The Atlantic Slave Trade Notes

The Sugar Plantations, and Cotton and Tobacco Farms were huge and profitable industries for the British, Spanish, and Portuguese Empires. These industries required large quantities of man power to be productive. Because large amounts of Native Americans perished due to disease, warfare, and brutal treatment, Europeans sought out cheap labor in other parts of the world. Europeans began exploring Africa, and importing slaves to work their sugar, cotton, and tobacco plantations.

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  Learning Goals:
  

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  Describe the Atlantic Slave Trade and the Middle Passage.
  
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  Analyze Map of the Triangular Trade System.
  
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  To identify the consequences of the Atlantic slave trade.
  

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  Large number of Native Americans died due to disease, warfare, and brutal treatment
  
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  Europeans needed source of cheap labor to meet the demands of the cotton, tobacco, and sugar industries
  
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  The Portuguese, who were among the first to explore Africa saw benefit in enslaving Africans because they were ______________ to most European diseases, had agricultural experience, and were unfamiliar with the ________ ________ they encountered. This made them less likely escape because they had nowhere to go.
  

1. 
   What percentages of slaves died in route to America and the Caribbean?
   

15%

2. 
   What were the three main products cultivated by slaves?
   

Tobacco, coffee, and sugar

3. 
   What is true about these goods?
   

These goods are things people enjoy consuming, but they are not necessary for survival

4. 
   Europeans obtained African slaves by ___trading for___________ them.
   

5. 
   Each slave had an average of ___4_______ square feet on their sea voyage.
   

6. 
   In the Caribbean slaves mostly processed what type of good?
   

7. 
   During harvest time slaves would work for __48_______ straight.
   

8. 
   According to John Green, when is the only time it is appropriate to use the word slave?
   

9. 
   Slaves made up 30 % of Ancient ____Roman_________ population.
   

10. 
    The _____Bible_________ was used by many to justify slavery.
    

11. 
    __Muslim___________ Arabs also held slaves.
    

12. 
    Atlantic Slavery was a tragedy in which the whole ____world ____________ participated.
    

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  Slavery in Africa had existed for centuries. Slavery was caused in part by the spread of __Islam________ to Africa.
  
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  Muslim rulers justified slavery through the belief that non- __Muslim_______ prisoners can be bought and sold. 
  
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  Between 650 and 1600, Muslims transported about 17 million Africans to the Muslim Lands of North African and Southwest Asia. 
  
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  African slaves under Muslim rule did enjoy some rights in society, sometimes held positions of power, and had the opportunity to escape slavery by ___marrying__________ into the family that owned them.
  

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  The Atlantic Slave Trade - The buying and selling of Africans for work in the Americas 
  

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  Between ___1500_____-__1600______ almost __300,000____________ Africans were transported to the Americas
  
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  For the next ___100_____ years after that, __1.3_________ million slaves were sent to the Americas
  
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  By 1870, Europeans had imported about ___9.5________ million slaves from Africa
  

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  Slavery Spreads Throughout the Americas
  

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  The slave trade in the Americas grew due to ___colonization__________ by the Spanish and British.  
  
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  From 1690-1807, England imported 1.7 Africans to their colonies in the West Indies. Over 400,000 slaves were sold to the British colonies in North America as well. 
  
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  The slave population grew in North America due to slightly better ____living_______ conditions, and because owners realized that by growing the _____population________, they could have more slaves, without having to purchase them. Slave __reproduction_____________ was how Southern slave owners kept the slave trade going after it was outlawed by England in __1807______.
  

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  Most African rulers and merchants played a role in the slave trade
  
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  Merchants delivered slaves from ___inland_______to European merchants who were waiting on the coast
  
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  In exchange for slaves, the merchants received __guns_______, __gold_______, and other goods
  
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  Some African rulers began to object, but merchants just found alternate routes to continue delivering the slaves to the coast
  

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  One trade route transported manufactured goods from Europe to Africa. Slaves were then sent from Africa to the West Indies. Sugar, coffee, and tobacco were then sent to Europe.
  

