Age of Exploration & Slavery in Africa:

The African Slave Trade

Images of Slavery: Are any of these images familiar to you? Why?

• Slave Trafficking Centuries Old– West African Kingdoms• Mali & Songhai

– War Spoils

– Ancient Practice Nile River Valley• Egypt – Nubians

– Trans-Saharan Trade• 10th Century C.E.

• Type of Slavery Differentiated– Domestic• Familial

– Chattel

Slavery in Africa Before European Contact

Age of ExplorationImperialism

Phase 1- 1400’s-1600’sPhase 2- Slavery 1700’s-1800’s

• Reasons Why the Europeans Took to the Sea1.) Capitalism began in Europe (compete for trade and services)2.) Wanted to take over the Muslim dominated spice trade in Asia (Portugal)3.) Muslims dominated the land trade, so Europeans looked for new sea routes (Spain)4.) Religious Zeal- spread Christianity5.) Adventure and Intellectual curiosity

HOW?

• By mid 1400’s European monarchies wanted to increase1.) authority2.) resources

• They were able to with1.) Advancing maps2.) Better ships3.) Better navigational techniques4.) Learning the Atlantic Ocean wind patterns

The Age of Exploration

• Portugal– Created sea route east around– The Cape of Good Hope– Henry The Navigator– Vasco da Gama– Gold, Spices, Slaves

• Africa– Coast of West Africa– Trading Ports– New Trade Routes

• Declined because didn’t have the resources to compete with new Imperialist European countries

• Sugar Plantations– Sao Tome & Principe

• W. Coast Africa• Portuguese

– Established in New World • Portugal & Spain (S. Amer.)• Late 15th Century

• African Slaves Preferred– European Criminals Succumbed

– Tropical Diseases

– Native Americans Succumbed– Diseases and Maltreatment

– African Survival Rate High

European Influence: Sugar & Slavery

Spain

• Wanted to create a new sea route to Asia around Africa- West over the Atlantic Ocean• A Whole New World– Columbus- Caribbean, Hispanola, Cuba, Honduras,

Americas (thought India)– John Cabot- New England– Pedro Cebral- South America 1500– Amerigo Vespucci- described geography of New World

European Influence: Sugar & Slavery

European Slave Exports (estimates)

1500’s – 275,0001600’s – 1,000,000+1700’s – 6,000,0001800’s – 2,000,000+

*6% to N. America

African Slave Markets• African monarchs saw slave income

potential

• Europeans lacked means/motivation to capture slaves

• European demand increased African slave raids

• Europeans Willing to create conflict between Africans

• Traded for gold & manufactured European goods

Description of Elmina Castle

Elmina, like other West African slave fortresses, housed luxury suites for the Europeans in the upper levels. The slave dungeons below were cramped and filthy, each cell often housing as many as 200 people at a time, without enough space to even lie down. The floor of the dungeon, as result of centuries of impacted filth and human excrement, is now several inches higher than it was when it was built. Outbreaks of malaria and yellow fever were common. Staircases led directly from the governor's chambers to the women's dungeons below, making it easy for him to select personal concubines from amongst the women.

African Slave “Castles”

How did it Begin?

Europeans took Africans against their will to use as servants for the rich

They justified their actions because they were exposing Africans to Christianity

Several years after their first arrival in the Americas (Caribbean), Europeans realized they needed laborers to exploit the natural resources and brought in more African slaves

African Slave “Castles”“Door of No Return”

El Mina Castle - Ghana

“The Dungeon”El Mina Castle - Ghana

• Direct route carrying slaves from Africa to The New World

• Journey Could Last Several Months– Est. 15% of Slaves Died Aboard

Triangular Trade & “The Middle Passage”

Amistad Film Clip

Demographic & Social Consequences in Africa

• Some regions became sparsely populated• Angola, Congo River Basin, Parts of E.

Africa

• Men targeted more than women• Disproportionate number of women in

many societies• As high as 20% to European

destinations were children• Able-Bodied Men Lacking to Cultivate

Land• Economy and Society Suffer as a result

• European models replace traditional African economic and social structures

• French Enlightenment Philosophies Spread Through Europe 18th Century– Slavery deemed immoral– Slavery Deemed Inefficient Economically

• Adam Smith

– British led abolitionist movement• Navy Patrolled African Coast For Slave Ships• Created Freed Slave Colony (Sierra Leone)

• Sugar Availability Rose Greatly Late 18th Century

• Slave Uprisings Frightened Europeans– Haiti, 1791

• By 19th Century End, Slave Trade Outlawed Internationally

Abolitionist Movement and The End of the Slave Trade

Interactive Map Link: Abolition

Effects of Slavery

• 1807: Britain outlawed slave trade and banned slavery in 1833

• 1865: Abolition of Slavery in U.S. with the 13th Amendment

• African Diaspora: scattering of people • Brought suffering but also contributed to the spread of

ideas and customs enriching cultures“Back-to-Africa”

• Sierra Leone: (Freetown) Set up by British for ex-slaves• Liberia: American Colonization Society: Set up for ex-

slaves from the US

New Imperialism1880-1914

• Imperialism: The policy of extending the rule or authority of an empire or nation over foreign countries

• As Europeans became industrialized, needed goods not slaves

• How do you think the decline of the slave trade helped lead to European “New Imperialism” in Africa during the late 19th century?

• Do you think the decline of the slave trade had an effect on missionary work in Africa? Why/How?

Making Connections: Discuss these questions with a partner