West and the World

Africa Before it was incorporated into the

trading system it was relatively unsettled and uncontrolled

In 1500, the population of West Africa was approx. 11 million and approx. 8 million in West Central Africa

The population grew throughout the 18th century, largely due to the introduction of American food crops such as corn

A significant percent of the African population also began to participate in the trade of iron ore, copper and salt

Government and Trade A family lineage system controlled access to land and

resources Alliances formed through marriage There was a “divine King: that would be connected to

supernatural powers Trade originally fit well into African societal structure as goods

such as pepper and gold were traded for European goods (firearms, metal, textiles, rum and tobacco)

When Europeans wanted to trade for slaves, the nature of West African societies changed. Kings formed new states so they could find a greater supply of slaves.

By the beginning of the 18th Century, slaves had become the primary export from Africa. This favoured the growth of European nations by solving labour shortages in America and enabled the production of sugar, cotton and tobacco

The Slave Trade Between 1701 and 1810, 2

million slaves were exported from Africa by England alone

France and Portugal exported approx 600, 000 slaves during this time period

These are very conservative estimates (some believe it was more like 14 million in total)

Inaccuracies are a result of poor recordkeeping and a high death rate among slaves

Breakdown by Country In 1967, American scholar Philip D. Curtin of the

University of Wisconsin estimated that 9.5 million slaves were taken from Africa throughout the whole slave trade

49.1%

42.2%

6.8%

1%

1%

Becoming a Slave3 Ways:

1) “Pawnship”: one person could sell another to settle a debt. In time of famine, people would even pawn themselves in order to be fed.

2) Result of Judical Process: Crime could result in one being declared “at odds with the supernatural order”- offending kin meant offending ancestors

3) Captured at war The average profit margin from slavery in the 18th century was

approx. 24% Costs included paying African authorities, financial losses from

ships and paying people to load slaves onto the ships

Cape of Good Hope The Dutch were also involved in the slave trade They settled into colonial life at the Cape of Good

Hope and began importing slaves by the middle of the 17th century

By 1711 there were 1 771 privately owned slaves in the colony and by 1793, 14 747

Many of these slaves came from India and Indonesia, then later Mozambique and Madagascar

This colony was one of the most rigid and oppressive slave societies that ever existed

There was very little family life for these slaves and there was not effort to educate the slaves

Abolition of Slavery Abolitionist ideas came with the Enlightenment Jacques-Benigue Bossut (1627-1704) in 1690 tried to

justify slavery under the laws of man and God by quoting the works of Saint Paul:

“Slaves, obey your earthy masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart”

Many protestant leaders in the Dutch church and bishops in the Anglican church were also ready to justify it

Another argument was that blacks were stronger and more resistant to climate and working conditions

Other argues that even if it was abolished, it would continue illegally because it was so profitable

Famous Abolitionists Many Quakers in the US supported abolition as well as

humanitarian circles in England and France One of the most famous works regarding slaver is by Abbe

Guillaume Thomas Francois Raynal (1713-1796) “Philosophical and Political history of the Commercial Establishments of Europeans in the Two Indies (1770-1781)”

It gives a negative overview on European history, however, it argues that commerce brought the arts and sciences to formerly barbarian lands

Also stated that colonization was okay, but if there was a local population, colonists could only request hospitality

Intermarriage was a way to end the competition between groups of different racial origins

Abbe Guillaume Thomas Francois Raynal (1713-1796)

Other Abolitionist Ideas/Events Raynal had several supporters including Jacques Pierre

Brissot who founded the “Society of Friends of the Blacks in Paris which attracted various intellectuals such as Abbe Sieyes

Slavery was abolished in France on Sept 27th, 1791 Decrees issued between 1792 and 1794 abolished

slavery in the French colonies In 1793, the Assembly of the newly formed province of

Upper Canada passed an act that “further prevented the introduction of slaves and limited the terms for contracts of servitude

However, slavery continued until the first few decades in the 19th century in Canada

England’s emancipation occurred in 1834

There were big economic interests in plantation agriculture in the French tropical colonies

Toussaint L’Ouverture had read Raynal and had a good understanding of the imperial expansion and trade of Europe

He led an insurrection in Haiti He was captured by the French in 1802

and taken to France where he died in prison

In North America, slavery was abolished in Mexico in 1829 and in the U.S at the end of the civil war in 1866

Olaudah Equiano (1745-1797) One of the most prominent

Africans involved in the British abolition movement

Wrote a famous autobiography that depicts the horrors of slavery and helped influence British lawmakers to abolish the slave trade through the Slave Trade Act of 1807

During his enslavement as a young man, he purchased his freedom and worked as a seaman, merchant and explorer in South America, the American colonies and the U.K

His Story Kidnapped at age 10 with his sister, forced into domestic

slavery in a nearby village and then sold to European slave traders

Transported to the English colony of Virginia Bought by Michael Pascal, a lieutenant in the Royal British

Navy Renamed Gustavus Vassa Received training in seamanship and travelled all over with

his master during the 7 years War– helped on battleships Taught to read an converted to Christianity Later sold to Captain James Doran and is transported to

the Caribbean islands and then sold to Robert King, a Quaker merchant from Philadelphia

In 1765, he is promised freedom for forty pounds

Equiano earns his freedom in his early 20s King gives him a hard time about leaving and

urges him to stay with him as a business partner

It was dangerous however to be a free black in the British colonies

Kidnapped while loading a ship in Georgia and only released after it was obvious that he was educated

He travels to London and becomes heavily involved in the abolitionist movement

Offers many accounts of slave ships including the Zong, where 133 slaves are thrown overboard in the middle of the ocean for owners to claim insurance money

Slave Ship

Equiano- Slave Narrative

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aztipRPa1Yw

Amistad Based on a true story about a slave revolt on a ship traveling towards the

Northeast coast of America in 1839 The slaves continue to sail onward after the revolt and land in the U.S They do not speak a word of English and it seems as though they are

doomed until an abolitionist lawyer decides to take their case, arguing that they are free citizens of another country and not slaves at all

The first scene in the movie involves Sengbe Pieh “Cinque” picking a nail out of the ships structure to use to unlock himself and the other slaves from their chains.

Main Characters:Former President John Quincy Adams (Antony Hopkins)2 leading abolitionists: Mr. Tappan (Stellan Skarsgard) and Theodor

Joadson (Morgan Freeman)President of the U.S: Martin Van Buren (Nigel Hawthorne)Queen Isabella II of Spain (Anna Paquin)Attorney Roger Sherman Baldwin (Matthew McConaughey)