time expense (indentured servants were eventually freed and had to be replaced)

Indentured Servant: A person who works for a master for an agreed upon period of time in exchange for passage to the New World.

Slave Codes: Laws that controlled behavior of slaves by denying them basic rights. (Slaves were treated as property, not people)

- Couldn't leave the farm without permission- Couldn't be out at night time- Marriages were not respected (husband or wife could be

sold and sent away)

The system of slavery existed because of racism.

Racism: The belief that one race is superior to another