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  On the second route, merchants carried rum from New England to Africa. In Africa, the rum was then exchanged for slaves who were transported to the West Indies. In the West Indies, the African slaves were traded for sugar and molasses which was delivered back to New England to produce rum
  

Picture Analysis (HW)

1. 
   What does this image appear to show?
   

2. 
   What is one observation that you can make about the conditions on slave ships during the Middle Passage?
   

-Ships were packed to maximize the amount of slaves transported with each journey

-slaves were treated more like a product than human beings, and the ships were designed to fit as much “product” as possible

3. 
   What potential problems can arise from packing people so tightly chained next to one another?
   

-lack of oxygen

-increase in temperature

-lack of waste management

Primary Source Analysis (HW)

1. 
   Do a quick Google Search on the author of this quote. In 2-3 sentences, talk about who he was and what his point of view on slavery might be:
   

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  Olaudah Equiano was previously a slave and was living as a Free man in England when his writings were produced
  
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  Lived through the Middle Passage, and his accounts offer first-hand knowledge of what the journey was like for slaves traveling the Middle Passage
  

2. 
   In your own words, summarize what Olaudah Equiano’s experience was like during his journey on a slave ship (3-5 sentences)
   

-Had to endure the smells of waste, illness, and death

-Often lost their appetite due to sickness and smell

-were beaten and force fed if they refused to eat

Do Now:
Using your answers from the Photo Analysis, and Primary Source Analysis, write a 5-10 sentence journal entry from the point of view of a slave travelling the Middle Passage.
Possible topics to write about are:

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  Missing home/being captured
  
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  Conditions on board of the ship
  
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  Questions about where you are going
  
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  Any other topic you can think of!
  

Record your entry here:

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  When arriving to the Americas, the slaves were ___auctioned________ off and sold to work in mines, fields, and as domestic servants.
  
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  They were given scarce amounts of food, were subject to brutal treatment, and lived in tiny huts.
  
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  In the Americas, slavery was __hereditary__________ or passed down through generations.
  
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  To cope, slaves kept cultural ___traditions_________ and passed on the stories and music of their ancestors
  
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  Slaves also developed ways to __resist________ by breaking tools, working slowly, running away, and revolting
  

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  African cultures lost generations of their fittest members
  
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  African families were ___torn _____ __apart______ and sold separately
  
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  __guns ________ were introduced to Africa
  
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  Grew ___industry_______ in Europe and the Americans due to labor the forced labor from African slaves
  
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  African ___culture_______ (art, music, and food) brought to American society
  
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  African population grows in the US, Brazil, and Latin America
  

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  Vocabulary (open ended)- 2 points each, 6 points total
  
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  True/False- 3 points each, 9 points total
  
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  Short Answer- 5 points each, 25 points total
  

The buying and selling of Africans for work in the Americas 

A transatlantic trading network where various goods were sold.

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  What did Europeans look to Africa for cheap labor? Which group of people did they use for labor before looking to Africa for slaves?
  

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  Under Muslim rule, slaves were able to gain their freedom by doing what?
  

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  Why did the slave population in America grow?
  

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  What did African rulers and merchants trade slaves for? (which goods)
  

Gold, guns, and other goods

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  Explain one of the good exchange paths utilized in the triangular trade system (what goods were traded and with who)
  

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  One trade route transported manufactured goods from Europe to Africa. Slaves were then sent from Africa to the West Indies. Sugar, coffee, and tobacco were then sent to Europe.
  

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  What percentage of Africans died on the journey through the Middle Passage? What types of conditions did they face aboard the slave ships?
  

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  How did slaves in America cope with the traumatic experience of being enslaved?
  

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  What was one consequence of the slave trade?
  

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  African cultures lost generations of their fittest members
  
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  African families were torn apart and sold separately
  
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  Guns were introduced to Africa
  

Could also talk about other effects like:

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  Grew industry in Europe and the Americans due to labor the forced labor from African slaves
  
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  African culture (art, music, and food) brought to American society
  
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  African population grows in the US, Brazil, and Latin America