Chapter 2

Middle Passage

I. European Exploration ~ Colonization

Western European countries expand during 15th century– Explore, conquer, and colonize– Trade

• Eastern markets of India, China, and Japan• New World

– Demand for laborers led to Atlantic slave trade

II. The Slave Trade in Africa

Ancient and universal phenomena African kingdoms and Islamic nations conduct

brisk commerce– Not race based

• Arab merchants and West African kings imported white slaves from Europe

– West African slave trade dealt mainly in women and children who would serve as concubines and servants

• European demand for agricultural laborers changed slave trading patterns

III. The Origins of the Atlantic Slave Trade

In 15th century, slaves used as domestic servants on Iberian Peninsula

Other European countries had large work forces and little need for slaves

Purchased from African traders– Portugal and Spain dominated slave trade in 16th

century– Dutch dominated 17th century– English dominated 18th century

IV. Growth of the Atlantic Slave Trade

Demand for labor in 16th century Spanish gold and silver mines Portuguese sugar plantations Tobacco, rice and indigo SEE Figure 2-1 and Table 2-1

Growth of the Atlantic Slave Trade (cont.) Harsher in the Americas

– Based on race– Most were males

• Believed they were stronger laborers than females

• West African women did farm work – Often withheld from trade

– Agricultural workers– Chattel

• Lost rights as human beings

Growth of the Atlantic Slave Trade (cont.) Triangle trade and profits

– See Map 2-3 – Slave, tobacco, and sugar profits funded

Industrial Revolution

V. The African-American Ordeal: Capture to Destination

Slavery: byproduct of war between kingdoms

European traders provided firearms– Did not instigate fighting

The African-American Ordeal: Capture to Destination (cont.)

High mortality– Exhaustion, suicide, murder– Long, forced marches from interior to coast

Factories served as – Headquarters for traders– Warehouses for trade goods– Pens or dungeons for captives

The Crossing

Canary Islands to the Windward Islands 40 to 180 days to reach the Caribbean Pirates attacked Spanish ships Frightening experience

The Slavers

Small and narrow ships Two slaves per ship-tonnage formula Most captains were “tight packers”

– Ignored formula in the name of profits

The Slavers (cont.)

Crowded, unsanitary conditions– Slaves rode on planks 66” x 15”

• only 20”– 25” of headroom

– Males chained together in pairs – Kept apart from women and children– High mortality rates

• One-third perish between capture and embarkation

A Slave’s Story

Olaudah Equiano– Writes autobiography of his capture/voyage

Conditions Suicides Smells Feedings

– See VOICES

A Captain’s Story

John Newton

– Evangelical Christian

– Slaver captain

– Anglican priest• Repentance• Amazing Grace

Provisions for the Middle Passage Slaves fed twice per day

– Poor and insufficient diet• Vegetable pulps, stews, and fruits • Denied meat or fish• Ten people eating from one bucket• Unwashed hands spread disease• Malnutrition, weakness, depression, death

Sanitation, Disease, and Death Astronomically high before 1750

– Poor sanitation• No germ theory prior to early 20th century• Malaria, yellow fever, smallpox, dysentery

After 1750– Faster ships– Hygiene and diet better understood– Early forms of smallpox vaccinations

Resistance and Revolt at Sea

Uprisings were common– Most rebellions before sailing– Some preferred death to bondage– Justification for harsh treatment by slavers

Cruelty

Middle passage horrors exaggerated– Historian Eric Williams

Cultural context Exceptionally cruel

– Slaves had half the space allowed indentured servants and convicts

– Slavery suitable only for non-Christians– Brutal treatment by crew members

African Women on Slave Ships Less protection against unwanted sexual

attention from European men African women worth half the price of African

men in the Caribbean markets Separation from male slaves made them

easier targets Historian Barbara Bush

– Middle passage horrors depressed sex drives

VI. Landing and Sale in the West Indies Pre-sale

– Bathed and exercised– Oiled bodies to conceal blemishes and

bruises– Hemp plugs

VII. Seasoning

Modify behavior and attitude Preparation for North American planters

VII. Seasoning (cont.)

Creoles– slaves born in the Americas

– worth three times price of unseasoned Africans Old Africans

– Lived in the Americas for some time

New Africans– Had just survived the middle passage

Creoles and Old Africans instruct New Africans

VIII. The End of the Journey

Survival – One-third died

• Men died at a greater rate than women

– Adapted to new foods– Learned a new language

• Creole dialect well enough to obey commands

– Psychological ~ no longer suicidal• Africans retained culture despite the hardships

and cruel treatment• Created bonds with shipmates that replaced

blood kinship

IX. The Ending of the Atlantic Slave Trade Cruelties help end Atlantic slave trade

– English abolitionists• Thomas Clarkson, William Wilberforce, and Granville

Sharp• Moral crusade and economy less dependent on slave

trade• Great Britain bans Atlantic slave trade in 1807 • Patrols African coast to enforce • United States Congress outlaws slave trade in 1808• Guinea and western central African kingdoms oppose

banning slave trade

X. Conclusion

Nine to eleven million Africans brought to the Americas during three centuries of trade– Millions more died– Most arrived between 1701 and 1810– Only 600,000 reached the British colonies

of North America