African Slave Trade

European 1st contact in 1400s

• Portuguese looking for sea route around Africa

• Also looking for the Gold Kingdoms of West Africa

Early Contact

• Small trading stations on the coast

• Copper and iron traded for gold, ivory, pepper and fish

• Early trading relationships were equal

Christian Missionaries

• Some Africans became Christian right away

• Catholic Saints were similar to African gods

• There may have been trading advantages

No concept of race

• Europeans were called Christians

• Or Whales, based on whaling ships

• Neither Europeans nor Africans had racial identity

Slavery in the New World

• Europeans needed labor for American colonies

• At first they attempted to enslave Native Americans

Europeans turned to Africans

• Slavery began in tropical areas, such as the Caribbean Islands

• Africans had resistance to malaria

• Knowledge of tropical crops

The Triangle Trade

• 60,000 per year were taken captive

• Huge profits for the Europeans

• Racism was used to justify the slave trade

The Middle Passage

• Very cramped

• Disease

• Malnutrition

• 60,00 per year were taken

Atlantic Slave Trade

• Huge profits for Europeans

• Racism was used to justify the slave trade

Slaves for Guns

• Global economy

• It caused massive destabilization of African societies

• It became necessary to get guns to protect against capture

Slavery in Africa was Different

• Slaves were part of the community

• They were treated like servants

• The could gain their freedom

Effects

• Caused wars among African groups

• Communities weakened

• Gender imbalance• Lives were ruined• Families were torn

apart

Ending the Slave Trade

• Abolition was the movement to end slavery

• Quakers were strong abolitionists

• Britain ended 1807• U.S. ended 1865

Diaspora

• “the scattering of people”

• African captives in America began to think in terms of being unified race, rather than separate ethnic groups

Cultural Diffusion

• Africans worked very hard to preserve their cultural identity under the most challenging of circumstances

“Roots”

• Alex Hailey

• Kunte Kinte arrived aboard the Lord Ligonier in Anapolis on September 29, 1767